Local Bus Consultation 2025

Essex County Council (ECC) is reviewing its support for 41 local bus services. We want your help to ensure that our future bus network is ready to meet new levels of passenger demand and is providing value for money. ECC is therefore carrying out this public consultation regarding these local bus services.

This consultation will commence Monday 04 August 2025 and close on Monday 27 October 2025.

As set out in the accompanying questionnaire, ECC is undertaking a review of some of the local bus services which are paid for by Essex taxpayers. It does not cover services/journeys operated commercially by transport providers. This review covers all 12 districts in Essex with the view of assessing how to continue providing the service.

Background

We know that buses are important to many people. For example, they help people reach employment, education, visit friends and to get to health appointments. The majority of the bus network in Essex (around 85%) is run commercially. The remaining 15% of services are not commercially viable and the transport providers will therefore not run them.

As Essex’s local transport authority, when no commercial service is provided, the County Council has a duty to consider whether one is needed, and if, in the Council’s view it is, then to provide it.

How the Council decides whether a service is needed and what services it will support are set out in its Local Bus Service Priority Policy, which can be found on TravelEssex website. The Local Bus Service Priority Policy now forms part of the Bus Service Improvement Plan so has been extended from 2020 to 2026.

ECC has a strong record for supporting local bus services and ECC remains committed to supporting an effective and efficient bus service network offering value for money to the taxpayer in the services it provides.

The services provided under this policy are paid for by Essex taxpayers. The supported network mainly operates in rural areas, and at less popular times for travel, such as in the evenings and on Sundays. At present ECC spends around £11m of taxpayer’s money on these services each year. The local bus service priority policy includes a value for money measure to ensure that taxpayers are not funding services that are not used much or have a high cost. This measure is currently valued at £5 per passenger journey. If the cost to the taxpayer is over £5 per journey made, then ECC will review the service.

These services are detailed later in this document alongside details of any changes or proposals.

What are we Consulting on?

• Continuing services as they are now; or

• Redesigning services to better reflect how they are used (for example the days of operation; routes; the number of journeys and / or the timetable); or

• Returning some services to commercial operation.

We would expect to make an announcement on the outcome of the consultation later this year . This means we will be using the most up to date passenger data available in any final decisions.

The outcome of the consultation may differ from the proposed changes specifically listed in the consultation tables following analysis of the response from the public.

Why your views matter?

In order for us to consider your views, we are seeking your responses on these proposals. ECC will collate all the responses from the survey and summarise them as part of our report. This report will be used to help decide whether the proposal should be implemented. We will not identify individual people and your name will not be mentioned in any reports we write for this purpose. You do not have to take part if you don’t want to - this is a voluntary activity.

Together, we can create a transportation network that is efficient, accessible, and tailored to the diverse needs of passengers. Thank you for your valuable contribution in helping us shape the future of public transport.

Please note the following consultation only covers ECC supported services as specified in the tables.

Services that have grown

There are 16 services in this section. These services are being reviewed with consideration to either continue as they are; or re-design (for example: reducing frequency of days or times of operation, changing of routes or replacing with an alternative service).

To view your current timetable, please select your service number. To view your proposed timetable please click the link in the "Proposed Change" column.

Services which are lower use

There are 16 services in this section. These services are being reviewed with consideration to re-design (for example: reducing frequency of days or times of operation, changing of routes or replacing with an alternative service).

To view your current timetable, please select your service number. To view your proposed timetable please click the link in the "Proposed Changes" column.

Services which were formerly commercial and were supported for a time limited period after covid to allow for their recovery

There are 9 services listed below and these services were formerly operated on a commercial basis but which the Council has supported since the pandemic.

Options to be consulted on: Return to commercial operation from April 2026