From 1914 until 1969, when it was absorbed into WMPTE, Birmingham City
Transport had various periods when they hired buses for evaluation.
These demonstrators were tried out for a variety of reasons such as
tramway feeder route development, expansion of the bus fleet to meet
increasing passenger numbers, abandonment of tramcar services and
expansion into the newly built municipal housing estates in the interwar
and post-war periods. It tried out a wide variety of vehicles provided
by both chassis and body manufacturers. This was to compare different
manufacturers products, with a view to purchasing a substantial number
of buses. BCT was the largest municipal operator in the UK, so this was
a potentially lucrative opportunity for manufacturers. There were years
when Birmingham had a large number of buses on hire in order to assess
their performance, fuel economy and durability. 1923/4, 1929-1934, 1937,
1946/7,1955-1958 and 1960-1967 were the peak years for vehicle trials,
of which very few were successful due to BCT's exacting requirements as
well as their wish, where possible, to support local industry. A
fascinating selection of buses were tested over the years.
