A SERIES of changes and additional services to bus routes operated in Thurrock by the Ensign Bus Company have been announced.

Some of the improvements have been funded by Thurrock Council, through its bus improvement plan - which recently saw changes to the 100 and 200 services. Last year the council was awarded nearly £2 million from the Department for Transport to improve bus services across the borough.

Now a raft of changes have been introduced by Ensign.

They are:

22: On Sundays and public holidays, an enhanced service will operate every 30 minutes throughout most of the day alongside a new hourly service in the evening.  All Sunday and public holiday buses will continue as route 73 from Lakeside towards Grays and Tilbury with no need to change bus, offering simpler direct connections across Thurrock.

A spokesperson for Ensign added: "The times of some early and late journeys on all days will be changed to better suit travel patterns for the majority of users, and there will be a slightly reduced frequency during the late evening when fewer people are travelling.

"Weekday buses to and from Purfleet-on-Thames will be better aligned with Harris Academy Riverside start and finish times."

44: There will be changes to the timetable on all days to help us keep to time more easily when the traffic is heavy.

School day buses to & from Purfleet-on-Thames will be better aligned with Harris Academy Riverside start and finish times.

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 73: On Mondays to Fridays the service will be enhanced with a bus every 20 minutes during the day, and every 15 minutes towards Lakeside in the morning peak period.

Ensign said: "On Sundays and Public Holidays, all journeys will operate via Chadwell St Mary, Lakeside Retail Park & Tesco offering better direct connections across Thurrock with no need to change bus.  Buses towards Lakeside will change into route 22 at Grays and continue towards Lakeside & Aveley, Usk Road.

"The times of some early and late journeys on all days will be changed to better suit travel patterns for the majority of users, and there will be a slightly reduced frequency during the late evening when fewer people are travelling.

 Buses will finish at and start from Montreal Road in Tilbury at all times, calling at Civic Square towards Grays and Lakeside.  Unfortunately, Tilbury Town, Tilbury Asda and Amazon will no longer be served by this route.

83: There will be changes to the timetable on all days to help keep to time more easily when the traffic is heavy.

Details of all Ensign services can be found via this link.

Cllr Victoria Holloway, Thurrock Council's cabinet member for place and the environment, said: "We continue to invest in improving local bus routes around the borough because we know how crucial these are for many of our residents and for local businesses."