24 Feb City of Southend Area Bus User Group Newsletter: Issue #37
Les Thorington
It is with sadness that I must advise you of the passing of our former, long term, committee member Les Thorington.
I have known Les for many years, respected member of the Committee when I joined the SRTA (Rail User Group) in the late 1980’s.
When Les started to work with C2C, he was told that he had to resign from the Rail User Committee, which he did and started working for C2C at Leigh-on-Sea station. Les became a legend at this station and there were many tales of how Les would fight with Controllers and Management alike, to get and pass information onto passengers at Leigh Station, especially during times of disruption.
Les retired from C2C, while in his late 70’s, but did he sit back and take it easy? certainly not! He re-joined the SRTA committee and joined SABUG. He became a vital part of our committee, for many years. Les did not only help bus and train passengers but was also volunteering at Southend Hospital two or three times a week too.
During Covid Les’ health deteriorated and he resigned from both committees and stop volunteering at Southend Hospital. He did not like having to resign from all these groups, but he knew it was the best thing for his health.
It was great to see Les at our September 2022 AGM. He was determined to come along and raise a question, ardently.
I have had the honour of being Chair to both the Rail and Bus User Groups for many years. I have nothing but pure admiration and happy memories of Les and what he did for others.
Now it’s time for Les to take his rest, as his struggles are over, and he is now at peace.
Peter Slattery,
SABUG (Chair)
AGM September 3rd, 2022
Summary of minutes
Opening statement from our Chair Peter Slattery, followed by the financial report by our treasurer Stephen Knightley with a balance at September £270.88, Stephen pointed out that in March we had an additional payment of £110 this was for Public Liability Insurance which we need for any events that we hold also we had not collected any membership fees for 2 years due to the covid pandemic.
Richard Delahoy our President outlined the process for the Election of Officers/Committee members, Richard pointed out that Stephen Knightley will be stepping down from his role as Vice Chair & Bus Liaison officer after this AGM but will continue to be our Treasurer and will act as an advisor to the group.
Officers & Committee were elected as follows based upon the Constitution:
Peter Slattery-Chair/Chair
Stephen KnightleyTreasurer
Committee Members, Jill Allen King OBE & Alan Grubb
Gordon Greig-Membership Secretary/Newsletter Editor/Facebook Page/Website Manager
There was a short presentation by First Essex Buses/Arriva Southend & Stephensons
Comments and Questions from the Members & General Public.
A considerable number of questions were raised regarding the rerouting of service 21 which happened on 17th April 2022 with other changes from First Essex, the rerouting of service 21 was due to service 26 Hadleigh to Southchurch via Leigh Station/Leigh Broadway & Leigh Road being withdrawn. To partly compensate for this and as a result service 21 was rerouted away from Hadleigh Road to serve Leigh Station, Leigh Broadway, Leigh Road then Westbourne Grove or Southbourne Grove before joining its normal route at the Hospital and continuing to the Travel Centre. This meant service 21 would no longer serve Westcliff High Schools, Blenheim Chase and Elmsleigh Drive so these areas would no longer have a bus service linking Leigh, the Hospital or Southend. Some passengers would be in favour of these changes because the revised service 21 now provides a direct link from Leigh Road area to the Hospital and they have a Sunday service which they never had with service 26.
Members/Public asked First Essex could the following withdrawn services be reviewed, service 25A was withdrawn from Carlton Avenue in January 2018 and Arriva services 7/8 extended to Blackgate Road Shoeburyness instead of terminating at the Renown.
Arriva was asked why the cuts to service 7/8 to Great Wakering/Landwick leaves long waits with several services terminating at the Renown, the request was to continue to Great Wakering/Landwick. Question was asked about the last service 7 from the Hospital to Great Wakering/Landwick which leaves at 18.12 M-F and 18.36 on Saturday, requesting that services run later. If you wish to have a copy of the AGM minutes, please contact the membership secretary.
Latest bus news
Service Revision 3rd January 2023
First Essex route 3 Southend City Travel Centre to Chelmsford Bus Station.
This service has a revised Monday to Saturday timetable to improve reliabilty, with the first bus of the day from Southend leaving slightly earlier than it does at present. The overall level of service is unchanged,with six journeys per day running the full route between Southend and Chelmsford in each direction.
The route is simplified with all journeys running via Sandon, Daws Heath and Leigh. Buses are also rerouted between Leigh-on-Sea town centre and Southend to run via Elmsleigh Drive, Blenheim Chase and Prittlewell Chase, instead of along Leigh Road and London Road, providing a new direct link to Southend Hospital for several communities between Chelmsford and Leigh, as well as providing a day time service along Elmsleigh Drive and Blenheim Chase.
First Essex route X30, revised timetable, the 0045 departure from Southend Travel Centre will now be extended through to Stansted Airport to arrive at 0228, also minor timetable changes to improve the service.
Service Revision 13th February 2023
Stephensons, service 24 via North/Central Avenues & Sutton Road will be completely withdrawn, the existing service 24A via Hamstel Road, Lifstan Way & Woodgrange Drive at an increased 20 minute frequency instead of the current 30 minute frequency and will be renumbered 24.
Service Revision 19th February 2023
First Essex route 21, Journeys to Leigh Rail Station only will be extended to Morrisons at Hadleigh.
£2 Single Bus Fare Cap from 1st January to 31st March 2023
The Government is providing funding to cap single adult fares to £2 per journey.
Arriva Southend, First Essex and Stephensons have all opted into the Government scheme, if you pay more than this for a single fare at the present then you could save money with this discount scheme. This is available on all routes in the City of Southend including X3O & Z3, but not on route 725 Basildon to Southend High School for Boys. It is also available on all services in South Essex except for Ensign Bus Services, Essex Arrow Dart and School Services
Possible Bus Service Cuts at the End of March 2023
You may have seen in the news with the Government funding and the temporary £2 cap set to expire at the end of March, however, these cuts in routes/services may not necessarilly be in our area, bus operators are calling for a long term support plan.
Worth a note, operators need to give six weeks notice to register any changes or cuts to bus routes.
Group Plan Future 2023
- Communication with the First Essex, Arriva Southend & Stephensons, cancellations, driver shortages, service revisions & various ticket promotions.
- Essex County Council Transport and Travel Newsletter, action & communicate passenger information to the Group members.
- Enhanced Partnership Agreement regarding improvement bus services, this is due to be discussed by Southend City Council on 12th January, the Group will monitor the situation and feedback.
- Possible closure of Southend City Travel Centre, we are aware of this issue due to the running costs against this years Council budgets, Plans for alternative passenger facileties will have to be discussed, the group will monitor this ongoing issue.
- Government support runs out at the end of March 2023, this could mean more service cuts, however, not necessarily in our area.
- Southend Airport Transport Foum, benefits of busses terminating at the airport.
Please note
The Group will be holding their AGM on Saturday 19th August 2023 at 10.30am, the venue will be the Salvation Army Hall, 42 Clarence Street, Southend-on-Sea SS1 18D. All Members are invited, the Chair will outline the Groups activities for 2022/23, Local Bus Operators will be present where you will be able to ask questions regarding services within your area.
NEWSLETTER/FEEDBACK
The Group has a newsletter in which they send out information on bus service changes and updates twice a year to all members this includes meetings which the committee have attended, photos and committee changes plus membership updates.
The Committee would like to know from the members what they would like to see in their future newsletters.
If you have any views on the newsletter or wish to contact the group with observations/general comments or improvements in your bus services that you would like to see contact Gordon Greig, greig.gordon49@sky.com
WEBSITE
The group has a new website address, www.sabug.uk this website will be kept up to date with information about the group and latest bus news, if you are able, log on and view the site. We would like to hear your comments to our Membership Secretary who manages this site and Facebook page.
We are at present looking at ways to increase our membership and there will be a leaflet drop in areas where our membership is low on numbers.
Thanks for your continued support of the Group.Do you know someone, member of the family or friend who is a Bus User that would benefit from joining our Group?
Membership form can be found at the back of this newsletter.
Views expressed in the newsletter do not necessarilly reflect the opinons of the City of Southend Area Bus User Group, every effort is made to ensure accuracy, but the Group cannot accept responsibility for any errors published.
CITY of SOUTHEND AREA BUS USER GROUP
The Group looks after the interests of bus users in Southeast Essex, City of Southend-on-Sea, Castle Point Borough, and Rochford District.
Members receive two newsletters each year and have an Annual General Meeting, attended by local bus operators,
Membership costs £4.00 for one year or £10.00 for three years.
To join please complete the attached slip and send, together with a cheque payable to Southend Area Bus User Group, to Gordon Greig, (Membership Secretary), 81 East Beach Park, Shoeburyness, Essex, SS3 9SG.
If a receipt is required, please enclose a stamped addressed envelope.
I enclose a cheque for £4.00/£10.00 for membership of
City of Southend Area Bus User Group
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