Arriva’s route 370 became a Transport for London contract route from 3rd November 2007, with Arriva being awarded the
contract & using red buses as per Transport for London contract requirements.

Eurostar services ran in passenger carrying service through the Thurrock area for the first time on 14th November 2007.

March 2008 saw Arriva withdraw routes 373 and 383 - only route 383 was partially replaced, by extending route 5 from Basildon
to Lakeside via Chadwell St Mary.

Stephensons X1 route was withdrawn on 11th July 2008.

From 31st August, First introduce a Sunday service on their route 100 between Basildon and Lakeside. Click Here to see the
special leaflet.

20th September saw Ensign bus make some changes to their network:
22 - peak journeys withdrawn between Aveley and Upminster; extended to Aveley on Sundays
44 - re-routed via Chadwell Road instead of Southend Road
55 - new peak route Belhus to Upminster via Aveley, replacing withdrawn section of route 22
66 - revised timetable
73 - re-routed via Southend Road instead of Chadwell Road; improved Saturday service
73C - new evening & Sunday route covering parts of routes 73 and 83
80 - withdrawn, partially replaced by route 73C
83 - improved Saturday service
X80 - revised timetable on Sundays

From 29th September 2008, Ensign Bus introduce brand new Optare Olympus double deckers on routes 73, 83 and X80.

Ensign Bus fleet details as at September 2008 can be found by clicking here.

3rd November saw the introduction of new route 575, operated by Blue Triangle, and running on Monday to Fridays only between
Epping and Lakeside via Debden and Romford.

24th November saw the introduction of new route 265, operated by First London, and running on Monday to Fridays only between
Brentwood and Lakeside.

Ensign Bus fleet details as at November 2008 can be found by clicking here.

On 6th & 13th December, Ensign Bus ran special vintage services on routes X55 and X80 - click on the image below to see the
leaflet produced for the event:

Also from 6th December, Blue Triangle’s TfL route 372 has a temporary timetable introduced which sees weekend frequencies
improved with buses running every 15 minutes on Saturdays (usually 20 minutes) and every 20 minutes on Sundays (usually 30
minutes).

Ensign Bus ends operation on route 55 on 24th December 2008.

Another change noted during December was the passing of Thurrock Council route 11 from Blue Triangle to Clintona.

Ensign Bus produced a leaflet for their Christmas and New Year services - interestingly I think this is the first time bus services
have run on both Boxing day and New Years day in Thurrock! To see the special leaflet, click here.

For more information on what services were provided over the Christmas & New Year period, click here.

Ensign Bus have made further changes to their services from 27th February, with the withdrawal of route 88 (click here for the
leaflet), and from 28th March, minor changes to early morning services on routes 22, 73 and 83 (click here for the leaflet).

Also announced with the 28th March changes is the pending introduction of low floor double deckers to route 22, indicating the
success Ensign Bus is having.

Another change from the 28th March saw East London take over the TfL contract to operate route 372 from Blue Triangle.

From 1st May 2009, Excel coaches starts a new daily 24 hour service between Grays and Stansted Airport via Basildon &
Brentwood. The service is numbered X3 and is run under the “Airport by coach” banner.

Back to top of page

On 5th September Ensign’s open topper DMS333 (EGP33J) was used for a sponsored bus pull around Grays in aid of Orsett
Hospital.

Ensign Bus withdrew it’s X80 service on Sundays from 6th September (no change on Mondays to Saturdays though - and they still
operate the X80 on public holidays!!).

Route 33 is diverted to serve the Sainsbury’s store at Chafford Hundred from 7th Sept.

The long awaited full introduction of low floor double deckers onto route 22 finally occurred  in November, with the acquisition of
six Dennis Trident’s bodied by Alexander coming from East London. Operation of double deckers on route 22 had been sporadic
since the March announcement, presumably only appearing when a spare vehicle was available.

Details of all the Christmas 2009 and New Year 2009/2010 services which operated in Thurrock can be found by clicking here -
and for the second year running bus services ran on both Boxing day and New Years day in Thurrock; even First Essex managed
to run a service on route 100 on Boxing day this time around!

Back to top of page

© Nige 2008 - 2011 (unless stated otherwise)

Site Version: 3    Page Version: 4A