Shropshire Routes to Roots

5. Wartime austerity: 1940 to 1945

Requisitioning and rationing

The stringent conditions of war put a temporary end to express coach services, excursions and tours. It also forced some operators to withdraw from lightly used routes to save fuel and to retain vehicles for busy services. Some buses and coaches were requisitioned by the armed forces and those that remained were often overworked. The supply of new vehicles was reduced to a trickle and from 1941 only Spartan "utility" buses were available. These were largely allocated by the government to those operators who were considered to be the most deserving. Older buses were kept in service long after the time when they should have been retired. As at the time of the First World War, there was a shortage of drivers, conductors and engineers. Passengers had few alternatives to bus travel for local journeys as fuel rationing kept most cars in their garages. Buses were often grossly overloaded, even after those passengers who were merely 'pleasure seekers' were persuaded to stay at home.

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