First Bus & Ensignbus Announce Changes to Bus Services in Thurrock from 22 April
Residents in Thurrock are advised of upcoming changes to local bus services, which will take effect from Tuesday 22 April. The adjustments aim to enhance connectivity across the area while maintaining vital transport links for passengers.
Service 200 – New Route and Extended Coverage
First Essex’s Service 200, which currently operates between Basildon, Stanford-le-Hope, Orsett, and Grays, will be running to an amended route and will no longer serve Orsett. Orsett will instead by served by Ensignbus Service 88 and First Essex Service 201 (more information below).
The 200 service will now follow its existing route between Basildon, Stanford-le-Hope, and the Orsett Cock roundabout, before heading south to Grays via Chadwell St Mary, Tilbury, and Little Thurrock. This change replaces the existing Ensignbus route 66, which will no longer operate.
The revised Service 200 will operate hourly from Monday to Saturday, introducing new direct connections between Basildon, Tilbury, and Chadwell St Mary to better serve passengers in these communities.
Alternative Services for Orsett
To ensure continued public transport access for Orsett, two key service changes are being introduced:
- Ensignbus Service 88 will be rerouted in Stifford Clays and extended to serve Orsett, providing a regular link to Grays.
- First Essex Service 201, which currently runs between Basildon, Fobbing, and Stanford-le-Hope, will be extended to Orsett. This service will operate four journeys per day in each direction on Monday to Friday, maintaining an essential transport link for residents east of Orsett.
Additional Timetable Changes
Additionally, from Tuesday 22 April, there will be changes to timetables for Ensignbus routes 22, 44, 73, 83 & X80 to improve reliability. Updated timetables will be available on the Ensignbus website soon.
First Essex and Ensignbus are committed to delivering reliable services that meet the needs of local communities. Passengers are encouraged to check updated timetables and plan their journeys accordingly.
For further information, visit www.firstbus.co.uk/essex, www.ensignbus.com or follow @FirstEssex on X, @FirstBusEast on Instagram, or @EnsignBusCo on X for the latest updates.
Notes to editors
About First Bus
At First Bus, we’re on a mission to grow bus usage – so we’ll get behind initiatives that move people out of cars and onto the bus.
We’re one of the UK’s largest bus operators, transporting more than 1.5 million passengers a day. Our local bus services serve more than 25% of the population of Great Britain and over half of the UK’s top 15 most populated urban areas.
We are a leading operator in the majority of our local areas, including major urban centres such as Glasgow, Bristol and Leeds.
We have proudly launched our First Bus London operation and now operate 83 routes in west and central London from 10 garages serving 180 million passengers annually.
The combined operation now manages a fleet of over 5,750 buses across the UK.
Transforming our business for the better, we’re putting our people and customers at the heart of everything we do. That’s why we’re the UK’s largest national bus operator to achieve real Living Wage employer status, cementing our position as an employer of choice in the sector.
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We’re passionate about giving back to the communities we serve, which is why we’re helping local businesses to progress their decarbonisation journeys – giving them access to our charging hubs while our buses are on the road.
We also operate, Specialist Passenger Solutions, First Travel Solutions, York Pullman Bus Company, Lakeside, Ensignbus, Anderson Travel - and the Aircoach network and Matthews in Ireland.
First Bus is a division of FirstGroup.
Find more information on our website here: https://news.firstbus.co.uk/