X1 Southend to London – The Rise and Fall of A Deregulation Phenomenon

The 1980 Transport Act transformed the somewhat staid express coach market and Southend Transport were quick to exploit the new-found freedoms. Initially running every two-hours through to Reading, joint with that fellow municipality until 1982. The X1 service morphed into a Southend to Central London commuter focused operation with occasional extensions to Heathrow Airport, whilst still retaining an off-peak service and almost – but not quite – 24-hour operation. That commuter intensity was to overwhelm the undertaking, resulting in significant losses, followed by a massive scaling back. Stability was then upset when Badgerline-owned Thamesway started a competing, copy-cat service. Eventually the two operators came together with a joint service in a declining market, but then First (as Thamesway had become) pulled out, followed by Arriva (as successor to Southend Transport) who also gave up and the service ceased in 2002. But that was not to be the end, with four more operators trying their hand, most notably Stephensons of Essex from 2002 to 2008, before the last residual traces of the service disappeared in 2016. This book tells the story of that rise and fall, from early ambitions to the present day. The product of many years of research, including interviews with most of the senior managers involved with the service from its inception in 1980, the book aims not just to record what happened, but to explain how and why – crucial elements missing from so many transport books. Indeed, in setting the context, the story spans one hundred and one years. The book is dedicated to the memory of Derek Giles, Southend Transport’s revered Traffic Superintendent who drove the development and growth of the service for its first seven years. However, the author has sought to offer an honest, objective and at times critical assessment of the decisions that saw the service expand to unsustainable heights and almost bankrupted the undertaking. The well-illustrated text is supported by very extensive endnotes, both referencing sources and expanding on the main text. An index is also included.