The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
73 is lucky number for ‘good team’ on service
Stagecoach’s 73 route is thought to be the only bus service outside London that still has an on-board conductor. The affection held towards this set-up extends beyond passengers and into the daily lives of those who make the journey between Arbroath and Ninewells so special. Stephen Eighteen meets a unique crew
Dick and Patricia Balbirnie could well be the only married bus driver-conductor couple in the UK.
Conductors, affectionately known as clippies, were a common feature on many local bus services in larger towns and cities in the UK until the late 1970s and early 1980s, before costs were cut and most bus drivers were forced to process fares themselves.
With the recent introduction of contactless payments and move towards pre-purchasing tickets, it is likely there will be no clippie comeback in the future.
However, Stagecoach’s 73 service still has a conductor to deal with payments and passengers who need help.
Deeply embedded in this wellestablished outlier are employees Dick and Patricia, an Arbroath couple who found love on the 73.
Dick, 64, began driving the route 30 years ago and after doing the rounds on other services, returned to the 73.
On each journey he is accompanied by a conductor and sometimes that is Patricia, 59, whom he married in December 1994. They have three daughters, 10 grandchildren and a great-grandson.
Patricia, who grew up in Charleston, Dundee, was working for Stagecoach as a bus driver when she met her future husband.
“She drove a little bus and we used to wave to each other,” recalls Dick. “Then we met at a staff night out.
“I asked her out three times but she said no – or words to that effect. Then we got together and that was it.”
As a married couple it would make sense to have them on the same bus services at all times but they are treated like any other member of staff.
“We just go with whatever the shift is. It doesn’t bother us,” says Patricia, who became a clippie in 1998.
Away from work, there is little talk about their day on the 73. “Unless it is really funny we don’t discuss anything about work,” says Dick.
But there is a definite camaraderie among driver and clippie. “You’ve got each other’s back,” adds Patricia.
Dick, despite limited passenger interaction on the 73 due to not taking their fares, says “it’s more sociable and you get to chat to everybody. It’s good fun. The clippie helps a lot. I love driving and as long as I’m driving I’m happy. There’s nothing else I want to do. I love my job. It has its moments but it’s great.
“(When I retire) I want to go to the pub every day but can’t do that.
“I am thinking about coming back part-time as I would miss the company, the people, the laughs. I wouldn’t miss the long shifts, though.”
As she closes on her landmark 60th birthday this month, Patricia has no plans to look elsewhere to see out her working days.
“I left for three years to work for the Co-op, and I did bar work but came back here as I knew exactly what I wanted. The grass isn’t greener.
“I actually thought about leaving a while back and couldn’t think of anything else.
“Once a week, people get on the bus not realising there were places that still had clippies. They are able to sit down and we take their fare. They are not having to fluster.”
I am thinking about coming back part-time... I’d miss the company