Parent | Go-Ahead Group |
---|---|
Founded | 2012 |
Service area | North Essex and Suffolk |
Service type | Bus services |
Alliance | Konectbus |
Routes | 70 |
Fleet | 114 Buses |
Operator | Go East Anglia |
Website | hedinghamandchambers.co.uk |
Hedingham & Chambers is a bus operator, part of the larger Go East Anglia unit within the Go-Ahead Group, consisting of the Hedingham and Chambers brands. The group was formed when Go-Ahead purchased the two firms in June 2012. [1] Since the sale, the two brands have been retained with assets, such as depots, shared along with the launch of a unified website in 2021. [2]
Hedingham is a public bus brand operated by Hedingham & Chambers in Essex, [3] itself a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group (forming part of the Go East Anglia). [3]
Parent | Go-Ahead Group (Go East Anglia) |
---|---|
Founded | 1921 |
Service area | North Essex and Suffolk |
Service type | Bus services |
Routes | 56 (October 2020) |
Fleet | 80 (November 2020) |
Operator | Hedingham & Chambers |
Website | hedinghamandchambers.co.uk |
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. [4] [5]
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: [4] [5]
In March 2012 the company was sold to the Go-Ahead Group, [6] forming part of Go East Anglia. [7] Following this, 'Hedingham' became the widely accepted company name and as such is no longer referred to as 'Hedingham Omnibuses'.
Three depots are located in:
Hedingham used to have a depot in Tollesbury however it closed in 2016 due to cuts. [8]
Hedingham Omnibuses' livery was cream with red relief, until the 1970s being blue and cream. [5] 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 Colchester, 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:
Some routes have received buses fitted with free wifi and route branding. [10]
Parent | Go-Ahead Group (Go East Anglia) |
---|---|
Founded | 1877 |
Headquarters | Sudbury |
Service area | Essex Suffolk |
Service type | Bus & coach services |
Routes | 14 (April 2019) |
Fleet | 34 (April 2019) |
Operator | Hedingham & Chambers |
Chambers [11] is a public bus brand operated by Hedingham & Chambers in Sudbury, Suffolk, itself a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group (forming part of the Go East Anglia). [3]
In 1877 H Chambers commenced a horse-drawn bus business in Bures. In 1918 the first bus was purchased to operate a twice weekly service between Sudbury and Colchester. By the late 1930s routes were operated to Halstead and Haverhill. It also diversified into the haulage business, however Chambers exited from this business in the 1960s. [12]
In June 2012 Chambers was sold to the Go-Ahead Group with 27 buses. [1] The depot was not included in the sale with operations moving to fellow Go-Ahead company Hedingham in Sudbury although it still trades under the Chambers name.
As of April 2019, Chambers operate 14 services (under review as of Jan 2020). Both urban and rural areas are served, many of the company's routes running into Sudbury, and serving the bus station near Sudbury railway station.
As at April 2019 the fleet consisted of 30 buses and 2 coaches. [1] Since the Go-Ahead purchase a new red and maroon fleet livery has been introduced.
First Great Eastern was a train operating company in England owned by FirstGroup that operated the Great Eastern franchise from January 1997 until March 2004.
National Express East Anglia (NXEA) was a train operating company in England owned by National Express that operated the Greater Anglia franchise from April 2004 until February 2012. Originally trading as One, it was rebranded National Express East Anglia in February 2008. It provided local, suburban and express services from London Liverpool Street to destinations in Essex, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk in the East of England.
Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company Limited, trading as Metrobus, is a bus operator with routes in parts of Surrey, Kent, Sussex, and Greater London. Formed through a management buyout in 1983, Metrobus was purchased by the Go-Ahead Group in September 1999 and is now under the control of Brighton & Hove, part of the Go-Ahead Group.
The Go-Ahead Group Limited is a multi-national transport group based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. While the majority of its operations are within Great Britain, it also operates services in Ireland, Australia, Singapore, and Norway. Go-Ahead was formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange prior to being purchased by Kinetic Group and Globalvia by 2022.
Halstead is a town and civil parish in the Braintree District of Essex, England. Its population of 11,906 in 2011 was estimated to be 12,161 in 2019. The town lies near Colchester and Sudbury, in the Colne Valley. It is twinned with Haubourdin in the Nord department of France.
Eastern Scottish Omnibuses Ltd. was a bus and coach operator based in Edinburgh, Scotland and a subsidiary of the Scottish Bus Group. Eastern Scottish was formed in June 1985 from the main part of Scottish Omnibuses Ltd., which had itself traded as 'Eastern Scottish' since the 1960s. Following privatisation in 1990 the company traded as 'SMT' reviving the original name of the company. It operated until 1994, when it became part of GRT Bus Group plc.
Arriva Southern Counties Limited, trading as Arriva Southern Counties, is a bus operator in Kent, Essex, Hemel Hempstead, and Watford in England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus.
First Essex is a bus company operating services in the county of Essex. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup.
Go North East operates both local and regional bus services in County Durham, Cumbria, Northumberland, North Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear, England. It was previously known as the Northern General Transport Company and Go-Ahead Northern. The company was the foundation of today's Go-Ahead Group, which now operates bus and rail services across the United Kingdom, as well as Germany, Ireland, Norway and Singapore.
The Sunshine Coast Line is the current marketing name of what originally was the Tendring Hundred Railway Line, a branch off the Great Eastern Main Line in the East of England. It links Colchester to the seaside resorts of Clacton-on-Sea and, via a branch, Walton-on-the-Naze. The line is part of the Network Rail Strategic Route 7, SRS 07.08, and is classified as a London & South East commuter line. Passenger services on the line are currently operated by Greater Anglia.
Hythe railway station in Essex is on the Sunshine Coast Line, a branch of the Great Eastern Main Line in the East of England, serving Hythe and other eastern areas of Colchester. It is 53 miles 49 chains (86.3 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street. Its three-letter station code is HYH.
First Eastern Counties is a bus operator providing services in Norfolk and Suffolk in eastern England. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup and has five depots in operating areas spread out across East Anglia. These areas are Norwich, Ipswich, Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft and King's Lynn.
Eastern National was a bus company operating in south-east England, primarily in Essex, from 1929 to the 1990s.
First Midland Red Buses, trading as First Worcester, is a bus company operating services in Herefordshire and Worcestershire in the English Midlands. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup, and is managed as part of the First West of England business unit.
The Stour Valley Railway is a partially closed railway line that ran between Shelford, near Cambridge, and Marks Tey in Essex, England. The line opened in sections between 1849 and 1865. The route from Shelford to Sudbury closed on 6 March 1967 leaving only the section from Sudbury to Marks Tey, known as the Gainsborough Line, in operation.
Go-Ahead London is a major bus operator in Greater London. The name first appeared in August 2008, before which the company had traded under separate names and brands. It is currently the largest bus operator in Greater London, operating a total of 153 bus routes mainly in South and Central London as well as some services into North and East London with a fleet size of 2270 vehicles under contract to Transport for London. It is also the largest operator of electric buses in London, with a total of 540 electric vehicles.
Go East Anglia is a bus operator in Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk, owned by the Go-Ahead Group. The group consists of Konectbus and Hedingham & Chambers.