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Stephensons of Essex is a privately owned bus company based in Rochford,
Stephensons was founded in Rochford in 1975, and has since expanded by gaining contracts for tendered bus routes and school routes.About Us
Stephensons of Essex In 2001 after Arriva Southend decided to withdraw their route 721 service, Stephensons commenced operating routes X1 and X10 from Rochford to
''Route One'' 7 April 2016 In October 2018 it was announced Stephensons had purchased local bus operator NIBS Buses (Nelsons Independent Bus Services), based in
Company websiteFlickr gallery
{{Bus companies in East England, state=collapsed Bus operators in Essex Coach operators in England Companies based in Essex Transport in the City of Chelmsford Transport in Essex Transport in Southend-on-Sea Transport in Thurrock 1975 establishments in England
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
. It operates local bus services throughout Essex and West Suffolk, from headquarters at Rochford, near Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...
, and depots at Maldon, Boreham, Braintree and Haverhill.
It also runs a bus and coach dealership and sales service.
History
Stephensons was founded in Rochford in 1975, and has since expanded by gaining contracts for tendered bus routes and school routes.About UsStephensons of Essex In 2001 after Arriva Southend decided to withdraw their route 721 service, Stephensons commenced operating routes X1 and X10 from Rochford to
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
under the London Link Express brand. X1 was the original number of the service when it was first launched in 1980. Stephensons withdrew the service on 11 July 2008. Swallow Coach Company revived the service on 14 August 2008 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. In 2012 this was extended for a further four years.
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.Galloway bought by Eastern Transport Holdings''Route One'' 7 April 2016 In October 2018 it was announced Stephensons had purchased local bus operator NIBS Buses (Nelsons Independent Bus Services), based in
Wickford
Wickford is a town and civil parish in the south of the English county of Essex, with a population of 33,486. Located approximately 30 miles (50 km) east of London, it is within the Borough of Basildon along with the original town of Basil ...
, Essex and would run as a separate entity.
In September 2022, Stephensons has registered a partial replacement for one of the 18 services that Stagecoach East
Stagecoach East is the divisional name for the bus operations of the Stagecoach Group in eastern England.
History
Under the control of the National Bus Company, ''Cambus Ltd.'' was set up when the Eastern Counties Omnibus Company was split in ...
is to withdraw from late October, taking over the route 12 between Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
and Newmarket.
Services
Stephensons operate 93 services inEssex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
and 17 in Suffolk.
Fleet
As at December 2020, the fleet consisted of 107 buses and coaches. Current Fleet: * Plaxton Paragon * Mercedes Sprinter *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 ...
* Dennis Dart SLF
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 se ...
/Plaxton Pointer 2
The Plaxton Pointer (originally known as the Reeve Burgess Pointer, and later as the TransBus Pointer and Alexander Dennis Pointer) was a single-decker bus body manufactured during the 1990s by Reeve Burgess, Plaxton and latterly built by Al ...
* Alexander Dennis Enviro 200
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 ...
* 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 ...
/ Optare Olympus
* Scania N230UD/ East Lancs Olympus
* Scania N230UD/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 ...
* Scania N230UD/ Alexander Dennis Enviro 400
* Scania N94UD
The Scania 4-series low floor city bus and coach range was introduced by Scania in 1997 as a successor to the 3-series bus range.
The 4-series bus range was first presented in September 1996, when the integral low-floor city bus OmniCity was ...
/ East Lancs OmniDekka
Depots
Stephensons operate bus services from five depots in Rochford,Boreham
Boreham is a village and civil parish, in Essex, England. The parish is in the City of Chelmsford and Chelmsford Parliament constituency. The village is approximately northeast from the county town of Chelmsford.
History
Boreham is listed i ...
, Haverhill, Maldon and Braintree. Stephensons also has an outstation in Great Bromley.
Rochford
Rochford depot is situated on South Street and was the first depot opened by Stephensons in 1975. It remains as an operational depot and is the Headquarters of the company. Rochford depot operates routes 1, 6A, 7, 12, 14, 17, 24, 60/A and 61. It also operates school services 515, 806-813 (for King Edmund School), 815, 816 and 817. Routes 1 and 12 are jointly operated with NIBS Buses.Boreham
Boreham depot is situated on the Waltham Road Industrial Estate and is Stephensons newest facility, which opened in 2014. It also houses a new, "state of the art" maintenance and engineering capability for the company. Boreham depot operates services in mid Essex. These include routes 16, 30, Three Rivers route 38/A, 39, and Brentwood Town services 71/C and 72. It also operates school routes 602, 605/A (forGreat Baddow High School
Great Baddow High School is a comprehensive secondary school in Chelmsford, Essex, England. It is a sports college with academy status and with science as a second specialism. It draws its students from primary schools in the Chelmsford area.
...
) and 621.
Haverhill
Haverhill depot is situated on Duddery Hill and operates all of their services in Suffolk and West Essex. Haverhill depot operates routes "Breeze 1 & 2", 5, 6, 14, 15, 16, 34, 59, 60, 301, 313/A, 384 and 385. It also operates school services 25, 310, 311/A, 351, 438, 441, 444, 446, 453, 966 and 985.Maldon
Maldon depot is situated on Bates Road and operates services in mid-Essex. Maldon depot operates routes 12, Blackwater Link 90 and Maldon Town Service 288. It also operates school routes 101, 503, 504, 505, 506, 510, 513, 637, 673 and D7.Braintree
Braintree depot is situated on Springwood Road and was taken over fromFirst Essex
First Essex is a bus company operating services in the county of Essex. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup.
History
First Essex arose from an amalgamation of Eastern National and Thamesway Buses. First Essex was originally part of the Eas ...
in 2013.
Braintree depot operates routes 9/A, 21, 30 and Three Rivers 38/A which is operated in conjunction with Boreham. It also operates school services 414, 417, 419, 451 and 676.
Great Bromley (Outstation)
Great Bromley Outstation primarily operates North Essex services. Maintenance takes place at Boreham. Great Bromley operates routes 9, 105, 107. It also operates school services 101, 115, 702 and 716.References
External links
*Company website
{{Bus companies in East England, state=collapsed Bus operators in Essex Coach operators in England Companies based in Essex Transport in the City of Chelmsford Transport in Essex Transport in Southend-on-Sea Transport in Thurrock 1975 establishments in England