The Bus Inspectors

29/01/2026

🎧 OUT NOW! What does it take to keep our heritage buses going? Episode 6 of The Bus Inspectors podcast explores the many skills which must, themselves, be preserved for the future.

Listen now and catch up with the series so far...
👇 Link in the comments.

29/12/2025

Thanks to everyone who's helped and followed us in 2025 - what a year it's been! Our podcast returns in January with Episode 6, looking at the skills we need to sustain in order to preserve the nation's vintage buses and coaches. Catch up with the series so far via the link in the comments.👇

Happy New Year to all our followers!

16/10/2025

Bus preservation faces many challenges, now and in the future. We've been considering what they are and what they could mean for the nation's historic buses as people and their priorities change. Catch up with the full conversation in our podcast. 🎧👇

We've been opening this difficult but necessary conversation all over the UK on behalf of the National Association of Road Transport Museums. We've recently chaired discussions at the NARTM conference at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum, the London Transport Museum's conferences and given talks to Southampton & District Transport Heritage Trust and Thames Valley & Great Western Omnibus Trust among others. Next week we'll be in Norwich speaking to the Eastern Transport Collection.

What are the challenges as you see them?

04/10/2025

We had such a fantastic time at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum, where we updated members of the National Association of Road Transport Museums on our project to grade the UK's vintage buses and coaches.

Scotland boasts several first class bus museums. The museum at Lathalmond is an incredible place and such an impressive showcase of Scotland's transport heritage. Thanks to Eddie Taylor and the SVBM team for the warmest of welcomes.

19/08/2025

If you haven't yet heard our vintage bus podcast, then hurry... you're running 3 hours behind your fellow enthusiasts! 🎧 Catch up with the series so far in under 3 mins and follow the link in the comments to the episodes.

10/08/2025

07/08/2025

It takes many specialist skills to restore, maintain and drive the nation's historic buses and coaches. In our next episode of The Bus Inspectors podcast, we'll discuss the importance of preserving these skills for the future and consider how museums, preservationists and industry can work together to help.

Today, we visited Sam Carter at the London Transport Museum to hear how their fantastic Heritage Skills Retention Project is making a difference. Thanks to Sam and team for a warm welcome.

🎧 Hear more soon and catch up on the series so far...👇

19/07/2025

Friends of King Alfred Buses would love to have your support. 🎧 Hear the incredible story of their Leyland Olympic - dereliction, perfection, destruction 🔥 and now re-construction - in ep5 of The Bus Inspectors podcast. Link in comments 👇

The Olympic appeal was launched during our 40th celebrations in May and we are asking everyone to give what they can help restore our historic Leyland Olympic (JAA 708) .

Follow along the Olympic Restoration story and donate on our website here - https://www.kingalfredbuses.org.uk/olympic

Thank you for your donation and support 💚

08/07/2025

A sneaky peak at some of the treasures The Bus Inspectors were invited to see at the Bounty Country Buses collection in Nantwich. Follow us on YouTube for an exclusive video tour by the Emerton family, coming soon. Link in comments 👇

The breathtaking Bountry Country Buses Collection, owned and loved by the Emerton family of Nantwich, is the latest collection to welcome The Bus Inspectors for a scoring and grading visit.Our tour of the collection came with a warm welcome from four generations of the family, who shared the stories...

04/07/2025

Welcome to our latest followers. Here's a 3 minute reminder of why The Bus Inspectors are grading the nation's historic buses and coaches.

We are grading the nation's vintage buses and coaches - but why?Those from the world of bus preservation explain the challenges facing bus preservation now a...

28/06/2025

Welcome to all our new . If you'd like to find out more about our heritage bus grading project we've dropped some useful links into the comments below 👇

21/06/2025

We're bowling along today with the Thames Valley & Great Western Omnibus Trust on their annual Royal Blue Coach Run, recording some magnificent sounds for a future podcast. Our latest episode is linked in the comments 👇