The country bus has a long and colourful history, stretching from before the railway age until today, when it increasingly struggles for survival. Once it was welcomed as the latest piece of technology upon which villages and villagers depended. Here we are reminded of how the country roads themselves have changed, and take a look at the fascinating mechanical development of the bus, its maintenance, staffing, ticketing and general management. Professor John Hibbs draws upon anecdotal examples in his long experience in the bus business to tell a deeply sympathetic story of the ways of the countryside and its seasonal rituals. The book evokes the true flavour of the village bus, with the smells and sounds of the buses that have wound their way through the country lanes since 1898.