Bus Information

Essex County Council’s Park & Ride (P&R) services will recommence operations from Monday 6th July 2020. 

Initially there will run to a reduced timetable, and services will only be provided from the Sandon P&R site in Chelmsford, and the Colchester P&R Site at the Junction 28 of the A12. The two sites 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 Chelmer Valley Site in Chelmsford, which had been used to house a temporary mortuary during COVID19, will not provide services at the current time. However, it will once again become operational at a later date when the necessary preparations have been made and it is safe to reopen the site.

Deputy Leader of Essex County Council and Cabinet Member for Infrastructure, Councillor Kevin Bentley said “We have worked hard to ensure that the temporary closure of our Park and Ride services due to COVID19 restrictions were kept to a minimum, and the Sandon and Colchester sites now look forward to welcoming passengers back. The services are valued, high quality and sustainable public transport that help to reduce congestion and contribute to a cleaner environment in line with our Green Infrastructure Strategy.” 

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. In addition, the P&R site will soon also benefit from another new service; the ‘Park and Pedal’. The service will be available shortly, with a two month introductory offer of free parking (for Park & Pedal customers only); the normal cost of Park & Pedal is £3 per day for parking, or there is a £20 per month option which then also includes the use of a secure locker on site.

Timetables & updates

We are currently expecting a normal level of service on all routes until Sunday 22 March. We have been advised that several bus companies will be running Saturday services on weekdays, from Monday 23 March.  

For Operators website or Twitter details please see the operators spreadsheet in order to access the latest updates from the Bus Operators themselves.

Concessionary Passes

These are challenging times and we know people will be relying on bus services to be able to get to key services. You may also have heard that a number of supermarkets, banks and other businesses are making special early opening arrangements so that people in high risk groups can use them before the general public are allowed in.

To help people make use of these offers, Essex County Council has agreed with bus operators that holders of Essex concessionary bus passes will be able to use them to travel free all day instead of after 09:00 as at present. This will start from Saturday 21 March 2020 and will continue until the government relaxes the current restrictions. Please see Concessionary Bus Pass hours - information poster for details.

As the availability of bus services is likely 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.