Hedingham Omnibuses

An Enviro 400 bus on the route 88, in traditional colours - since being repainted into the updated livery.

Leyland Olympians and Volvo Olympians in June 2010

A Scania OmniDekka in Colchester.

Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 in June 2009

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
• Wents of Boxford (1997)

In March 2012 the company was sold to the Go-Ahead Group.[3]

Three depots are located in:

• Clacton
• Sible Hedingham
• Kelvedon

Hedingham Omnibuses used to have a depot in Tollesbury however it closed in 2016 due to cuts.

Hedingham Omnibuses' livery was cream with red relief, until the 1970s being blue and cream.[2] The livery varied between single deckers/ coaches and double deck buses, with red being the main colours on double deckers with cream relief. The GoAhead Group have, more recently, introduced a livery consisting of a red base, with a maroon front section - identical to that now used by Chambers.

Many buses are transferred from other Go-Ahead subsidiaries. These typically retain their former liveries, as they are end of life vehicles nearing scrapping, or the peak vehicle requirement requires all vehicles to be available, rather than being repainted. Recent transfers include buses from Konectbus, Carousel Buses and Go-Ahead London.

Hedingham operates in various areas of Essex, extending from Harwich in the north to Tollesbury in the south. The main centre of operations is Clacton-on-Sea, where the company took over the majority of the town's routes following First Essex's withdrawal. Hedingham also operates around Halstead, Braintree and Witham, as well as serving villages and the island of West Mersea on council-supported routes.

Flagship routes for the company includes:

• 88: Halstead-Colchester (operated in a Quality Bus Partnership with First)
• 89: Braintree-Halstead
• 'The Seasiders'
  • X76: Jaywick-Clacton-Colchester
  • 63: West Mersea-Colchester

Hedingham has heavily invested in its fleet, with most flagship routes receiving refurbished buses, including additional features such as free wi-fi and route branding.

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.

• List of bus operators of the United Kingdom

• Official Hedingham Omnibuses website