The Bus Inspectors

What does it take to restore, maintain and drive a vintage bus? The Bus Inspectors explore 'heritage' skills which must, themselves, be preserved if future generations are to experience bus history. Sam Carter from the London Transport Museum explains the museum's project to sustain heritage skills. Gerard Butler recalls the skills involved in driving 'crash' gearboxes and why groups like the Ribb...

Will our preserved vehicles be cherished forever? The Bus Inspectors find out what happens to historic buses and coaches when they leave preservation and why there's no guarantee of a happy future. Preservationist James Pratt describes the realities of keeping old buses alive and the dilemma which led him to sell a bus he'd lovingly restored. Its current owner, Louis Richards , explains why he lov...

What does the future hold for our bus museums and collections? The Bus Inspectors uncover the challenges of preserving our modern bus history and hear why there are some gaps in our national collection. Katariina Mauranen , James Freeman and Maxson Goh talk about the transition from spanners to keyboards in the workshop, while Stefan Baguette from Alexander Dennis considers the preservation prospe...

How important is heritage to today's bus industry? The Bus Inspectors are joined by Andrew Wickham and Anthony Delaine-Smith , two respected figures in contemporary bus operation, to discuss heritage fleets, brands and traditions, and what they mean to passengers and staff. We visit RM70 - the Routemaster's 70th Birthday celebrations - to find out how so many RMs have survived and which are the mo...

Where would you keep a vintage bus? We follow the human journey of bus preservation from 1950s' teens with buses kept in old barns, to today's purpose-built transport museums. The Bus Inspectors meet Leon Daniels, Chairman of the London Bus Museum at Brooklands; pioneer bus preservationist Michael Dryhurst; and Dan Shears from the West of England Transport Collection. Plus, the latest on The Bus I...

The UK boasts 10,000 historic buses and coaches, each with stories to tell - but can they all live on forever? The Bus Inspectors are joined by Peter, Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill and guests to discuss the appeal of vintage buses, the changing interest of younger generations and how grading the nation's historic buses and coaches can help to guide evolution. Presented by David Sheppard.

The Bus Inspectors are on their way, with a brand new podcast launching in February, Hear about their mission to grade the nation's 10,000 historic buses in our one-minute trailer.