Urban minibuses.
 

As a result of reading about them, I have been reminded of the 'rash' of minibuses that appeared in city centres (in the late 1980s?).
It seemed that these were seen as the answer to the problem of how to get more passengers onto public transport.
I can recall them buzzing around Bristol like wasps - often being driven by kamikaze pilots in an effort to reach the next stop before their competitors.

It seems that all that has been forgotten and the answer is ever larger vehicles (bendibuses) - or are they also yesterday's news now?

I expect one reason was that minibuses were converted vans and light trucks and didn't take kindly to stage service so the running costs (including breakages and repairs) probably outweighed the 'advantages' (if any). Or did the minibuses become so popular that they needed larger vehicles to carry the passengers? I certainly remember travelling on very crowded minibuses (despite the frequency).

Are we talking bus wars, which was a phrase coined to describe intense competition between rival bus companies following bus deregulation in 1986.
In many cases there was some dangerous practices, speeding, cutting-up rival operators, and jumping red traffic signals were common. The service also suffered as bus passengers were often ignored at stops with low passenger numbers in order to ensure you would reach the more lucrative stops first.

We had a rash of LDV's around here with bus bodies instead of minibus bodies. They've died out now, replaced either by Optares or coach type buses.

Of yes, loads of them.
There were the Carlyle conversions (Work carried out at the former midland red works I think), Transits, Sherpas and some Talbot's......