Taken for a ride

A review of "On the Buses" by Penny Fair.

Solidarity is a defunct group of libertarian socialists in Britain, known for their intriguing pamphlets, often illustrated in the style of comics. This one is no exception. Solidarity's informal mascot, the hedgehog, is prominently featured on the front cover, with a whole hedgehog family riding a cloud-like fantasy bus, while three grumpy London commuters wait for the real double-decker in pouring rain! I almost suspect that Solidarity's “mushy” way of illustrating their political pamphlets was some kind of protest against the bombastic sloganeering of the Leninist groups…

The pamphlet itself (dated 1976) is written by Penny Fair, which I assume is a pseudonym, since the author worked as a conductress on the London buses. Fair reports rather straightforwardly on the working conditions of London bus drivers and conductors, their shift system, the conflicts between conductors and passengers, the training courses for new recruits, etc. I admit that it's an interesting read! Of course, “On the buses” have a political agenda. It reprints leaflets from a strike at the Willesden Garage against a new timetable and fare increases. Penny Fair is critical of the labour union (the TGWU). She discusses ways of uniting bus crews and passengers, for instance by organizing “fare strikes” (the bus crews keep working but refuse to collect the fares), and other innovative ways of protest: “In Turin (Italy) the bus company put fares up, the passengers refused to pay them, the *union* printed bus passes and issued them at the old fares, and the bus company was forced to climb down”.

Who knows, maybe this forgotten publication from 1976 is still relevant to the problems of ordinary people today? After all, it still feels like we're being taken for a ride, and not just on the buses…