Bus chiefs said today they would consider running late buses out of Southend - but only if it was safe and someone else paid for them.

Chief Supt Mick Thwaites, at Southend police, has called for better public transport out of the town on Friday and Saturday nights as he seeks a crackdown on violence.

Bob Scowen, managing director of Arriva Southend, said: "Arriva is always looking for opportunities to expand services where possible whenever it is viable to do so.

"In principle, we would actively consider proposals to introduce late evening services for our customers in Southend.

"However, services after this time would require revenue support as demand is unlikely to be sufficient to operate them commercially.

"We would also seek assurances that running services at this time would be safe for our employees and customers."

Published Tuesday November 5, 2002

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