West Bromwich Buses Author:David Harvey The municipal bus services consisted of an intensive network of bus routes within the town. Because of the geographical location of the town, many of the services were outside the then municipal boundaries to other Black Country towns such as Smethwick, Cape Hill, Bearwood, Oldbury, Handsworth, Hamstead, Great Barr and Sutton Coldfield. Addition... more »ally there were joint services with Birmingham City Transport to Dudley and Wednesbury, both by way of Carter?s Green, as well as routes operated with Walsall and West Bromwich Corporations and BMMO, (Midland Red). The bus fleet, in an always immaculate lined-out livery of two shades of blue and deep cream, was largely single-deck until 1936. The buses purchased were initially built by Tilling-Stevens and later by Dennis.
The impending conversion of the two tram routes operated by Birmingham to Dudley and Wednesbury and replacement joint bus operation with its larger neighbor necessitated the purchase of double-deckers. These were exclusively half-cab, front engined vehicles built by Daimlers and it was only in 1966 that belatedly they purchased rear engined buses. The Corporation was taken over by West Midlands PTE on 1 October 1969, leaving the very last West Bromwich bus to survive until 1983.« less