Kingsbridge 2015: The Stats

The Trust's 2015 Kingsbridge Running Day set new records, with more visitors, more vehicles and more routes than ever before.

TV&GWOT's own team of statisticians has been counting up everything from passenger numbers to paw prints. We thought you might enjoy their findings.

2015's event saw more passengers enjoying rides on the buses than ever before, with 5,836 single passenger journeys recorded. With a record 39 buses in service, we coped well with the crowds, buses running on average at 61% capacity.

Photo: John Killick

Wildlife turned out in all its various forms too, with canine ridership up 30% on last year, at 63 dog journeys recorded. No wonder this cat was so concerned...

(Waybills suggest we even carried a Lodekka-loving parrot, though we're unsure if it was dead or alive.)

Photo: Barrie Whitehall

Our network of 23 routes gave more choice than ever before, with sea, sand, creeks, leafy lanes, hairpins, hills, narrows and humpback bridges all covered. Here, Bristol SUS 600 overcomes Gara Bridge.

Photo: Richard Pearson

The most popular routes were to Salcombe, Slapton and Hope Cove, while the increased service on the Kingsbridge town circular seems to have been well received, too. This was operated by the two oldest vehicles in service, Peter Stanier's 1929 Leyland Lioness and Colin Billington's 1934 Dennis Mace.

Photo: Kevin Cripps

The most popular vehicle by seat utilisation was Bristol SUL 420 - an original Kingsbridge coach - which ran at 100% capacity on all runs. This was driven in service by our youngest and most recently qualified driver, Luke Farley, its conductor in previous years. Owner David Sheppard was transferred to light duties (a Bristol SUS!) for the day. The vehicle carrying the most passengers was David Hoare's Bristol K6B (pictured top, crossing Bowcombe Creek), which gave 296 journeys, every one resulting in a smiling face - and that was just Driver Peter.

Photo: Janice Taylor

Owners brought their vehicles from far and wide to join in at Kingsbridge. Special mention must be made of Ben Bartram and his team, overseas visitors, who brought their Southern Vectis Bristol LHS from the Isle of Wight. We were also delighted that Trevor and Shirley Leach traveled from Yorkshire with their immaculate Bristol SUL. Both are delightful little buses and highly appropriate for the South Hams terrain.

So, a record breaking day for our visitors, achieved by our Supporters, crews and vehicle owners who worked so hard to make the day so successful. Many stayed on for our Sunday road run to Dartmouth as an opportunity for the Drivers to enjoy a ride themselves. 

This year's run extended to Buckfastleigh for a celebratory trip on the South Devon Railway, complete with pasties and a Devon cream tea. Cream on first...

If you'd like to help us stage events like this for the public to enjoy, you might consider joining our Supporters Group. As a Supporter you will enjoy several exclusive benefits of working closely with the Trust, including our quarterly magazine To and Fro'. Visit www.tvagot.org.uk/supporters.htm for more details, and join us online today.