Introduction
Auckland has had a long association with buses. Early on, horse buses appeared here in the mid to late 19th century in competition with the Horse Tramway. In due time, evolving with the innovative inventions of the steam, petrol and later diesel engines; increasingly reliable vehicles served the outlining and semi-rural areas of Auckland not already served by the Tramways from the 1920's. Without the need for expensive fixed infrastructure such as tracks and overhead wires, the flexibility of the road going buses has been their ultimate success, ("Bus Collection", n.d).
The Daimler Freeline Bus
The selected technology made its way to New Zealand during the mid 20th century. Between 1952 to 1958, the Auckland Transport Board (ATB) based in Auckland, imported a total of 160 freeline buses. All were approximately 10m long, with front and centre doors, and typically Kiwi door-less luggage boxes below the saloon floor in the wheelbase outboard of the frames. The first freeline bus, numbered 201 (pictured below), was exported completely built up with a Saunders Roe (B44D) body. Like the first, Manufacturers Daimler and Saunders Roe in the United Kingdom, also supplied the following 89 of the initial batch as completely knocked down kits, which were assembled in New Zealand. The second batch of 70 freeline buses, were imported between the periods of 1956 to 1958, and were locally bodied, ("Bus Collection", n.d).
1952 Daimler Freeline, 44-seat under-floor diesel bus, (photo by: Fiva Faaofo)
1952 Daimler Freeline Auckland Transport Bus, (AutoCalculator, 2009)
The "ATB" had also ordered smaller batches of AEC Regal IV, Leyland Royal Tigers and also BUT trolley buses. The Daimlers had weaknesses, prone to overheating, but they were better performers than their diesel rivals and became the backbone of the Auckland fleet until the early 1970s. Other export markets for the Freeline included South Africa, Nigeria, India, Norway, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Australia and Israel.
The History and Development of Buses
The first bus was described as a large, steam-driven stagecoach that operated in England in 1830. In 1895 an eight-passenger bus powered by a four to six horsepower, single cylinder engine was built in Germany. From 1905 to 1962 buses in Berlin pulled trailers that carried additional passengers, ("The Horse Bus 1662-1932", n.d).
In 1830 Sir Goldworthy Gurney of Great Britain designed a large stagecoach driven by a steam engine that may have been the first motor-driven bus. The early vehicle was called an omnibus, a Latin word meaning “for all,” later abbreviated to "bus". In 1895 an eight-passenger omnibus, driven by a four-horsepower single-cylinder engine, was built in Germany, ("The Horse Bus 1662-1932", n.d). Early buses in the United States were operated by sightseeing companies in New York City. One type of these open vehicles was built by Mack Trucks Incorporated in 1904, which had a nominal seating capacity of 15, with a four cylinder gasoline engine developing 36 horsepower at street speeds of up to 32km per hour. Until the 1920's, the technical history of the bus was that of the motor truck because the early bus consisted of a bus body mounted on a truck chassis, (Gregersen, 2012).
In 1921, the first vehicle with a chassis specifically designed for a bus service was made in the United States by Fageol Safety Coach Company of Oakland, California. The widened and lengthened frame was 300mm lower than a truck frame. In 1926, Fageol developed the first integral frame bus, with twin engines mounted amidships under the floor. The integral frame utilized the roof, floor, and sides of the bus as structural members, (Gregersen, 2012).
Other early bus manufacturers were Mack and Yellow Truck & Coach in the United States, both of which built gasoline electric models. In these buses a gasoline engine drove a direct current generator, and the output of the generator provided electrical power for the driving motors on the rear wheels. In 1928, the transcontinental bus service was initiated in the United States. In 1931, the first rear engine in an integral-frame bus was introduced. Two stroke cycle diesel engines were initially used in buses in 1938 and are still found in most city and intercity models around the world today, (Gregersen, 2012).
Social Impact
An important social role played by buses is in public transport, which ensures that all members of society are able to travel, and not limiting travel to just those with a driving license or with access to an automobile. This includes groups such as the young, the old, the poor, those with medical conditions, and people banned from driving.
On the hand, public transportation also opened up to its users the possibility of meeting other people, as no concentration is diverted from interacting with fellow-travelers due to any steering activities like in normal passenger vehicles. Therefore, the public transport becomes a location of inter-social encounters across all boundaries of social, ethnic and other types of affiliation.
The automobile phenomena as a whole, created mobility on a scale never known before, and the total effect on living habits and social customs is endless. In the days of horse-drawn transportation, the practical limit of wagon travel was 15km to 25km, which meant that any community or individual farm more than 25km's from a city, a railroad, or a accessible waterway was isolated from the mainstream of economic and social life. Motor vehicles and paved roads have narrowed the gap between rural and urban life. During early times, automobiles allowed farmers to easily and economically transport resources by vehicle and drive them in to town when convenient. In addition, such institutions like regional schools and hospitals were made more accessible by bus and car.
In my opinion, the effect on city life has been, if anything, more prominent than the effect on rural farms. Automobiles have radically changed city life by accelerating the outward expansion of population into the suburbs. The suburban trend is emphasized by the fact that highway transportation encourages business and industry to move outward to sites where land is cheaper, where access by car, truck, or bus is easier than in crowded cities, and where space is available for their large structures. Better roads were constructed, which further increased travel throughout. As with other automobile related phenomena, the trend is most noticeable in the United States, though it is rapidly appearing everywhere else in the world.
Before the automobile, people either lived in the city and worked in the city, or lived in the country and worked on a farm. Because of the automobile, the growth of suburbs has allowed people to live on the outskirts of the city and be able to work in the city by commuting. Additionally, new jobs are becoming more available due to the impact of the automobile. Jobs such as fast food, city or highway construction, patrol police units, convenience stores, gas stations, auto repair shops, auto shops, etc. All of which allow more employment opportunities for the world's growing population.
In my opinion, the effect on city life has been, if anything, more prominent than the effect on rural farms. Automobiles have radically changed city life by accelerating the outward expansion of population into the suburbs. The suburban trend is emphasized by the fact that highway transportation encourages business and industry to move outward to sites where land is cheaper, where access by car, truck, or bus is easier than in crowded cities, and where space is available for their large structures. Better roads were constructed, which further increased travel throughout. As with other automobile related phenomena, the trend is most noticeable in the United States, though it is rapidly appearing everywhere else in the world.
Before the automobile, people either lived in the city and worked in the city, or lived in the country and worked on a farm. Because of the automobile, the growth of suburbs has allowed people to live on the outskirts of the city and be able to work in the city by commuting. Additionally, new jobs are becoming more available due to the impact of the automobile. Jobs such as fast food, city or highway construction, patrol police units, convenience stores, gas stations, auto repair shops, auto shops, etc. All of which allow more employment opportunities for the world's growing population.
References:
"Bus Collection". (n.d). Retrieved from: "The Walsh Memorial Library" of MOTAT
AutoCalculator. (2009). "Daimler Freeline Auckland Transport Bus 1953 www.autocalculator.org". Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET0jFWi5YWI
"The Horse Bus 1662-1932". (n.d). Retrieved from:
http://www.petergould.co.uk/local_transport_history/generalhistories/general/horsebus.htm
Gregersen, E. (2012). The Complete History of Wheeled Transportation: From Cars and Trucks to Buses and Bikes. Published by Chicago : Britannica Educational Publishing
Hi Fiva
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post. Correct referencing and you've demonstrated excellent understanding.
Well done.
Rashika.
I really appreciate your comments thanks. I am thoroughly enjoying your classes as you have an approachable method of teaching. I am looking forward to the next lesson.
DeleteKind regards,
Fiva