Читать книгу The Dodo Collection - Steve Stack - Страница 45

Bus Conductors

‘Fares, please!’

When is the last time you heard that cry? I suspect you’ll be hard pushed to remember. I am willing to bet it was some considerable time ago.

Next time you find yourself singing ‘The Wheels on the Bus’ to a child, and at some point in your life that is pretty much bound to happen, stop when you get to this line:

‘The conductor on the bus says, “move along please”.’

And ask the child what a bus conductor is. They won’t know!

We are all aware why there are no longer any bus conductors; since the privatisation of public transport, companies have tried to save money and operating a bus with one person costs less than employing two, but the slow extinction of the role has sort of gone unnoticed.

The bus conductor’s main job was, obviously, to sell and check tickets, but the role was much bigger than that. Think about that name, conductor, like in an orchestra. He or she would organise their passengers into some kind of order. They would make sure everyone who needed a seat could get one, that nursery rhyme cry of ‘move along please’ would ensure new passengers could get on, they would make certain that smoking only took place on the top deck, that unruly schoolkids got a clip round the ear to keep them in check, that fare dodgers were kicked off, that everyone knew what stop was coming up, and, something people tend to forget, they would keep the driver in check, quite happy to have words if he was going too fast or turning corners too sharply.

The bus conductors did their best to instil order and safety. They were, much of the time, a reassuring presence. Now you think about it, you probably realise that you miss them.

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