Eastern Counties Omnibus Company was a subsidiary of the National Bus Company in 1975 and operated in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire with 664 vehicles (8 Bedford, 636 Bristol, 20 Leyland National with E.C.W, Duple and Plaxton Bodywork). Fleet livery was NBC “poppy red” for buses (some buses were painted in Tilling's red to use up surplus paint!) and NBC white for coaches. Interesting vehicles operated included 6 Bristol FL's which had rear platform doors fitted in 1974, ex “Scottish Bus Group” Bristol VR’s which were exchanged for Bristol FLF’s in 1973, FLF 429 a 1960 “Bristol Commercial Vehicles” test rig, LM 640/1 experimental Bristol MW’s built with centre exits but rebuilt to single door in 1967, 4 ECW bodied Bedford VAM buses (SB 661 -.664), prototype Bristol LH ECW bus (LH719) and RLE 740 – 747 the last ECW bodied Bristol RE’s for the NBC. The main depots were located at; Bury St Edmunds, Cambridge, Cromer, Ely, Felixstowe, Great Yarmouth, Ipswich, Kings Lynn, Lowestoft, March, Newmarket, Norwich, Peterborough, Saxmundham and Wisbech, vehicles were also out-stationed at numerous locations.
The stage-carriage service included city services in Cambridge, Norwich and Peterborough and many rural routes stretching into Huttingdonshire, Lincolnshire, North Essex and Rutland. Many irregular services in rural areas were withdrawn in 1973 and passed to independent operators in compliance to NBC policy. Also from 1973 the express services were absorbed into the National Express network but Eastern Counties was a prominent operator of these services in East Anglia. Private hire work and day tours/excursion were scaled down except for the Gt Yarmouth seafront holidaymaker tours.
This website displays a comprehensive fleet list and depot allocations for October 1975.
This Website is presented by
IBPTS
Public Transport and Travel Consultancy
