Having been through a period of rapid change, the bus industry is best understood against the background of events, as decisions taken as long ago as 1916 still influence its structure today. The author discusses the effect of technical advances on the provision of public services, and writes of ticket systems, time tables, fleet names and liveries, and some of the odder regulations that govern operators and the travelling public. There is an objective discussion of methods of licensing and control, and of the economic and political background of bus operators. But this is the story of men and women as well as motor vehicles; of shrewd pioneers, international financiers, trade unionists and well-known politicians. Not least it is the story of the crews on the buses, for who the industry is not just a living but a way of life. The book is fully illustrated with photographs, charts and maps.