Bus Information

Essex Concessionary Bus Pass - Return to normal hours of use from Tuesday, 01 September 2020

In March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Essex County Council (ECC) extended the hours of operation for Essex bus passes to all day from the usual off-peak times to help people make use of early hours opening for high risk groups.

Businesses and shops are starting to return to normal and with schools preparing for a September return, social distancing requirements on bus services mean that during the peak morning travel period there will be additional pressure on bus capacity. ECC has therefore agreed with bus operators concessionary bus passes times in Essex will return to normal hours - 9am to midnight on weekdays and all times on weekends and public holidays from Tuesday, 01 September 2020.  Please see Concessionary Bus Pass hours – return to normal information poster for details.

• Please note that the availability of bus services is likely to continue to change over the coming weeks, you are strongly advised to check on your bus operator’s website, social media and phone apps to see what bus services will be running before starting your journey
• When using bus services, please follow the guidance from Public Health England, including the need to wear a face covering, reduce personal contact, social distancing and maintaining personal hygiene, particularly sneezing or coughing into disposable tissues, avoiding touching your face and regular thorough hand cleaning.

Timetables updates

Due to frequent changes, to ensure resources are directed where they are most needed, it has not been viable to maintain printed timetables during this time. Please refer to the bus operator’s website or app for up-to-date timetable & service information. For Operators website or Twitter details please see the operators spreadsheet in order to access the latest updates from the Bus Operators themselves.

National journey planning enquiries are available at: www.traveline.info

From 1st September the service level will be increasing please check the most up to date timetable for details on times

All 3 sites will initially run to a reduced timetable, they will provide services between 7am-7pm Monday to Saturday, but passengers are advised to check the website or Social Media before traveling for any updates or changes, which could occur due to essential operation reasons.

The services will be operating in line with current government Social Distancing requirements and therefore there may be a slightly longer wait to board a vehicle due to reduce capacity onboard passengers are advised to be patient and follow advice from service staff; however a new queuing system will be introduced to make the process as efficient and safe as possible.