Essex County Council has been running a consultation to gather information from the public to inform the county wide review of its Bus Strategy and how it provides financial support to local bus services.
The Council pays for nearly 200 local bus services, amounting to approximately 15% of the bus network in Essex, which generally run in the evenings, on Sundays or in rural locations. Although services provided by Essex County Council form a relatively small percentage of bus services in Essex, with 85% of the bus network being commercially run (and therefore not part of this consultation), the services the Council provide are vital for many people across the county and without the support of ECC would not be operated as they are unlikely to be commercially viable.
The consultation, which began Monday 16th September is aimed at informing the review to ensure that the bus services provided by the Council meet, as far as possible, the essential travel needs of Essex residents and also offer best value for taxpayers. The Council needs to understand your views, know what your travel needs are, what matters to you and what type of services you think are most important.
If you care about your local bus services, get involved and go online to have your say before the deadline Monday 9th December at www.essex.gov.uk/busreview
Essex County Council also carried out a consultation on the discretionary elements of home to school transport between 16th September and 25th October. For more information, visit www.essex.gov.uk/schooltransport
