It’s the End of the Line for Orange Double Deckers

By Phillip Nifield

The days when bus passengers could ‘pick an orange’ are coming to an end after more than 30 years.

Cardiff Bus will scrap its orange brand buses when it phases out the last vehicles in favour of environmentally friendly, low floor buses in the summer.

The council-owned company is buying 13 double-deckers and another 13 single decker Scania vehicles at a cost of pounds 4.5m.

Cardiff-born former Lord Mayor John Smith, of Grangetown, is one passenger who will not be mourning the end of orange.

‘I was never keen on the orange and white colour and it now looks really out of date,’ he said.

‘I don’t think the colour change was ever particularly popular. I preferred the old maroon and cream colours.’

It was in 1972 that a last-ditch but ultimately unsuccessful bid was made to keep the maroon and colour brand which had stood for around 50 years, but councillors voted in favour of the new look for the new fleet.

The then general bus manager David Smith supported the change on the grounds of safety and practicability while one councillor welcomed the move to get rid of the ‘dull, dowdy and unsafe colours’.

The public also backed the choice of light orange ahead of a deeper orange and white and aquamarine and white.

The phasing out of the older orange buses also means that the company’s fleet will feature all low floor, easy access vehicles.

Some of the new buses will have a colour linked to the bus corridor they travel along – similar to the red bendy buses which operate to Ely – with others having the more general blue livery.

Managing director David Brown said: ‘With the delivery of these vehicles, our entire fleet will be fully European compliant and fuelled by cleaner ultra low sulphur diesel which we introduced in 1999.’ JUST what can you do with an old orange bus?: Deck it out as a party bus for hen and stag-dos.

As a mobile community centre for children in deprived areas, fitted out with activities

As an exhibit in the Museum of Welsh Life, St Fagans

A drop-in centre for the homeless

Sell it to a transport enthusiast for their private collection.

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