On the buses in New Zealand : from charabancs to the coaches of today / John McCrystal.

Includes index.

They have served us faithfully for the better part of a century - the men and women behind the passenger transport industry and the big machines they have put at our disposal, for hire or reward. Through words and pictures, On the Buses tells the whole story - from the rise of the mass motor transport and the days of 'pirate' buses and cut-throat competition that ensued, the privations of Depression and war into the golden years of the 1950s, through the hard times of the later 20th century to the first glimmers of the new era, where the day of the private car is all but done.Climb aboard and read about the history of the bus and coach industries in New Zealand, from the early days of rickety charabancs and seat-of-the-pants car service operations, to the sleek buses prowling the streets and the slick, comfortable coaches cruising the highways of present-day Godzone. Read about the hardy drivers and hard-working mechanics, the passengers and hostesses - and the dedicated industrial associations that kept the wheels moving throughout. Climb aboard - and kindly move down the back.