Site last updated:
June 2022
Welcome to Jake's Buses.
Thank you for visiting my website. I'm a Kent based bus and taxi preservationist. It takes a lot of hard work to look after the fleet but thankfully I'm helped by my friend Paul who also owns his own buses. Most of the buses are double decker Bristol VRTs which all have connections Kent - in fact some of them have never moved out of Kent during their whole life. The remaining bus is a Mercedes 709d minibus which was new to Stagecoach United Counties and worked in Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire.
Over the years I've lived in Kent and on the Isle of Wight and Bristol/ECW vehicles have played a big part of my life pre driving license. As a passenger I spent many happy journeys being bounced around on the front seat of various Lodekkas, VRs and REs. In fact I have memories of XJJ656V and SKL681X taking me home from school aged 6 or 7! Many years later when I returned to Kent as a bus driver I ended up driving SKL and her sister buses at Thanet and felt it was a shame when they were going to be withdrawn. I put a bid for her and the rest as they say is history.
Like you never forget your first car, you also never forget your first bus no matter whether it was your lift home from school, the bus you learned to drive on or the first one you drove in service. All the vehicles in my collection are owned and financed solely by myself. I also do all of my own servicing and maintenance on them as well. I tend not to attend most bus rallies as our interest as a family is a bit broader so I'm more inclined to go to shows where there's a varied mix of classic cars, commercials, tractors and such.
Over the years I've lived in Kent and on the Isle of Wight and Bristol/ECW vehicles have played a big part of my life pre driving license. As a passenger I spent many happy journeys being bounced around on the front seat of various Lodekkas, VRs and REs. In fact I have memories of XJJ656V and SKL681X taking me home from school aged 6 or 7! Many years later when I returned to Kent as a bus driver I ended up driving SKL and her sister buses at Thanet and felt it was a shame when they were going to be withdrawn. I put a bid for her and the rest as they say is history.
Like you never forget your first car, you also never forget your first bus no matter whether it was your lift home from school, the bus you learned to drive on or the first one you drove in service. All the vehicles in my collection are owned and financed solely by myself. I also do all of my own servicing and maintenance on them as well. I tend not to attend most bus rallies as our interest as a family is a bit broader so I'm more inclined to go to shows where there's a varied mix of classic cars, commercials, tractors and such.