Hackney Playbus bids sad farewell to ‘Bugsie’ after eight years on the road

Happier times: ‘Bugsie’ in Springfield Park. Photograph: Hackney Playbus

Bugsie the bus has broken down after her gearbox gave in as she approached a roundabout.

It sounds like the start of a Thomas the Tank Engine story or other transport-related kids’ serial but in fact it is the cause of a £25,000 fundraising push by a Hackney charity dedicated to bringing free play opportunities to children living on estates.

In a press release sent out under the message “Bugsie RIP” charity Hackney Playbus broke the sad news late last month that Bugsie had suffered a fatal malfunction while approaching a roundabout near the Winston Churchill statue in Woodford on 26 August, meaning her wheels can no longer go round and round all day long. She was aged just 32.

Ian Hastings who has been with the charity since 1999 said: “I noticed there was an oil leak from the gear box, but to be honest Bugsie is an old bus and running repairs are a significant part of the job.”

This time it was different, however. There was a “terrible crunch” and Bugsie’s entire gear box disintegrated, and with a “mighty clunk” the main axle jammed solid.

A 1984 Leyland Olympian bus, Bugsie been with the charity since around 2009, having been purchased on eBay and driven down to London from the North, where she had formerly served for many years as a schoolbus.

After stripping out her seats, the charity, which mostly serves the under-fives, painted Bugsie in bright colours and filled her lower deck with paint and playdough, while her upper deck was converted into an ad hoc children’s library.

During her years in operation, she could often be found parked on estates, where children would be invited inside and would be able to play on nearby lawns with the toys she carried with her.

Hackney Playbus has been on the road come rain or shine since 1972, when the organisation was set up by Hackney Labour councillor Anthony Kendall, who felt that children growing up on council estates often lacked enough opportunities to play.

It was initially run by the Town Hall but later became an independent charity.

Hackney Playbus director Claire Kelly said the charity has been through six buses since it began operating and has now found the “bus of its dreams” – a 1994 double decker from Bristol that has been converted to meet the requirements of the London Low Emission Zone.

All the charity needs now is £25,000 to pay for the vehicle: £10 for every family who used its services last year.

Kelly told the Hackney Citizen: “We’ve always bought fairly old buses because we are a small charity and we are operating on a shoestring.”

She added: “My colleagues just say they just brim with love and affection for Bugsie and all the joy she’s brought kids.”

As a stopgap, the charity has wheeled out Katy-Lou, a backup bus, from its Wick depot, but she is too small to carry all the children’s toys.

During the bank holiday, mum Georgina Dyer was among the parents who brought their children to play on the bus.

She said. “It’s a fantastic service for the kids and the parents. I would recommend it to anyone, I only wish I had found out about it earlier.”

To donate to Hackney Playbus’s ‘Buy a Bus’ appeal visit TotalGiving.co.uk and type in ‘Hackney Playbus.’