How people used to ride convertible buses in the Soviet Union (PHOTOS)
They were hugely popular with the public, though passenger safety left something to be desired…
The cold climate made it impossible to use open-top buses in most parts of the Soviet Union, but they were perfectly suited for the country's southern resorts.
A ride in one along the roads of Crimea or the winding mountain passes of the Caucasus was considered a sign of an elite holiday.
Staying at a resort without taking a photo in a convertible bus would have been an unthinkable oversight!
In the 1920s, open-top buses were made exclusively using vehicles from foreign manufacturers like ‘Renault’, ‘Fiat’ and ‘Lancia’. ‘Ford’ models were particularly popular.
By the end of the 1920s, the USSR had established its own bus production and convertible models began to be manufactured using these domestic vehicles.
The model with the largest capacity was produced by the ‘Yaroslavl Automobile Plant’; built on the ‘Ya-6’ bus chassis, it could carry up to 32 passengers.
A canvas canopy usually provided protection from the elements. Where there was no canopy, passengers were fully exposed to the whims of the weather.
When passenger safety regulations were tightened in the 1970s, the era of convertible buses in the USSR came to an end.
