Britain’s Express Coach Network map

Published December 14, 2025

Photo(s) by mikeyashworth on Flickr.

Headlines are shown in all-caps Latin Bold. Some of the lines including “Travel wise – always travel by coach” are drawn by hand, though: zoom in to see small differences between repeating letters. The italic red caps appear to be from Miller & Richard’s Grotesque No. 4.

A rather fine and complex folding map giving details of the many express motor coach routes operated in England and Wales by the ‘principal’ bus and coach companies, a list of which appears at the base of the map. The folder gives information as to express services, coach holidays, chartering, sightseeing and coach-air services and is illustrated by images of suitably express coaches and happy passengers. The folder was issued at a time of great popularity for both express coach services and coach holidays – post-war years that still saw relatively low car ownership but with increasing wages and disposable income and before the onset of cheaper overseas holidays.

Amongst the photos I can make out a BMMO Midland Red motorway coach, passing what looks like a Bristol, and various vehicles that look to be both East Kent and Maidstone & District. The list of companies, organised geographically, contain some well known and often much missed names. Oddly the ‘Scottish’ connection points potential passengers to the Scottish Tourist Board and not the Scottish Bus Group.

The rather stylish graphics and map are signed “Reitz” who is an artist/designer I can find little about although they did similar maps and publicity for British Rail at the time.

Northern section of the map. Labels use Futura Condensed.

Southern section of the map. The list of principle bus and coach companies of Britain is set in two weight from Monotype Grotesque.

Plantin is used for the body text.

This post was originally published at Fonts In Use

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