Subsidy of £300 per passenger to stop with bus cuts

The 94 Sunday bus service in South Woodham Ferrers is due to end with an average of one passenger a day using it

A bus service that has on average one passenger a day will be cut along with six other routes in Essex.

The Sunday service of the 94 that runs through South Woodham Ferrers receives a council subsidy worth £297 per passenger journey made.

Essex County Council said it was scrapping the services based on "current usage and cost to run the services".

The routes are reliant on public funding but are provided by private bus operators.

Peggy Batchelor (left) and Pauline Beahen from South Woodham Ferrers use the 94 bus regularly during the week but never on Sundays.

High cost service

A bus consultation received two comments from people who said they travelled on the 94 on Sunday "less than once a month".

One user said they took the bus to access a foodbank.

The 94 travels five times on a loop around South Woodham Ferrers on Sundays.

The bus review concluded the "high cost of the service means it is unsustainable" and recommends withdrawing the service.

The weekday 94 bus will continue.

Peggy Batchelor, 88, from South Woodham Ferrers, uses the 94 bus regularly.

She said she used it during the week and it was "very important".

"Without it we have to walk home," she said.

The 552 service from Billericay station to Ramsden Heath is one of seven services set to end

'A joke'

The 552 19:00 service to Ramsden Heath from Billericay station is set to end in July 2024.

The council is stopping the financial support when the contract ends this year.

Lauren Webber, 22, from Ramsden Heath, uses the 552 to commute to her office in London, making two to four return journeys a week.

"It is shocking for a lot of people this is the only way we can get to the station and home from the station. Especially in times like this when getting Ubers and taxis is very difficult.

"It's just a joke. It's worth funding, it helps out a lot of people."

Lauren Webber regularly uses the 552 and said "it helps out a lot of people"

Daniel Boylan has been using the 552 for five years most weekdays.

He said he was "annoyed there's no other way out of the village".

"What are the commuters going to do?" he said. "It's going to cost you an arm and leg to park at the station."

Another regular passenger Jack Gardner said it was "very disappointing" and he was "surprised" as it's "a pretty busy route".

He said he would "almost certainly have to buy a second car and drive to the train station and back now" for the six-mile round trip.

A return on the 552 costs passengers £3.

But the council said it subsidised each passenger journey by £14.24.

The authority's bus review found "the high cost of the [552] service means it is unsustainable".

It said there is "no scope for re-design" of the bus route and it is to be withdrawn.

Daniel Boylan said he was "annoyed" the 552 bus service that he has used for five years would end

The council said it would continue to support 150 bus services.

A spokesperson said: “We are withdrawing funding for seven bus services following public consultation.

"This is because they are in low use and do not meet our target to support better-used services costing taxpayers less than £10 per passenger journey.”

The bus services that are ending in July are listed below along with the cost per passenger journey that is paid for by Essex County Council:

• 552 Ramsden Heath to Billericay station. £14.24 per passenger journey.

• 256 Basildon/Ramsden Heath to Billericay. £16.67 per passenger journey.

• 94 South Woodham Ferrers Sunday service. £297.39 per passenger journey.

• 84B Colchester to Little/Grt Horkesley Thursday. £11.12 per passenger journey.

• 99 Clacton to Walton. £25.14 per passenger journey.

• 804 Debden to Chigwell. £31.93 per passenger journey.

• C56 Chelmsford to Galleywood. £24.23 per passenger journey.

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