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DetailsOriginal Format: 16mm Colour: Colour Sound: Sound Duration: 8 mins 13 secs Credits: REPORTER: ROBERT HALL
EDITOR: NIGEL ROWE
Yorkshire Television
Subject: Urban Life Transport Industry
Summary The following is a report on the Optare bus manufacturing company. This is a business formed from the remnants of the Charles H. Roe coachbuilding operation of Leeds and proving successful. The programme was originally broadcast on 8th March, 1988.
Description
The following is a report on the Optare bus manufacturing company. This is a business formed from the remnants of the Charles H. Roe coachbuilding operation of Leeds and proving successful. The programme was originally broadcast on 8th March, 1988.
The film opens with shots of the Metro Bus Station in Leeds. There is a "Micro Rider" minibus which drives past along the street. Stills of old Charles H. Roe buses are followed by shots of rusty shells of old buses and a close up of...
The following is a report on the Optare bus manufacturing company. This is a business formed from the remnants of the Charles H. Roe coachbuilding operation of Leeds and proving successful. The programme was originally broadcast on 8th March, 1988.
The film opens with shots of the Metro Bus Station in Leeds. There is a "Micro Rider" minibus which drives past along the street. Stills of old Charles H. Roe buses are followed by shots of rusty shells of old buses and a close up of the badge.
Optare consortium meeting takes place at a round table in the office, and members of the consortium are interviewed. The "Micro Rider" bus drives along the street and into a housing estate. The driver opens the back doors, swings a lift out, and people in wheelchairs are lowered out of the bus on the lift. There is an external shot of the front of Optare’s factory followed by footage inside of bus bodies in various stages of completion. Workers are fixing parts in place and welding pieces together. The film ends with interviews with some of the employees.
Context This inspiring story of grit and determination details a Yorkshire bus factory’s spectacular resurrection after closure. We begin with a brief history of bus travel in Yorkshire, but swiftly move to a detailed discussion of a contemporary Yorkshire bus factory. Interviewees who work at the factory tell of their surprising change in fortunes which is celebrated by both management and employees.