Stagecoach South East is the trading name of East Kent Road Car Company Limited, a

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

operator based in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

providing services in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

and East Sussex in the south east of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is a subsidiary of Stagecoach Group.

History

Stagecoach have been operating in the

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

area since their takeover of Hastings & District Transport in 1989. Stagecoach have made a vast amount of improvements to the Hastings bus network. All the improvements are in partnership with Hastings Borough Council and East Sussex County Council.

Acquisitions

;East Kent Road Car Company Stagecoach acquired the

East Kent Road Car Company The East Kent Road Car Company Ltd was a bus company formed in 1916 and based in Canterbury, Kent. The company operated bus and coach services in Kent. In 1993 it was one of the first companies to be acquired by the Stagecoach Group, which e ...

in 1993 and operates many routes with different route branding. ;Eastbourne In early November 2008, local press reported that

Eastbourne Buses Eastbourne Buses was a bus operator running within the Borough of Eastbourne and into the surrounding area, including Pevensey, Hailsham, Tunbridge Wells, Uckfield, and East Grinstead, with a fleet of around 50 vehicles. Eastbourne Buses was sol ...

was to be sold by the end of the year to either the

Go-Ahead Group The Go-Ahead Group plc is a passenger transport company based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, with operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Singapore, Norway and Germany. Formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange, in 2022 it was purchased ...

or Stagecoach Group. The employees' trade union,

Unite Unite may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Unite'' (A Friend in London album), 2013 album by Danish band A Friend in London * ''Unite'' (Kool & the Gang album), 1993 * ''Unite'' (The O.C. Supertones album), 2005 Songs ...

, wrote to

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

Borough Council to ask the Council to sell to the Go-Ahead Group, because of work conditions and a superior fleet. On 25 November 2008, it was announced that Stagecoach was the preferred bidder to purchase. A few days later, it was announced in local press that the takeover had cost £4 million. Stagecoach had run services in the town until late in 2000 before they were withdrawn, and at the time of the announcement operated services to

and Bexhill from Eastbourne. The sale caused a lot of controversy, with MPs criticising the secrecy surrounding the sale and blaming each other's parties for the state the Eastbourne Buses got into, the Liberal Democrats claiming the Conservatives "failed to support Eastbourne Buses". There has also been criticism of the low price the company was sold at - revealed at £3.7 million, lower than the original report of 4 - and criticism against Stagecoach, one MP saying that the company has effectively been "given away for nothing". However, it was revealed that Go-Ahead had bid much lower at £2.85 million, so the council had to sell to Stagecoach to serve the taxpayer due to the £1.2 million difference in bids, despite the union's calls. ;Cavendish Motor In January 2009, Cavendish Motor Services were bought by Stagecoach Group. Stagecoach announced redundancies for Cavendish staff. The company was then merged with Eastbourne Buses and rebranded as Stagecoach. On 13 May 2009, the Office of Fair Trading announced that it was referring the purchase of Eastbourne Buses and Cavendish Motor Services by Stagecoach to the

Competition Commission The Competition Commission was a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under competition law in the United Kingdom. It was a competition regulator under t ...

. Although the provisional decision found that the acquisitions had substantially lessened competition, the Competition Commission cleared the purchase in October 2009 after deciding that Cavendish would have chosen either to reduce its services substantially or even to close its operations altogether following Stagecoach's acquisition of Eastbourne Buses. ;Eastonways Eastonways was an independent

and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

operator providing regular bus services in and around

Thanet Thanet may refer to: *Isle of Thanet, a former island, now a peninsula, at the most easterly point of Kent, England *Thanet District, a local government district containing the island *Thanet College, former name of East Kent College *Thanet Canal, ...

in England. The company's services, either fully or partly funded by Kent County Council, regularly operated in

Margate Margate is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay and Westbrook. The town has been a significan ...

, Westgate, Broadstairs, St Peters, Ramsgate and surrounding villages,

Birchington Birchington-on-Sea is a village in the Thanet district in Kent, England, with a population of 9,961. The village forms part of the civil parish of Birchington. It lies on the coast facing the North Sea, east of the Thames Estuary, between th ...

Acol Acol is the bridge bidding system that, according to ''The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge'', is "standard in British tournament play and widely used in other parts of the world". It is a natural system using four-card majors and, most commonly, ...

, Manston, Minster & Monkton. In March 2012, six of their buses were set alight at the company's depot in Ramsgate in an act of arson. In October 2013, the company was placed in liquidation and most routes were taken over by Stagecoach on behalf of Kent County Council. Until July 2017, Stagecoach operated

National Express National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...

coach routes 007, 021, and 022, which were then taken over by

The Kings Ferry The Kings Ferry is a coach operator based in Kent, England. The Kings Ferry was established in 1968 by Peter O'Neill who remained as chairman until November 2007 when the Kings Ferry Travel Group was sold to National Express. Commuter service ...

. East Kent had operated services from Kent to

Victoria Coach Station Victoria Coach Station is the largest coach station in London, located in the central district of Victoria in the City of Westminster. It serves as a terminus for many medium- and long-distance coach services in the United Kingdom, and is al ...

since 1932.

Fleet and Vehicles

Current fleet

As of 2022, the Stagecoach South East fleet consists of 442 buses. The fleet consists of a mixture of Alexander Dennis Enviro400 (both integral and

Scania N230UD The Scania N series is a line of low-floor bus chassis with straight-up, transversely mounted Euro IV or newer engine at the rear, built by Scania AB, Scania since 2006, replacing the Scania N94. It is available as the N UB (N230UB, N270UB, N280 ...

versions), Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC (both integral and Scania N250UD versions),

Scania OmniCity The Scania OmniCity is an integrally constructed transverse-engined low floor city bus that was available from Scania on the European market between 1997 and 2012. The OmniCity was introduced in September 1996 as the first product based on t ...

Dennis Trident 2 The Dennis Trident 2 is a 2-axle low-floor double-decker bus chassis originally manufactured by Dennis, which was unveiled in 1997 and replaced the Dennis Arrow. It was built by TransBus after Dennis was incorporated into the group in 2001, t ...

Alexander ALX400 The Alexander ALX400 (later known as the TransBus ALX400 and the Alexander Dennis ALX400) was a 2-axle double-decker bus body built by Walter Alexander Coachbuilders (later by TransBus International/Alexander Dennis). It was one of the ALX-seri ...

Alexander Dennis Enviro200 The Alexander Dennis Enviro200 (previously known as the TransBus Enviro200) is a midibus that was manufactured by TransBus International and later Alexander Dennis between 2003 and 2018. The original TransBus Enviro200 design was innovative bu ...

Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC The Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC (sold as the Alexander Dennis Enviro200) is a single-decker city bus produced by Alexander Dennis since 2014, as the successor to the Enviro200 midibus and Enviro300 full-size bus. The first Enviro200 MMC ...

, Alexander Dennis Enviro300,

Dennis Dart The Dennis Dart is a rear-engined single-decker midibus chassis that was introduced by Dennis Specialist Vehicles of Guildford, England in 1989, replacing the Dennis Domino. Initially built as a high-floor design, In 1996 the low-floor seco ...

Plaxton Pointer and

Optare Solo The Optare Solo is a low-floor minibus/midibus with one or two doors manufactured by Optare in the United Kingdom since 1998. The Solo name is a play on its low-floor status, the manufacturer marketing its vehicle as having an entrance that is ...

buses.

Vehicle History

On 22 January 2012, 11 new Alexander Dennis Enviro400 bodied

's were introduced on The Wave 99 that runs between Hastings and Eastbourne via Bexhill and Pevensey Bay. On 19 April 2012, 23 new

Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Dart The Alexander Dennis Enviro200 (previously known as the TransBus Enviro200) is a midibus that was manufactured by TransBus International and later Alexander Dennis between 2003 and 2018. The original TransBus Enviro200 design was innovative but ...

's were introduced on the local Hastings Arrow routes. On 31 October 2014, a fleet of 10 new

Alexander Dennis Enviro400 buses were introduced to upgrade route 16 between

and

Hythe Hythe, from Anglo-Saxon ''hȳð'', may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, either as an element in a toponym, such as Rotherhithe in London, or to: Places Australia * Hythe, Tasmania Canada *Hythe, Alberta, a village in Canada England * T ...

Stagecoach Gold Stagecoach Gold is a luxury bus sub-brand used by various Stagecoach bus subsidiaries in the United Kingdom. Stagecoach Gold (originally Goldline) was launched in 2007 and was designed to attract more middle-class passengers to choose bus travel ...

operation. In April and May 2016, a large fleet of new Scania N250UD Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC buses were introduced onto routes 8, 8A and 8X between Canterbury and

Westwood Cross Westwood Cross is a British, open, pedestrianised shopping centre at Westwood, Kent. It opened in 2005, and since 2008 has incorporated a casino, cinema and bingo hall. History Westwood Cross is situated on the former Haine Hospital site, whi ...

and onto the ''Triangle'' service between Canterbury and

Herne Bay Herne Bay is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in South East England. It is north of Canterbury and east of Whitstable. It neighbours the ancient villages of Herne and Reculver and is part of the City of Canterbury local governmen ...

. On 23 July 2016, Stagecoach South East introduced new open-top route 69 in

, operating between Ramsgate and Broadstairs. Two

TransBus Trident The Dennis Trident 2 is a 2-axle low-floor double-decker bus chassis originally manufactured by Dennis, which was unveiled in 1997 and replaced the Dennis Arrow. It was built by TransBus after Dennis was incorporated into the group in 2001, t ...

buses were converted to open to open-top to operate the service. On 5 December 2016, a fleet of 25 new Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC buses were introduced onto "Wave" routes 100, 101 and 102 between

, Rye and Dover. A further fleet of 12 new Scania N250UD Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC buses entered service on "Wave" route 99 between

and Hastings in January 2018. In June 2019, a new fleet of 24

buses were introduced onto the Thanet Loop service which operates in a circular route on the

Isle of Thanet The Isle of Thanet () is a peninsula forming the easternmost part of Kent, England. While in the past it was separated from the mainland by the Wantsum Channel, it is no longer an island. Archaeological remains testify to its settlement in an ...

Routes

Local and Interurban Services

Stagecoach South East operate a mixture of local and interurban services across

and East Sussex. Bus services are centred in the towns of

, Ashford, Ramsgate, Folkestone,

and

. The company also operates a number of high profile branded interurban services.

The Wave

"The Wave" is the brand given to services along the south east coast. The network is currently formed of four routes, which form a coastal corridor between Eastbourne and Dover: * Route 99 runs between

and

via Bexhill-on-Sea * Routes 100/101 runs between Hastings and Rye via either

Icklesham Icklesham is a village and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. The village is located about six miles (10 km) east of Hastings, on the main A259 Hastings to Rye road. The surrounding countryside is a made up of f ...

or Fairlight * Route 102 runs between Rye and Dover via

Camber Camber may refer to a variety of curvatures and angles: * Camber angle, the angle made by the wheels of a vehicle * Camber beam, an upward curvature of a joist to compensate for load deflection due in buildings * Camber thrust in bike technology * ...

Lydd Lydd is a town and electoral ward in Kent, England, lying on Romney Marsh. It is one of the larger settlements on the marsh, and the most southerly town in Kent. Lydd reached the height of its prosperity during the 13th century, when it was a c ...

Littlestone-on-Sea Littlestone-on-Sea is a small coastal village close to New Romney in Kent, England. It was established in the 1880s by Sir Robert Perks as a resort for the gentry, at the point of the local lifeboat station. At low tide, a World War II Mulberr ...

, New Romney,

and Folkestone Services are generally operated using "Wave" branded Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC buses, although a number of these are currently being repainted into the new Stagecoach local livery.

Stagecoach Gold 16

Route 16 which operates between

and

via Denton,

Hawkinge Hawkinge ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Folkestone and Hythe district of Kent, England. The original village of Hawkinge is actually just less than a mile (c. 1.3 km) due east of the present village centre; the village of Hawkinge ...

and Folkestone is part of the premium

brand. Services are operated using

Alexander Dennis Enviro400 with free WiFi and leather seats. A number of these buses are currently being repainted into the new Stagecoach local livery.

The Breeze

GN09BCE seen in Margate Kent (8522413198)

Routes 8, 8A and 8X which operate between

and

via

Birchington-on-Sea Birchington-on-Sea is a village in the Thanet district in Kent, England, with a population of 9,961. The village forms part of the civil parish of Birchington. It lies on the coast facing the North Sea, east of the Thames Estuary, between th ...

and

are branded as "The Breeze". Services are operated using "Breeze" branded Scania N250UD Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC buses although a number of these are currently being repainted into the new Stagecoach local livery.

Canterbury Park & Ride

Stagecoach South East also operate the Canterbury Park & Ride service on behalf of Canterbury City Council. Buses operate frequently from Canterbury City Centre to two park & ride sites, one at Wincheap and one at New Dover Road. Services from a third park & ride site at Sturry Road are currently suspended.

UniBus

Stagecoach South East operate the UniBus service, in partnership with The

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

. The network is formed of two routes, the Uni1 and Uni2 which connect Canterbury City Centre with the university campuses.

Depots

Stagecoach South East currently operate services from seven bus depots (and one outstation) across

and East Sussex: *

* Ashford * Westwood * Folkestone * Dover *

Old Romney Old Romney is a village and civil parish in the Folkestone and Hythe district of Kent, England. The village, as its name suggests, is the original site of the settlement, and is situated two miles (3.2 km) inland from New Romney. It lies o ...

(Outstation)

References

External links

Stagecoach South East Website
{{Bus companies in South East England Stagecoach Group bus operators in England Companies based in Kent Eastbourne Bus operators in East Sussex Bus operators in Kent