First Eastern Counties

Bus operator in Norfolk and Suffolk, England

First Eastern Counties is a bus operator providing services in Norfolk and Suffolk in eastern England. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup and has five depots in operating areas spread out across East Anglia. These areas are Norwich, Ipswich, Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft and King's Lynn. Also included were United's bus and lorry coachbuilder based in Lowestoft, which was renamed to Eastern Coach Works and supplied bus bodies to its parent company and operators within the Tilling & British Automotive Traction group on various chassis. By the end of the 1930s, the Eastern Counties Omnibus Company had purchased another 50 operators. In September 1942, Tilling & British Automobile Traction was placed into administration, with the Eastern Counties Omnibus Company shareholding transferred to the Tilling Group. which was merged with the Transport Holding Company in January 1969 to become the National Bus Company. In preparation for bus deregulation, in September 1984, Eastern Counties' operations in Cambridgeshire were transferred to a separate company named Cambus Limited. The company was sold into privatisation from the National Bus Company in February 1987 through a management buyout, which was followed by its coaching operations transferring to Ambassador Travel of Great Yarmouth in December 1987. An Eastern Counties Bristol VRT double decker bus made international headlines when it fell rear first into a 26 feet (8 m) sinkhole formed from a medieval chalk mine running underneath Earlham Road in Norwich on 3 March 1988. The driver of the bus as well as the passengers on board managed to escape minutes before the bus fell further into the sinkhole, which severed a gas main running underneath the road and resulted in the overnight evacuation of the nearby area while the main was repaired. A photograph of the incident would be used by Cadbury the next day in full page newspaper advertisements and on billboards to promote their Double Decker chocolate bar, captioned with the slogan "Nothing fills a hole like a Double Decker". In July 1994, Eastern Counties was sold to the GRT Group for £6.7 million, who in June 1995 merged with Badgerline to form FirstBus. FirstBus would later purchase the operations of Great Yarmouth Transport in September 1996, merging it into the First Eastern Counties operation.

First operates out of five main depots. Each division provides services to the area around its depot:

First Eastern Counties operates services branded as the Network Norwich within the city centre of Norwich and to towns and villages within approximately a 20 mile (32 km) radius. This network was launched on 23 September 2012, with buses painted in colour coded route branding on the fronts to reflect the line in the network they were allocated to. On 22 March 2017, First announced that they were to introduce a direct bus service numbered X41, running between Norwich and Bungay in Suffolk via Ditchingham, as part of the Charcoal colour line. This line was launched in April 2016 with service 40 from Norwich to Poringland. The Network Norwich operation was one of five FirstGroup operations to begin taking delivery of battery electric buses in 2023, funded through the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) grant from the UK government. The first seven buses from an order for 59 Wright StreetDeck Electroliner double decker buses began entering service in October 2023, while eleven Wright GB Kite Electroliner single deck buses are also on order for delivery to Norwich during 2024. When completed, this order is set to replace pre existing diesel buses at First's Roundtree Way depot.

First Great Yarmouth operates services within the towns of Great Yarmouth and Gorleston on Sea, as well as dedicated routes to Norwich and Lowestoft under the Coastlink brand. The Great Yarmouth services operate out of the old Great Yarmouth Transport depot on Caister Road, which is a listed building dating back to the mid 1900s, retaining its original frontage.

First Lowestoft operates services within the town of Lowestoft as well as dedicated routes to Great Yarmouth, Beccles and Norwich. The Lowestoft services operate out of Britain's most easterly bus depot, situated on Gordon Road, just a few hundred meters away from Ness Point.

First Ipswich operates within and around the town of Ipswich to a radius of about 30 mile (48 km). The Ipswich services operate out of one depot situated on Star Lane, just a few minutes walk from the town's bus station in the Old Cattle Market. A guided bus system named 'Superoute 66' was established in February 1995, running between Ipswich town centre and the suburbs of Kesgrave and Martlesham Heath, in partnership between Eastern Counties and Suffolk County Council, commencing operations with a fleet of six Plaxton Pointer bodied Dennis Darts. This service was the first commercially run guided bus system to be operated in the United Kingdom, and would eventually be upgraded to use double decker bues under FirstBus. Having previously operated Ipswich's park and ride service from 2008 until November 2013, in July 2017, First Ipswich resumed operating the service. In 2019, First rebranded their Ipswich operation to 'Ipswich Reds' and introduced a new red livery for Ipswich's services.

A number of services are operated under the Excel brand, most notably the Excel itself between Peterborough, King's Lynn and Norwich and the X1 between Norwich, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. This service is operated by nineteen Alexander Dennis Enviro400 City bodied Scania N250UDs that were delivered in early 2020, which are painted in a red livery and featuring high specification interiors, next stop announcements and camera mirrors. Prior to July 2014, the Excel and X1 operated as a single service straight through from Peterborough to Lowestoft, 107 mile (172 km) end to end. The Excel is operated by King's Lynn outstation the only service operated by the outstation whilst Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft depots operate the X1 and related services, branded as Coastlink.

First Eastern Counties also provide a number of Coastlink branded feeder services at the eastern end of the main Excel service, operated using the Alexander Dennis Enviro400s formerly used on the core route. Prior to February 2018, the Excel ran all the way from Peterborough to Lowestoft; Coastlink services replaced the Excel between Norwich and Lowestoft after this time. The X2 operates between Norwich bus station and Lowestoft bus station, as with the X1; however, it stops more frequently and is routed via Gillingham, Beccles, Worlingham and Carlton Colville. The X2 operates every 30 minutes from Monday to Saturday daytimes. Minor variations of the route of the X2, known as the X21 and X22, operate more infrequently to serve surrounding villages along the route of the X2, including North Cove and Whitton; the X21 three journeys in the morning peak and five in the evening peak, while the X22 runs every hour from Monday to Saturday daytimes. The X11 operates as a variation of the X1, shadowing the route of the X1 between Norwich and Gorleston on Sea via Great Yarmouth, before diverging at James Paget University Hospital to serve and terminate in Belton rather than continuing onwards to Lowestoft. The X11 operates every 30 minutes from Monday to Saturday daytimes. Coastal Clipper buses also operate on services 1 and 1A, serving Hopton on Sea and Lowestoft via Martham, Hemsby, Caister on Sea, Great Yarmouth and Gorleston on Sea; service 1A would receive recognition in June 2023 in a guide by Snaptrip as one of the most scenic bus routes in the United Kingdom. From April until September, six Coastal Clipper Cabriolet branded open top buses based at Great Yarmouth are operated on seafront service 1C. This service was launched in March 2021 and runs seasonally between Hemsby Beach and the Great Yarmouth seafront via Hemsby, Scratby and Caister on Sea.