Southend’s open-top bus bonanza

Tuesday 28th May 2024

It’s good to see the First Bus takeover of Ensignbus last year hasn’t stopped the Purfleet based company being its usual entrepreneurial best over the Bank Holiday weekend, when it once again added a fleet of heritage open-top buses to its now traditional seafront service from Southend-on-Sea’s world famous Pier.

And a bonus for this summer’s seasonal offering is a new route 99 running east from Southend Pier along the seafront through Southchurch, Thorpe Bay and Shoeburyness to terminate at the town’s East Beach.

Both route 99 and regular route 68 (Southend Pier via Westcliff and Chalkwell to Leigh-on-Sea) run hourly at weekends until 15th September…

… stepping up to a daily operation this half term week and during the school summer holidays, when the timetable increases to half hourly as well as “on busy days during the season” such as the Saturday just gone.

Ticket prices include returns (£5) and day tickets (£6.50) for each route as well as a combined day ticket for £9.50 with concessions and children at £3, £5 or £6.50. A special day ticket costing £11 gave access to rides on the vintage vehicles which were out on Saturday. There’s also a combined ticket including routes operated by First Essex for £14.

A regular vehicle on route 68 is the relatively new Enviro500 in Ensign red and grey livery…

… and it’s not uncommon to see RM 371 on the service either.

The number 68 harks right back to the days of Eastern National running a regular seasonal seafront service which as well as negotiating Southend Pier’s famous low bridge…

… did the same on the route towards Chalkwell where it passes under the railway line to Fenchurch Street.

The use of the number 99 for the new route to Shoeburyness this year looks like a joint promotion with seafront ice cream trader Rossi with ex First Eastern Counties Volvo B9TL Wright Eclipse Gemini bodied buses converted for open top operation and a livery painted in various ice cream flavoured colours.

Out on the road on Saturday were “Mint Choc Cabriolet” (above) and “Strawberry Streamliner” (below).

I understand two more bus/ice cream falvours are in preparation for the summer holiday period including “Butterscotch Breezer” and “Bubblegum Beachcomber” making for quite a variety for those that like a complete set of such things.

As you’d expect from Ensignbus there were printed promotional leaflets with details of times and fares being handed out to passers-by at the Pier and available on board buses…

… as well as bus stops with timetables and publicity…

… and plenty of A-boards placed along the route…

… and at the Pier terminus bus stops.

Staff at Ensignbus certainly know how to run a good service, and importantly, how to promote it too.

Bus stop flags on the traditional route 68 also have stickers confirming the route stops there…

… and I’m sure it won’t be long before similar additions are made to the stops along the newly served seafront in Thorpe Bay and Shoeburyness on route 99, which makes for a fabulous ride with some glorious views.

Although the Grade II listed Kursaal, which is celebrating its 130th birthday this year, looks decidedly past its best these days.

Heritage buses out on the road to celebrate the Bank Holiday weekend on Saturday were attracting a lot of attention from enthusiasts as well as folk enjoying a day by the seaside.

They included a 1965 Leyland PD3/Northern Counties ‘Queen Mary’ which began life with Southdown…

… a 1973 Bristol VRT/ECW body which began working with Maidstone & District

…and a 1976 Daimler Fleetline which began its career with Thamesdown.

If you like seafront open-top bus rides, Southend-on-Sea is well worth a visit this summer and watch out for announcements on Enginbus’s social media advising when the next heritage bus day will be.

Roger French

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14 thoughts on “Southend’s open-top bus bonanza”

  1. Good to see that Rossi are still going. Fondly remember their ice cream parlour in Ilford in the 70s

    Andy V

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    1. That was exactly my thought!

      Their ice cream vans were ubiquitous when I was growing up in Rayleigh. Seems that whoever is designing the EnsignBus publicity is quite in tune with the local culture, LOL.

      Stephen

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  2. Clacton Breeze Open Top (Service 1) is restarting for the Summer season. Runs Between Jaywick and Holland on Sea along the seafront but does a detour to serve the Railway station

    It is weekends only June until Scholl holidays and then daily

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  3. And to think I was once thrown off a school bus many years ago for eating an ice-cream!

    But that was the late Geoffrey Hilditch’s Halifax Corporation!

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  4. Rossi Icecream is now owned by Jimmy Sinclair who is the new owner of Marsh Farm at South Woodham Ferrers. Marsh Farm is becoming a very popular entertainment centre. Jimmy Sinclair has also bought the Party Company which was started by Kate Middleton’s Parents. With the Fantastic Team at Ensignbus and Jimmy Sinclair combined this could be the start of something interesting happening. Well done to Firstbus to let Ensignbus carry on the good work it has always done since taking them over.

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  5. Very nostalgic!

    My recollection is that by the late 70s, Eastern National rarely ran the two seaside routes – 67 and 68. It was usually Southend Transport. The routes stayed conductor operated for quite a while too, owing to the Peir Bridge rules.

    Southend Transport clearly were very proud of their open top Fleetlines. Back in the mid 80s they often used to appear in January or February on Service 1. Especially on the 0813 two bus working ex Rayleigh Station that was popular with those of us going to SEEVIC!

    Thanks, Stephen

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  7. I used to travel regularly on the 68 during my school summer holidays from Highlands Boulevard in Leigh down to the Pier. This was during the 1950s and early 60s. I think the buses were Eastern National PD something or others, I’m sure some of your more enthusiastic followers will be able to give a more accurate description!!

    Happy memories, I grew up in Leigh and left when in my early twenties.

    Stephen Thomas

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  8. For many years Ipswich Buses had an open topper which, when not required on tours and seaside services during the summer, was used on ordinary routes. Sadly it got old and also fell foul of disability access for service runs, so it was withdrawn in 2019 and sold for preservation.

    Andrew Kleissner.

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  9. Glad to see people using the services . The Great Yarmouth open top service always seems to be empty and the dotto trains are moving the crowds .

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  12. Victorian banquet hall and earliest amusement park among ‘endangered’ buildings

    A nineteenth-century banqueting hall for industrial labourers and the world’s first purpose-built amusement park have been ranked among the most “endangered” Victorian buildings by a charity dedicated to their preservation.

    It includes the Kursaal in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, which is believed to be the world’s first purpose-built amusement park with a circus, ballroom, arcade, dining hall, billiard room, zoo and ice rink.

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  13. Great Yarmouth is a touch too far from London for the day out by the masses. Southend-on-sea is a quick dash down the A127/A13 from East London for a day or evening out or a quick trip on the train C2C or from Liverpool Street, so has a much greater “catchment area” than many other seaside towns with the still vast population of East London through to West Essex / Chelmsford.

    Minor niggle on the A Boards – obstructing highways (including footpaths) without lawful authority is illegal and they seem placed to block some fairly narrow pathways in places not being good for disabled in buggies and similar as well as the visually impaired

    Back to OpenTop Buses. I might have photos of the Eastern National ones, but my memories of the Leyland PD2 (?) vehicles of Southend Corporation (inc loans to LT for the Croydon area shortages in the 1970s – ironic seeing a routemaster in Southend), being the most interesting and I think were still running in open top form on a “Southend Sightseeing” service that seemed to be a loop covering up to Southchurch and other seafront areas then around some of the town up the hill from memory. Southend’s bus tickets on OMO buses were a carbon impression of the coins you paid with , which was interesting- and long – , and the bus station seemed to have the “open” metalwork bus shelters- just had limited roofs, and stop poles that predated the EU Bus logo standard some of which were not quite upright. Southend’s works / garage again interesting as the adverts between decks were totally signpainted rather than paper glued on – there were not many operators that did that.

    I wonder if there is scope to reintroduce the X1 bus / coach service to/from Southend in some format to somewhere in East London ( a loop via Canary Wharf to Stratford with running via the Barking Road (or bypass) and the Romford Road ) feels like it could pull some passengers to the highlights of Lakeside/Canvey and Southend, but perhaps the too frequent trains and congested roads mean it is a general thing of the past

    JBC Prestatyn

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