æt ðɪs tˈaɪm, ðə flˈiːt wʌz bɪɡˈɪnɪŋ tə ʃˈoʊ ɪts ˈeɪdʒ, wɪððə mˈeɪdʒɚ pˈɑːɹt ʌvðə kˈʌmpəniz vˈiəkəlz stˈɪl bˌiːɪŋ mˌeɪd ˌʌp ʌv lˈeɪlænd ɐtlˈæntiənz, ɔːlðˈoʊ sˌʌm ʌvðɪ ˈoʊldɚ bˈʌsᵻz hɐdbɪn ɹᵻplˈeɪst baɪ twˈɛnti sˈɪks nˈuː ˌɛmsˌiːdˈʌbəljˌuː mˈɛtɹoːɹˌaɪdɚz ɪnðɪ ˈɛnd ʌvðə nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd ˈeɪɾi z.
At this time, the fleet was beginning to show its age, with the major part of the company's vehicles still being made up of Leyland Atlanteans, although some of the older buses had been replaced by 26 new MCW Metroriders in the end of the 1980s.