Twenty Years of Ipswich Buses
On the 26th October 1986 Ipswich Buses Ltd was formed after the previous eighty-three years as a trading department of the local council.
The company has changed dramatically in the last twenty years in response to changes in the legislation affecting how local bus services operate, opening up all services to full deregulation and competition.
The local bus industry has also changed beyond all recognition in the country .Prior to 1986 most bus services were operated by the nationalised National Bus Company and also over sixty local authority owned bus companies.
Now there are only fourteen councils left who own their own bus services.Five large plcs operate over 80 % of UK bus services.
Formed in 1903 the company’s offices and depot have always been located in old town marshes in Constantine Road adjacent to the football ground although the Company is present planning a move to a brand new depot facility on Hadleigh Road.
In the last twenty years the company has gone from strength to strength responding to the challenges of fully competitive bus services and now carries over 6.8 million passengers a year, operating 3.7 million kilometres with a fleet of 96 vehicles.
In 1986 passenger levels were falling in Ipswich at 1.5 % per year. That trend has been reversed with passenger numbers now increasing, bucking the national trend of bus usage decline outside London.
When Ipswich Buses was formed in 1986 the fleet totalled 77 vehicles and since that time improving and more stringent legislation affecting vehicle emissions has led to the company acquiring a cleaner, greener fleet, which meets all the latest emission standards playing its part in keeping Ipswich clean.
The company has invested heavily in a new fleet of buses for Ipswich including modern, low floor, easy access vehicles. Central Government has set a target that low floor vehicles should operate all services by the year 2015. The company have already achieved low floor operation on 100% of its operations in Ipswich, well in advance of the target date set by the Government and well in advance of the target date of 2010 for 50% of services to be operated by low floor vehicles. The average age of the fleet is now less than six years, well in advance of the Central Government’s target of an average age of eight years.
The company will shortly take delivery of a further six new low floor, leather seated and air conditioned buses for service 13 to Chantry and Copdock
When Ipswich Buses was formed in 1986 it employed a total of just over 200 staff. Today that figure has risen to 248.Amazingly 33 of those original people are still with the company.
Managing Director of Ipswich Buses Malcolm Robson who is one of only two Managing Directors at the Company in the last twenty years states:
“Our company, in partnership with its shareholders Ipswich Borough Council, has changed dramatically over the last twenty years adapting to the needs of modern local public transport. We have moved from being a trading arm of the council to a fully independent commercially based local bus company providing high quality services for people in and around Ipswich.
The last twenty years have, at times, been extremely challenging and difficult, but the company through the endeavours and hard work of all its staff have managed to pull through and are now well placed to meet the demands of the next twenty years”.
For further information please do not hesitate to contact Malcolm Robson Managing Director Ipswich Buses on 01473 232600 |