100 Jahre Berliner Kraftomnibusse – Die Ersten 40 Jahre
(100 Years of Berlin Motor Buses: The first 40 Years)

Peter Müeller-Mark

ISBN N/A - 220mm x 285mm - 472 pages - Hardback
Illustrated in monochrome.

"This marvellous, if weighty, volume has to be the definitive record of the development of bus transport in the city of Berlin from 1905 when motorbuses started taking over from horse-drawn vehicles until the close of World War 2. The text is in German, but this should not deter the non-German speaker. The whole book is crammed with photographs, manufacturers’ drawings, press cuttings, maps, information tables, schematic diagrams, etc etc. Each page offers a fount of knowledge.

Working abroad for many years the author, a keen enthusiast of Berlin buses as a child, had to wait until retirement to pull together all the information needed to produce this book. For several years he had full access to the archives of the BVG (Berlin’s transport undertaking), interviewed contemporary witnesses, visited museums and local press offices, until he was able to build up a complete record of all types of buses (including trolleybuses) used by the BVG (and its predecessor ABOAG).

The photographs illustrate practically every model taken into use during the years in question, including derivatives of the original vehicles e.g. towing and other vehicles etc.

Appendices give valuable tables showing chassis/fleet numbers, power units, coachwork details etc. In a final “Epilogue” the author goes beyond his remit and provides 17 “thumbnail” photos of buses in service since 1945 up to the current MAN Lion’s City double decker."

AM

Published in 2005 by Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG), Berlin, Germany
 

Autobusy a Trolejbusy - pražské mĕstské hromadné dopravy

Stanislav Linert

ISBN 80-238-8574X - 216mm x 302mm - 264 pages - Hardback
Illustrated in colour and monochrome.

"This is a chronicle of buses and trolleybuses in Prague from 1908 to 2002. I purchased the book at The Transportation Museum in Prague. The book is written in Czech but since it serves mainly as a reference guide of the various vehicle makes and models, this becomes less important. A Czech dictionary however, may be handy to have. The vehicle information is grouped by time period and then manufacturer and model. Tatra, Skoda, Ikarus and Karosa are just a few of the manufacturer’s buses used in Prague during this time period. There are many photographs and diagrams giving vehicle dimensions and some even show seating arrangements. They also supply some technical data including motor, transmission, and maximum speed and more. The year of manufacture and the number of vehicles purchased and fleet numbers assigned is also documented. There is a small section devoted to the various garages again, showing many photographs There are several short historical overviews throughout the book that may be difficult if you aren’t fluent in Czech, but this book is well worth the purchase for the photographs alone!"

WLD

Published in 2002 by the Prague Transportation Company
 

The Bus Fleets Of Cyprus

David Corke

ISBN 978-1-900515-19-1 - 215mm x 295mm - 104 pages - Hardback
Illustrated predominantly in colour

"David Corke, the author, lives in Cyprus, and has been able to bring together all his pieces of research into the development of the bus scene there since registrations began in 1920. It is a fascinating story, marvellously illustrated with dozens of photographs (nearly all in colour), and covers all aspects of the bus scene: lorry buses, village buses, city buses, minibuses, midi buses, and coaches. Urban operators, coach operators, the Cypriot bus manufacturing industry and the recently formed regional rural bus companies all have their own chapters. The impact of British rule until 1960 is described, and there is a chapter on how drastically the scene changed in 1974 when the northern part of the island came under Turkish control. There is coverage of the interface with the military authorities today, the British Sovereign Base Areas on the island being large users of buses. As well as dealing with the major operators on the island, the book also contains comprehensive notes on the dozens of small operators. Appendices cover Cypriot registration numbers and numbers of buses operating year by year. An excellent reference book."

AM

Published in 2008 by DTS Publishing, Croydon
 

Unser Auto ist Gelbe/Notre Voiture est Jaune
(Our Car is Yellow)

Karl Kronig

ISBN N/A - 210mm x 210mm - 72 pages - Softback
Illustrated in colour and monochrome.

"Which foreign tourist to Switzerland has not thrilled on hearing the distinctive tri-note coaching horn of a yellow Swiss Post Bus sounding out across a steep-sided glacier-covered valley? Today, that Post Bus is as synonymous with Switzerland as watch movements and chocolates! This little book is a gem for those interested in the Swiss Post bus scene. It traces the history of the service from the days of the coach-and-four to the latest (at the time of publication) articulated bus. The text is written in both German and French with each page divided into two columns. There are plenty of photographs (inevitably black-and-white for the early days) of post buses at various stages of their evolution, and also of tickets, timetables, and flow charts. The book is not without its humorous touches. The contrasting photographs of a driver in the very early days stopping at a mountain halt for a glass of beer, and a photograph taken some years later when health and safety rules had developed and a similar driver is now shown supping a glass of milk!

The final section is a fine series of colour plates depicting the preserved post buses which are in the custody of the Swiss PTT Museum in Bern, but not always on display. The collection consists of 17 buses and one passenger trailer. The earliest is a 1921 Berna cabriolet through Saurer, Berna, and FBW models to the 1968 Saurer Alpin lV-U and the 1948 Moser Passenger trailer. (Information correct at time of publication)."

AM

Published in 1993 by PTT-Museum, Bern, Switzerland