National Express ended its 90-year-old Eastbourne-Bournemouth service at the end of March last year, prompting MIKE TAYLOR to make a nostalgic round trip on its final weekday while CHRISTOPHER CARTER joined the historic last westbound journey of all two days later
National Express ended 90 years of the South Coast Express, the once 203mile route between Ramsgate and Bournemouth, on 31 March last year.
On 29 March 1929, the Elliot family’s Royal Blue Coaches of Bournemouth began the express service connecting the two coastal towns. Upset by this invasion of their bus territories, in June the same year Southdown Motor Services, East Kent Road Car and Wilts & Dorset Motor Services started a Dover-Bournemouth service. Royal Blue’s service was more popular.
Road service licensing called time on such competition and in 1931 Royal Blue defended its route in front of the newly appointed traffic commissioners for south-east England against objections from the railways, as well as East Kent, Southdown and Maidstone & District. Their case was based largely upon alleged abstraction of passengers from established public transport services, largely the three bus operators’ unconnected long coastal stage carriage bus routes.
