‘BUS BACK BETTER’ – SAFER, GREENER, HEALTHIER BUS NETWORK PLANNED FOR ESSEX
New plan outlines approach to transforming bus services in Essex and improving sustainable travel options for residents.
Essex County Council (ECC) has published ambitious plans to overhaul bus travel and introduce a new, high quality and reliable bus network across the county.
The first ‘Bus Service Improvement Plan’ for Essex is a significant step forwards in transforming local bus travel and offering a broader choice of travel options to residents.
The plan, which contributes to ‘Everyone’s Essex’ - ECC’s four-year plan - is also a key part of efforts to tackle climate change, with sustainability sitting at the heart of ECC’s approach to safer, greener, healthier travel.
As part of efforts to transform bus travel in Essex, ECC is also developing an ‘Enhanced Partnership Plan and Scheme’ with bus operators which residents can have their say on as part of a new consultation.
Enhanced Partnerships are a way for local authorities and bus operators to formally work together to deliver better services. The first set of proposals for Essex include committing to providing better information, reviewing the whole of the network to identify improvements and starting to develop simpler and better ticketing.
Cllr Lee Scott, ECC’s Cabinet Member for Highways Maintenance and Sustainable Transport, said: “The new bus service improvement plan represents a key milestone in our efforts to move to more innovative and sustainable transport options in Essex.
“Buses are integral to the lives of lots of our residents. They deserve a network that gets them to work, school and training quickly and in a way that’s stress free.
“It’s also important that we have a bus network that matches our desire to create vibrant urban communities with strong economies, while at the same time providing vital links for rural communities and market towns. Importantly, we need a network that is an attractive alternative to the car.
“Our plans are rightly ambitious. It’s vital that we are bold with our intentions so that we create a bus network that benefits everyone as well as the environment.”
This Bus Service Improvement Plan will be updated annually. Further proposals will put in place next year through the Enhanced Partnership.