17th April 2022 - Chelmsford Service Change

From Sunday 17th April we are making changes to your bus networks across the county.

These changes are in response to the change in our travel habits; people are travelling less often and have less certainty about how many times a day or week they require travel.

These changes are designed to deliver sustainable networks, that are easier to use and continue to provide the ability to travel around the towns and villages across the county on our services.

Some buses will run earlier and later in the day, some more often, some less often and there will be new networks in the Basildon, Chelmsford and Colchester areas.

Buses that connect the local suburbs to the centre of Basildon, Chelmsford and Colchester will be replaced by locally focussed services with simple, regular timetables, simple, easy to use fares starting at £2.50 for an adult and with new, newer, or fully refurbished vehicles being introduced over the coming months with a new red based colour scheme.

The services that we provide to connect other towns and cities to these locations and each other will also start to see new, newer, or fully refurbished vehicles being introduced and will become Essex Bus services in our new exciting green based colour scheme.

We have already simplified the fares in Chelmsford and Colchester and from the same date (17th April) we will be bringing the same flexible way to pay, for bus travel, by introducing Tap&Cap to Basildon.

Unfortunately, we are having to increase a small number of ticket prices in South Essex. However, we are not increasing any other fares at this time in recognition of the fact we are all paying more for daily essentials.

Fares increases will be necessary in the future as our costs are also increasing but we will try and keep these increases to a minimum.

Changes to the bus network in Chelmsford:

Routes 40, 42, 45, 51, 54, 56, 57 (and their variants) are withdrawn and replaced by the new Chelmsford shuttles network as detailed below.

C1: Route C1 will replace route 42 and operate a similar frequency. On Sundays, route C1 will operate every 30 minutes between Galleywood and Broomfield Hospital without the existing extensions. beyond Broomfield Hospital. to Bishops Stortford and Halstead.

C2: Route C2 will replace the north-western leg of route 54 operating as a loop from Broomfield Hospital, via Melbourne to the City Centre. In the City Centre buses will serve the stops at the Railway Station and Duke Street before serving the Retail Market and Bus Station on the way back to Melbourne and Broomfield Hospital.

C3: Route C3 will replace route 56 from Melbourne (Morrisons) to the City Centre, via the current pattern of route 56. In the City Centre, buses all serve the Railway Station and Duke Street. Some buses will also serve Tindal Street and Parkway having changed to route C11.

C4: Route C4 replaces route 45 between Oxney Green and the City Centre. During peak times, buses will serve the Railway Station and then follow route C2 back to the Bus Station and head back to Oxney Green. Outside of peak times, buses will continue from the Railway Station and Duke Street to Tindal Street and Parkway, as route C5, with some buses extending beyond the City as route C5.

C5: Route C5 is the replacement for the Moulsham journeys on route 45. However, route C5 will operate via Gunson Gate, Waterson Vale and Van Diemans Road rather than Beehive Lane and Baddow Road. In the City buses will terminate at the Bus Station.

C6: Route C6 replaces off peak route 51 to BAE Systems but instead, of using Gunson Gate and Waterson Vale, buses will stay on Beehive Lane to Baddow Road then via Army & Navy roundabout and Parkway to the Retail Market stop and terminate in the Bus Station.

C7: Route C7 replaces route 57 from Galleywood to Great Baddow and then operates along Meadgate Avenue to Army and Navy and along the normal route to the City Centre.

C8: Route C8 replaces route 54 from the City through Springfield to Beaulieu Park where it terminates at the junction of Shardelow Avenue and White Hart Lane (A130). To speed up journeys to and from Chelmsford Station in the morning and evening buses will run via Victoria Road.

C9: Route C9 replaces route 57 to Beaulieu from the Bus Station (Retail Market on Saturdays and via the Bus Station) via Victoria Road, New Street, University, to Chelmer Valley Road then a one-way loop via Essex Regiment Way, Regiment Gate, Centenary Way, White Hart Lane, New Nabbotts Way, Pump Lane and Chelmer Valley Way back to University and New Street continuing to Bus Station.

Between 9am & 3pm Mondays to Fridays and shopping hours on Saturdays and Sundays, route C9 will run via Victoria Road (east bound), Springfield Road, High Bridge Street, Parkway and Retail Market. The rest of the time, it will run direct from New Street via Victoria Road to Duke Street and the Bus Station.

C10: Route C10 partly replaces route 40 and runs along Broomfield Road, across Valley Bridge then north on Chelmer Valley Road, Lawn Lane, Brackenden Drive, Pump Lane, White Hart Lane then left into Centenery Way and then right into Commonwealth Link to Channels Drive.

From here a loop takes place as buses run along Channels Drive, right into Albatross Way, Belfry Crescent, across Channels Drive, round Brassie Wood, right on to Fairway Drive and right back on to Channels Drive and Commonwealth Link to Regiment Gate, Centenary Way and White Hart Lane.

After turning right in to New Nabbots Way buses will turn left into Pump Lane, right into Brackenden Drive, right into Lawn Lane and left into Chelmer Valley Road. Buses then run back to the City Valley Bridge and Broomfield Road to the City and loop round the centre as route 70 does.

C11: Route C11 replaces route 56 from the City to Springfield as far as New Nabbots Way. Instead of carrying on into Shardelow Avenue buses will turn right on to White Hart Lane to the roundabout at Colchester Road where they will terminate at the stop in Sainsburys creating a new link for customers to access this store.

C12: Route C12 will operate from the City via Parkway and Beeleigh Link to New Dukes Way, Cuton Hall Lane and Colchester Road to Sainsburys replacing route 40 over this section.

Changes to Essex Bus services to Chelmsford:

Chelmsford – Braintree – Colchester

Buses running between Chelmsford and Colchester will become route 370.

Route 70 between Braintree and Chelmsford will continue to loop around the City as they do now providing greater access to the centre.

Route 370 will operate hourly with additional buses in the peaks and route 70 will operate every 60 minutes providing a bus every 30 minutes between Chelmsford and Braintree between the two routes.

Chelmsford – Witham – Colchester

Route 371 will take over the Chelmsford – Witham - Colchester service and will be operated with increased double deck vehicles on-route to provide more seats when they are needed.

Route 71 will operate between Chelmsford and Witham only, serving Boreham Village and will terminate at Morrisons in Witham.

Both routes 71 and 371 will operate hourly providing a bus every 30 minutes between Chelmsford and Witham with extra buses running at the busiest times.

Because of the use of more double deck buses on route 371, and the need to avoid Duke Street railway bridge when arriving in Chelmsford; buses will serve the Retail Market stops then travel back along Parkway to enter Duke Street via Rainsford Road and into the Bus Station.

Route 371, when heading to Colchester, will leave the Bus Station via Duke Street and Coval Lane to then travel along Parkway to Duke Street, Tindal Street and the current line of route to Chelmer Village.

Route X71 will replace the 71X journeys currently operated.

Chelmsford – Maldon – Burnham-on-Crouch

The combination of services between Burnham-on-Crouch and Chelmsford will be simplified to be routes 31 and 331. The journeys that divert via Steeple will be renumbered route 332.

Journeys that operate via Baddow Road in Chelmsford and Milton Road in Maldon will become route 31 (route 332 on Sundays).

Journeys via Essex Yeomanry Way will be route 331.

Buses will leave Burnham-on-Crouch once an hour, Mondays to Saturdays, with some extra peak journeys. An extra bus will start in Maldon, every hour, to provide a bus every 30 minutes between Maldon and Chelmsford.

Chelmsford – Danbury – South Woodham Ferrers

The network of services between Chelmsford and South Woodham Ferrers will be simplified to be just route 336 which will run hourly, during the day, Mondays to Saturdays (with extra journeys to Chelmsford in the morning and back to South Woodham Ferrers in the afternoon).

Routes 94C and 94D on Sundays are withdrawn and replaced by journeys on route 94.

Other Essex Bus services in Chelmsford

On route X30, we will continue to monitor how we serve Southend Airport and will be making a change, under review to the route in the Rayleigh area October 2022.

Routes 42A and 42B will operate as stand-alone services operating from Chelmsford to either Bishops Stortford or Halstead.

All other routes in the Chelmsford area are unchanged.