We welcome you to the 2025 Taunton Vintage Bus Day.  Like the 2024 event, it was organised by the Thames Valley & Great Western Omnibus Trust and was filmed by the independent transport videos cameras on Sunday 1st June 2025.  A total of ten routes were operated which included a ‘Royal Blue Mystery Tour’. Our filming locations included Castle Green, Castle Way, Tower Street, Fore Street and Corporation Street.  This year the buses operated from stops along The Parade as the former bus station is having construction work, which will transform it to a ‘transport hub’.  Apart from the preserved buses running in service we have also included the contemporary vehicles of First South West which are just introducing fleets of battery-electric Yutong E10 single-deckers and Yutong U11DD double-deckers in the new Firstbus corporate livery of deep purple and light grey as well as the National Express coaches that pass through the town.  This we believe gives an interesting comparison of modern day vehicles with those of the past.
   
As usual a good number of bus companies were represented at this event.  These included the Bristol group of companies, Devon General, Eastern National, King Alfred, Royal Blue, Plymouth Corporation, Wilts & Dorset, Southern and Western National, some local independents and the list goes on!  Probably the highlight of the day was the first day out for the superbly restored 1960 Bristol Lodekka FS6G with ECW H60RD body, 1967 (519 BTA), Western/Southern National’s last new rear entrance double-decker.  This bus has been painstakingly restored by Colin Billington, the organiser of the event.  The bus entered service in May 1960 allocated to Taunton depot, so was definitely at home during the event.  We are indebted to Colin for letting us place a camera in the cab of 1967 on one of its journeys on the day, the 201 route to Monkton Heathfield.  Our cameras also took four further rides during the day for you to enjoy.  The first on former Bristol Tramways (Bath Services) L8089 (OHY 938), a 1952 Bristol KSW on route 218 to Bishops Lydeard Station and return to Taunton. We then took a ride on the Taunton Town Service, 272, operated by open-top Bristol Lodekka LDL6G, 1936 (VDV 753) from the Western National fleet on this interesting circular route that passes the current First South West depot.  Our next ride was on Western National 1967 as described above.  Then in complete contrast we took a ride on 628 (L628 VCV), a Mercedes 709D midi-bus with a Plaxton B23F body from the deregulated Western National fleet to Rumwell Farm Shop.  Here we change to yet another Western National bus, this time it is 1969 (468 FTT), a 1960 Bristol Lodekka FLF6G with an ECW 70-seat body operating the 203 route from Wellington for the final journey back to Taunton town centre.
   
We complete our filming on Corporation Street and Castle Green as the buses begin leaving for home and some views of the new First South West single and double-deckers.  Will these be in the Taunton Vintage Bus Running day in 2075?