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Stephensons of Essex

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Stephensons of Essex
Plaxton Premiere bodied Volvo B10M
in April 2008
ParentBill Hiron
Founded1975
HeadquartersRochford
Service areaEssex
Suffolk
Service typeBus & coach services
Routes110 (April 2021)
Depots4
Fleet110 (December 2019)
Annual ridership1.8 million (2012)
Chief executiveBill Hiron
WebsiteStephensons Website

Stephensons of Essex[1] is a privately owned bus company based in Rochford, Essex. It operates local bus services throughout Essex and West Suffolk, from headquarters at Rochford, near Southend-on-Sea, and depots at Maldon, Boreham, Braintree and Haverhill.

It also runs a bus and coach dealership and sales service.

History

East Lancs EL2000 bodied Dennis Dart in Newmarket in May 2012
Alexander RH bodied Volvo Olympian in July 2010

Stephensons was founded in Rochford in 1975, and has since expanded by gaining contracts for tendered bus routes and school routes.[2]

In 2001 after Arriva Southend decided to withdraw their route 721 service, Stephensons commenced operating routes X1 and X10 from Rochford to London under the London Link Express brand. X1 was the original number of the service when it was first launched in 1980.[3] Stephensons withdrew the service on 11 July 2008.[4] Swallow Coach Company revived the service on 14 August 2008[5][6] but it again ceased on 29 May 2009.

In 2005 Stephensons won a contract to operate the Dengie Connections services from Arriva Southend, which it operated for five years from April 2007.[7] In 2012 this was extended for a further four years.[8]

In 2008 it won the contract to run Withamlink services 38 and 39.

In November 2016, Stephensons of Essex owner Bill Hiron purchased Galloway European. The two businesses operate independently.[9][10][11] In October 2018 it was announced Stephensons had purchased local bus operator NIBS Buses (Nelsons Independent Bus Services), based in Wickford, Essex and would run as a separate entity.[12]

Services

Stephensons operate 93 services in Essex and 17 in Suffolk.[13]

Fleet

As at December 2020, the fleet consisted of 107 buses and coaches.[14]

Current Fleet:



Depots

Stephensons operate four depots in Haverhill, Maldon, Rochford and their new facility in Boreham.[2]

References

  1. ^ Companies House extract company no 1815977 Stephensons of Essex Limited
  2. ^ a b About Us Stephensons of Essex
  3. ^ Southend Transport - The X1 Story SCT61 2 January 2004
  4. ^ Withdrawal of Commuter Services X1 & X10 Stephensons of Essex 12 May 2008
  5. ^ Commuter bus service revived Essex Echo 8 August 2008
  6. ^ Coach route returns by popular demand Essex Echo 11 August 2008
  7. ^ "Essex County Council Highways and Transportation – Executive Decision – Dengie Peninsula Passenger Transport Network" (PDF). 2007. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
  8. ^ Buses to continue to serve the Dengie despite threat to services Maldon Chronicle 25 June 2012
  9. ^ Stephensons owners take on Galloway Bus & Coach Buyer 6 April 2016
  10. ^ Galloway bought by Eastern Transport Holdings Route One 7 April 2016
  11. ^ Galloways sold to Stephensons of Essex Ipswich Star 19 April 2016
  12. ^ "Stephensons of Essex acquires NIBS Buses - Buses p.9 October 2018". Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  13. ^ Local Buses Stephensons of Essex
  14. ^ "Stephensons of Essex Fleet List 2020" (PDF).
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