On March 13, 1926, at 0820hrs, Christopher Thomas Dabell drove the very first South Notts bus from Gotham to Nottingham, starting a service which celebrated its 90th anniversary on Sunday.
Nottingham City Transport’s (NCT) South Notts service now runs between Nottingham and Loughborough, via Clifton, Gotham and East Leake. Every week around 20,000 passengers use the service, which features free on board WiFi and real-time arrival and departure information.
To mark the anniversary, NCT has decorating both its South Notts buses and its Gotham Garage – the original Grade 1 listed building from the day the service started – with special ’90 Year’ ribbons, adding ‘A brief history of South Notts’ leaflets on board and information at www.nctx.co.uk/soutnotts90.
All passengers travelling on the South Notts service on March 13 received a birthday card with a free single journey the next time they travel.
NCT Marketing Manager, Anthony Carver-Smith, said: “We are hugely proud of the South Notts heritage, and last year when we invested in brand new ADL Enviro400 buses for the route, we thought it was important to give a nod to the old South Notts livery by including the traditional maroon and cream colours in the design.”
Other anniversary events are planned for later in the year, which will include a bus restored in old South Notts livery in partnership with Nottingham Heritage Vehicles.
