Busman’s holiday

When the oil runs out, we’ll probably all end up relying on public transport. I remember riding on the trams in Manchester in my youth (back in the early Jurassic era.) It’s good to see trams making a comeback as councils have to rethink their energy strategies.

I wonder what Jane Austen would have made of mass public transport like trains and buses? I think she would have enjoyed the freedom of not having to rely on the male members of her family to ferry her about everywhere. I would hazard a guess, though, that she would have really have enjoyed having her own car so she could go and see her friends whenever she wanted to. I can just picture her driving a battered old Mini along the country lanes around Chawton.

If you’re a vintage bus or classic car fan, do pay a visit to the North West Museum of Road Transport. You can find out more in my latest feature for the Footsteps section in the latest issue of BBC History magazine.

Image of vintage carriage at the museum © Sue and Nigel Wilkes.