Essex given nearly £18m by Government for transport

The Government has revealed where £1billion in funding will go to deliver “London-style buses” as part of a boost to its October budget.

Essex will receive £17,802,280 in “fair funding” to ensure better transport services into 2026 alongside other historically underfunded regions including Norfolk at £15million and Kent at £23 million.

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said: “The value of regular and reliable bus services cannot be understated.

“For far too long, the East of England has been suffering from unreliable services with buses hugely delayed or not even turning up at all."

A Buses Bill is also being promised for this parliament and £150million has also been set aside to cap fares at a maximum of £3 – with the cap currently due to end at the end of 2025.

Franchising - Lee Scordis has renewed calls for bus franchising across Essex (Image: Submitted) Lee Scordis, a Labour Essex county and Colchester councillor, said: “While the money is welcome, we have to ask whether we can trust the same council that has cut services and outsourced buses to the cheapest bidder to deliver the service we need.

“Louise Haigh is completely right and it's an issue I've been raising for many years.

"Buses are constantly late or do not turn up, with no updates available for passengers as private bus companies just don't care.  What we need in Essex urgently is bus franchising to take back power over these rogue bus companies."

Mr Scordis also called for a review to find solutions for the the increased £3 cap.

Model - Bus franchising is when the authority controls the details of the service, such as the routes, fares, and timetables as in London (Image: Phil Mahoney-Berg) A spokesman for Essex County Council said they welcome the money and that a “huge amount” is happening in Essex to improve bus services.  

The spokesman added: “Already, we have a 10-year partnership with Clear Channel UK to upgrade bus shelters across Essex and have secured government funding to invest in 55 electric buses in Basildon.

“We also invest £11million a year in services that would not otherwise run commercially, including our demand responsive DigiGo service which operates in Braintree and Uttlesford. 

“The Travel Essex app and website remain the go-to places to plan your journeys and provide comprehensive bus information for Essex.

"The latest allocation of funding from Government will now allow us to continue to provide vital and popular bus services across the county and continue to give residents a choice on how they travel.”