Hedingham
| |
Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 Dart and Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 in September 2007 | |
Parent | Go-Ahead Group |
---|---|
Founded | 1921 |
Service area | North Essex and Suffolk |
Service type | Bus services |
Routes | 58 |
Fleet | 86 (March 2012) |
Chief executive | Andy Hopkins |
Website | www.hedingham.co.uk |
Hedingham Omnibuses is a bus company in Essex. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group.
History
In 1921 Aubrey Letch shortly after serving in World War I, with his parents' help, trading under his own name commenced operating a coach hire company, gradually expanding to run bus services to Braintree and Sudbury on their market days of Wednesday and Thursday respectively. In March 1935 Letch purchased the competing business of PW Finch of Castle Hedingham. This allowed Letch to take over the Monday to Saturday workers' service to Braintree. In the late 1950s, he further expanded the business with routes to Gestingthorpe, Pebmarsh and Halstead.[1][2]
In early 1960, Letch retired due to ill health and sold the company to Donald MacGregor, which was renamed Hedingham & District Omnibuses. Since then the company has grown by acquiring other companies, including:[1][2]
- Blackwells of Earls Colne (1965)
- C & R Coach of Little Tey (1982)
- Freemans Coaches (1997)
- GW Osborne of Tollesbury (1997)
- Jennings of Ashen (1984)
- Kemps Coaches of Clacton-on-Sea
- CJ Partridge and Sons (Claireaux) of Hadleigh, Suffolk (1994)
- Wents of Boxford (1997)
In March 2012 the company was sold to the Go-Ahead Group.[3]
Depots
Three depots are located in:
Hedingham Omnibuses used to have a depot in Tollesbury however it closed in 2016 due to cuts.
Livery
Hedingham Omnibuses' livery is cream with red relief, until the 1970s being blue and cream.[2] The livery varies between single deckers/ coaches and double deck buses, with red being the main colours on double deckers with cream relief. Recent arrivals from Brighton & Hove retained their former livery with Hedingham fleetnames.
Doctor Who
Two former Hedingham Omnibuses (Bristol VRTs RUA 461W, HJB 455W) masqueraded as London Buses in the 2009 Doctor Who Easter special, Planet of the Dead. The original livery can be seen in the accompanying behind-the-scenes special Doctor Who Confidential: Desert Storm.
See also
References
- 1 2 About Hedingham Hedingham Omnibus 4 December 2004
- 1 2 3 Happy Anniversary Hedingham Omnibus! Focus Transport 1 August 2010
- ↑ Go-Ahead buys Hedingham Omnibuses busandcoach.com 6 March 2012