Royal Mail Post Bus M23 LYV at Buntingford - Mar 1999

A weekday in March 1999 (approx. 1100) – Post Office Corporation (Royal Mail Post Bus) 7 seat Leyland DAF mini-bus M23 LYV seen in the Post Office yard in Buntingford. The mail bus services of the Corporation carried passengers in rural areas where traditional bus services were lacking and they were not intended to compete, their primary objective was the carriage of mail – passengers were somewhat secondary. The Buntingford area Post Bus was based at Ware and its morning routine included a circular service departing Ware at 1030 travelling via a number of villages on a direct route to Buntingford (1100-1105) and then returning to Ware via a less direct route serving various villages including Aspenden, Westmill and a village with an odd name of Nasty. Arrival time at Ware was 1200. The afternoon run departed Ware at 1415 via Nasty, Westmill and Aspenden arriving in Buntingford at 1505. At 1525 it then went on a circular route serving Throcking, Cottered, Rushden, Redhill, Roe Green, Sandon, Buckland and Chipping arriving back at Buntingford at 1609. At 1615 it departed Buntingford on another circular service via Wyddial, Hare Street village, Dassels, Hay Street village, Westmill and Aspenden arriving back at Buntingford at 1652. That was the end of its advertised work for the day and at about 1730 it left Buntingford for Ware as an unadvertised mail van.