Council plans to stop funding nine bus routes

A public consultation is under way into 41 bus services funded by Essex County Council

A council is considering cutting the funding of nine bus routes.

It is one of the options Essex County Council is asking for the public's views on during a consultation into the buses it supports.

The authority spends about £11m annually on 41 bus services, most of them in rural areas.

Council cabinet member Tom Cunningham, who has a responsibility for sustainable transport, said: "We want to ensure the council services are as good quality as they can be and represent a good investment for Essex taxpayers."

Cunningham, a Conservative councillor, acknowledged local buses could be a "lifeline".

"I would invite as many people as possible, particularly those that use the services currently being reviewed, to share their views with us," he added.

Tom Cunningham, a county council cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and sustainable transport

There are a total of 154 services in the county, but the consultation - which runs until October - does not include those run by commercial bus firms.

The council said its 41 routes are those private companies feel are not commercially viable.

It is proposing changes to 12 of its 16 "lower use" services and 10 of the 16 deemed "higher use".

The remaining nine routes are set to no longer receive county council funding and will be passed back to commercial operation from April 2026.

These routes were all previously operated commercially but have been supported since the Covid-19 pandemic.

A council spokesman said the nine routes were funded by a Department for Transport grant, so ending support for them would not impact the authority's budgets.

All nine are currently run by First, including the C3, C8 and C11 Chelmsford routes which run Monday to Saturday, as well as the Sunday and public holiday services for the C3 and C11.

Also included are the Saturday-only 336 Chelmsford to South Woodham and 351 Chelmsford to Brentwood, and the Sunday and public holiday services 31/332 Chelmsford to Southminster and B2 Basildon to Laindon.

It is not clear yet if First will be able to maintain them if the proposals go ahead.

James McCluskey, commercial director at First Bus East, said: "We are analysing the impact of funding changes and working with Essex County Council through their consultation."

The consultation runs until 27 October. The council expects to make a decision by the end of the year.