Ipswich Buses mark 120 years with vintage parade

Brian Reach's family has worked for Ipswich Buses for almost its entire existence

Buses past and present will be paraded through Ipswich to mark 120 years of the town's bus company.

Ipswich Buses began in 1903 with a fleet of electric tram cars, then electric trolleybuses and finally diesel motorbuses from the 1950s.

It has teamed up with Ipswich Transport Museum for a day of celebrations on Sunday.

Managing director Dan Bassett said: "Not many things last 120 years; that history and that legacy is fantastic."

Buses will line up at the bus station at Tower Ramparts and set off at 10:00 BST via the original Constantine Road tram depot, which is still the company's headquarters.

It will then take a route along Civic Drive to Crown Street, Woodbridge Road, Grimwade Street, Duke Street, Landseer Road and Nacton Road to Ipswich Transport Museum for 11:00 BST.

Ipswich Buses is one of only a handful of municipal companies left in the UK

Restored trams and trolleybuses will also be exhibited on Sunday, with vintage buses among a special fleet taking visitors on a tour around the town, to and from the museum.

Ipswich Buses has more than 70 buses, which are kept on the road by fleet engineer Brian Reach and a team covering 18 hours a day.

Mr Reach has worked for the company for more than 40 years, starting out on the labour-intensive "heavy work", on steel suspension systems.

A love of public transport is seemingly in his genes, with four generations of his family clocking on for Ipswich Buses for almost its entire existence.

"My grandfather was a tram driver here," he said.

"When you bear in mind the trams stopped in 1926, I think he drove them from about 1910.

"It's run in the family - my dad was a coach driver and mum worked in the travel office.

"There's always been an interest, it's a bit of a hobby as well, and my youngest son now works here."

Mr Bassett said the company's "legacy is fantastic"

Mr Bassett said he was not surprised that Ipswich Buses - one of only eight municipal companies in the UK - had lasted for so long.

"We are not privately owned, we are owned by the council, so unlike privately-owned companies we are not just about generating revenue and paying dividends to shareholders," he said.

"Our focus is about providing a comprehensive transport network, and that's what makes us different."

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