First Bus to introduce improvements across South Essex network

First Bus is introducing widespread improvements to its network across south and mid Essex from Sunday 26 July.

The changes include more connections to hospitals; a new link to Elizabeth Line trains into London creating integrated transport; expansion of existing routes to boost connectivity in the region; and a seasonal service to support tourism and visitor trips to Colchester Zoo over the summer.

Frequency will also increase on a number of services together with timetable measures to improve reliability and punctuality.

Head of Network for Essex, East & Midlands, Julian Elliott, said: “This comprehensive review will introduce improved connections across the region.

“We’ve looked carefully at how and where we can deliver easier travel, be it on busy inter-urban routes, links to healthcare, integration with rail services and seasonal travel to support the regional economy.”

Chelmsford area

Some of the biggest changes will be made to its network of C numbered services. These are:C1 – improved weekday frequency up to every 10 minutes between Chelmsford Bus Station and Broomfield Hospital.

C2 – new cross-city through service from Great Baddow to Broomfield Hospital.

C3 - service is extended past Chelmsford city centre via Army & Navy, Chelmer Village and Springfield Sainsbury's to the new Beaulieu Park Station.

C4 and C5 - combined into a single continuous through-service under the C5 banner to eliminate city centre number changes.

C7 - revised daytime to run hourly via Beehive Lane and Duffield Road,

C8 and C9 - revised to run as complementary clockwise (C8) and anti-clockwise (C9) loop services linking Beaulieu Park Station, Beaulieu Rydes, Havengore, and Chelmsford Bus Station.

C10 – rerouted to serve districts and bus stops of the C11 which is being withdrawn.

‘Love Your Bus 2’ schemes provided in partnership with local parish councils and Essex County Council, using funding from the Department for Transport, has enabled the introduction of new weekend and late night services between Chelmsford and Burnham on Crouch on Services 31, 331 and 332 and to South Woodham on Service 336.

“We have redesigned our Chelmsford network to improve journey options for customers which we hope can help to grow bus travel but balancing our resources with demand,” added Julian Elliott.

Basildon area

B1 - extended beyond Laindon to create a new connection to Harold Wood Elizabeth Line station. Locally within Basildon, the service will coordinate with a revised Service B2 to provide a combined 10-minute urban frequency between Basildon and Laindon.

B2 - revised to run between Basildon, Laindon Centre and Victoria Road via Great Knightleys. Frequency every 20 minutes and combined with B1 to provide journeys every 10 minutes between Basildon and Laindon. A new B6 service will cover the Langton Hills section.

B3 - increased Sunday daytime frequency to run every 20 to 25 minutes between 9:00am-2:30pm to improve reliability.

B6 -  a new route replacing the Langdon Hills coverage previously provided by Service B2. This will operate hourly Monday to Saturday from Basildon Hospital to Basildon, then via Laindon Link, Hatterill, and Langdon Hills to Laindon Centre.

Colchester area

New summer holiday connections will be available on a seasonal Service z75, complementing the existing 75 and 375 journeys to Colchester Zoo which were introduced in April. The hourly weekend service will begin on Saturday 25 July and run throughout the summer school holidays.

Full details of the network changes and supporting information can be found on the First Bus website Service changes - 26th July 2026 | First Bus.

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