 |  | | | Life as a Clippie | There are 5 messages in this section. |
Mrs Margaret Hay from Bucksburn, Aberdeen. Posted 10 May 2006.
In 1958 I was lucky enough to be employed with the Alexander Bus Company, a well-known family-owned local firm. I am reminiscing about the happy times I had on the buses working my ‘way up the sheets’ and through the various rotas and shifts set up for the many young girls employed by the bus company. There were male conductors but only in the summer. On my journeys out to the country it was not uncommon to be snowed in during the depths of winter. In the bus was carried a bag of sand and a shovel.
In the old type buses the conductresses had to open the door (years before the advent of the automatic hydraulic doors) and sometimes the snow was knee high. I had to get out and shovel the snow away so that the passengers could get out. Despite happy memories the work was sometimes hard and thankless. For example if the float of ten shillings plus the days takings (indicated by the value of tickets handed out) did not come the correct amount the girls would have to pay it out of their own wages. I agreed with this ruling as the best method of the keeping the girls vigilant but it is still quite tough.
The company was also very strict on uniform. When I joined the company I had to pay thirty shillings for my outfit put up to a shilling a week. For my money I got a navy blue jacket and skirt piped in a contrasting blue. I also had to wear a white shirt with a collar and a black tie, black stockings had to be kept free of funs and any violations of the dress code would result in suspension. This may have sounded extreme but lead to a team of very well-turned out ladies whose nickname ‘clippie’ came to embody the high leve of service that people expected on the buses. I was a very proud young girl in my pristine thirty shilling Bluebird uniform. The buses used to deliver papers, mail and parcels out to country villages and towns. My average day on the bus as a packed one sorting goods for delivery taking money from passengers ‘clipping’ tickets and writing was was known as the ‘waybill’. This was a document which detailed the route taken on a given journey. It gave information such as each town passed, how many passengers had travelled and also how many ha’penny tickets had been issued as the ticket punch did not register that small amount. For this responsible job I had t pass three important tests – a medical, a ‘sums’ test and a public service vehicle license. My badge number was LL18029.
I was sent on many varied routes, including the ‘limited stop’ to Edinburgh and Glasgow, a stint in the Elgin section and journeys all round Strathdon. I soon came to know all the regular passengers and the bus would wait for them if they were not at the stop at their usual time. Special buses for the workers at Culter, Muggiemoss and Stoneywood mills were laid on. The familiar blue and white buses with that bluebird on travelled all over Scotladn as they still do. My special souvenirs are my PSU conductor’s licence and my Bluebird badge.
I have distant and happy memories of those times.
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|  | Donald McPherson from Bucksburn. Posted 16 Oct 2006.
My wife retired in 1955 when she married after operating from the Macduff Depot for six years. It was a good job!
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| | Veronica Hann from Mermiad Beach. Posted 16 Oct 2006.
You brought back memories of my dad working on the buses in Perth Scotland, his name was Jim Ferguson he was a conducter and his brother Tam was a driver. Anyone out there remember them?
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| | Callum Fraser from Birmingham. Posted 16 Oct 2006.
The message from the Bucksburn clippie stirred some evocative memories about my times during the summer as a relief conductor working from Alexander's Stonehaven depot. I still have quite vivid recollections about my experiences during the 3 years I was lucky enough to be a male clippie during my holidays from Aberdeen University. It was an extremely enjoyable time, when I worked with some amazing people, many of whom had been on the buses all their working lives. Stonehaven depot performed the bulk of the duties on the main Aberdeen to Dundee routes, both along the coast and the inland route via Forfar. It was a great feeling setting off on those trips, with a sense of importance as it was regarded as a prestige duty, and the shift seemed to pass like lightning. The standard of dress was always high and the clippies used to wear white shirts and ties regularly. I remember the camaraderie amongst the crews, with the subtle signals indicating an inspector was lurking a few stops down the road. Stonehaven depot was renowned for the high standard of its bus fleet, and even some of the more vintage vehicles were always in pristine condition. It was a change to have one of those on the local rural routes as they were half cabs, where the driver was on his own, and thet doors were manually operated. A morning commuter run to Aberdeen with a high capacity double decker was always a challenge, as there was a continual battle for change with everyone buying their weekly tickets. It certainly sharpened up the mental processes. I look back on those days with fond memories, with the long summer days brightened by the immaculate yellow buses. Then it seemed to be like an immovable institution, that had lasted for ever - I wonder if we will be saying that about Stagecoach Bluebird in 20 years time?
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| | Isobel Mackay from Newmachar/Edinburgh. Posted 16 Oct 2006.
Hi Margaret, I can't tell you how much I enjoyed reading your story. As a regular traveller on the Bluebird busess, my burning ambition was to be a conductress. how I longed to issue tickets on a Setright machine and fill in a waybill! Although I went on to univ. and became a teacher, I never lost my wish to be a clippie.
Now retired, I would love to acquire a Setright machine. Any ideas? Once or twice I have seen ones advertised on Ebay but they are not how I remember them with a slot at the front for the ticket and the price 'dials' at the side. Thanks again for your memories, Isobel mackay. ( My granny was a Hay from Crimond, Rathen area. )
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