Adrian Morton speaks to esteemed industry stalwart James Freeman about his 50 years on the buses
After being sent a press release from Stagecoach South regarding James Freeman celebrating his 50-year career in the bus industry, I was contacted by Operations Director Carole Sim who asked if I would consider doing a fuller article tracing his career. After establishing that we had a mutual admiration for James’ contribution to the industry, Carole arranged for me to meet with James to find out more.
For those who don’t know, James retired from a full-time career in 2021, latterly as Managing Director of First West of England. He has now returned to the place where his career began, Winchester, and is driving part-time for the incumbent operator in the city, Stagecoach South. It was here that I met him, in the bus station and coincidently, that same bus station where his career began 50 years ago. James was on a spread-over duty, so after witnessing his arrival behind the wheel – even when in management, something he very much enjoyed – it was time to head upstairs for a cup of tea and to hear from the depot’s celebrity driver. James’ recollection was captivating, interesting and informative, and if I were a young bus manager at the start of my career, it would have been hugely inspirational.
James was interested in buses from a young age and had decided by his twelfth birthday – yes twelfth – that he would make a career in them. It was a decision he never came to regret.
Thanks to frequent visits to Winchester to see his two aunts, he was able to study at close quarters the intricacies of the family-owned independent King Alfred Motor Services, which ran the local network in and around the city. He got to know many of the staff well and through them learned a lot about life at the sharp end of running buses.
Conducting to coaches
In 1972, James’ then school careers officer was slightly non-plussed at his insistence to work in the bus industry but duly arranged for him to go along to the National Bus Company’s headquarters at 25 New Street Square in London. It was there he met Malcom Blanksby, then Training & Development Manager at the National Bus Company (NBC) and with whom he has stayed in touch ever since. His advice was that if James wanted to work in management, he needed to get a degree but first should gain some on-the-ground experience, firstly as a bus conductor and then in an office somewhere. James opted to work at Hants & Dorset in Winchester, which a year prior had taken over the erstwhile and his much-admired King Alfred Motor Services. He later moved to Bristol Omnibus to work for a period in its headquarters, which was then at the relatively new Berkeley House in Bristol. Having been born and raised in Bath, it was an area he knew well.
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