Bus service extended to seven days a week

By Nub News Reporter 12th Jan 2026

Local News by Nub News Reporter 12th Jan 2026 5

THURROCK Council is extending the 88 bus service, operated by Ensign, to a seven-day operation.

Currently the service, which runs from Thurrock Hospital in Orsett to the bus station at Grays, via Stafford Clays, operates Monday to Saturday.

From Sunday, 18 January, the bus will also be running an hourly service on Sundays.

Cllr Victoria Holloway, cabinet member for place and the environment, said: "We know many of our residents are reliant on bus services to get around and we are committed to improving services. Making this popular and well used route available seven days a week is part of that commitment."

The improved service is funded by the Council's Bus Service Improvement Plan Funding.

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Comments (5)

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Sorry Terry4947 the 66 did run on a Sunday.

Alan ;The 66 did not run on Sunday so no change, and had very limited range- Tilbury- Grays- . The 200 bus runs from Grays-Tilbury-Chadwell-Stanford-le-Hope-an to Basildon, which is a great improvement.
With any bus service it needs to be a able to show a return on its route, if it is not used (or very poorly) it will not be continued, and YES, I am a regular Bus user.

I fully echo the thoughts of both Yoyrew and Alan. I would also urge Thurrock Council to consider the 33 bus route, which serves Chafford Hundred and Grays respectively. This service too does not operate on a Sunday. I am sure there are many residents who live in Chafford Hundred that cannot drive or experience mobility issues, who would be only too pleased to embrace the 88 bus initiative, if only the 33 operated on a Sunday.

Entirely agree with Alan.small.. A lack of joined up thinking. If there is no Sunday service to get to Grays, how is a service from Grays any use?The 200,since it replaced the 66 is now hourly with nothing on a Sunday. The 200 is even worse than the 66 was as only 3 vehicles on an extended route that even the 66 often couldn't run to time on. So the 200 has proved to be infrequent and unreliable. Bring in bus nationalisation I say.

Now they need to replace service 66 on a Sunday (which no longer runs). Service 200 is supposed to replace it but runs at half the frequency & unlike the 66 there is no Sunday service.