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Bus petition launched by councillor

2:31pm Tuesday 12th February 2008

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A PETITION has been launched by an Ockendon councillor to save bus services set for the axe in March.

Labour Councillor Barrie Lawrence's petition has called upon Thurrock Council to work with local bus companies to improve services and prevent people living in Aveley, Belhus and Ockendon feeling isolated.

Last week it was announced the axe is to fall on Arriva's 373 service, which is a bus link to London Underground rail services in Upminster.

The problem was compounded by Purfleet-based Ensign Bus Company also cutting its services to Upminster.

The cuts will happen from March 29 when Ensign's contract terminates with Thurrock Council, coinciding with the withdrawel of the Arriva 373 route which the operator says is for commercial reasons.

Councillor Lawrence said: "A new service, the 55, which only started recently will no longer serve Ockendon Station, instead it will run around the Belhus estate.

"This means local people from the Flowers Estate and Ockendon village will only have a direct service to Grays every other hour.

"Services to local hospitals will be limited to one every 90 minutes and will not run late."

Councillor Lawrence is concerned young people are going to encounter problems getting to school and families without cars will become isolated.

He added: "I want as many people as possible to sign up because it's the only way Thurrock Council will get its finger out.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg, if we don't fight back.

"What's being planned here, could happen in your area next, that's why we support from right across Thurrock."

For a copy of the petition contact Barrie Lawrence on 01375 857908.

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Your Say YourThurrock Gazette

Steve, Grays says...
8:15pm today Tue 12 Feb 08

If Ensign had not started their 66 and 55 services just minutes before the Arriva scheduled running times then maybe the services would not have been cancelled. No Company can continue to operate without passengers and the Ensign policy of running just in front of Arriva did not give any benefit to the public and only crippled the operation of Arriva.
quote

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Aaron, Ockendon says...
10:36pm Tue 12 Feb 08

Bus service has been a nightmare for years in Ockendon anyway, and the further cutting of services is not sadly not surprising.

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John Mason, North Stifford says...
11:34am Wed 13 Feb 08

Yet again, Thurrock Council and our elected reps shrug their shoulders and say "nothing to do with me guv". This service is used by a great many to get to work and school and certainly this route is the ONLY means of transport for a great many. Rather than short term gains the Council needs to work on a long term robust plan to provide its residents with the sustainable transport services it poorly lacks.

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Tracey, Aveley says...
12:36pm Wed 13 Feb 08

The most important issue are the school children , how are they going to get from Aveley to school in Upminster and back again ? I've spoken to local council / Arriva. No one want to take ownership of resolving this urgent matter.

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John, North Stifford says...
12:44pm Wed 13 Feb 08

I agree Tracey, its a disgrace and I would urge you to write to Thurrock Councillors and your MP about it. I dont even use the route myself but totally relied on it when I lived in South Ockendon. As you say, noone wants to take ownership. Those who live along Daiglen and Eriff Drive in South Ockendon will have NO options to get to work or school unless you can describe a 40 minute walk to try and pick up the 370 or take the more expensive and just as unreliable train from Ockendon. And what is the other top story today..oh..applicati
ons for more homes to be built in the area!! Its a joke!

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Scott Nelson, Aveley says...
1:46pm Wed 13 Feb 08

It is any wonder why so many people prefer to commute to and from work by car? Is it any wonder why so many parents take their children to and from school by car? Is it any wonder why there are so many vehicles on the roads due to poor public transport?

I have lived in Aveley since 1990 and in all these years the area has never had a reliable bus service. The 373 has forever been one of the worst bus services I have ever known. I lost count with the number of times I was left stranded because the 373 failed to show up. I lost count with the number of times I was late for work because the 373 failed to show up. I lost count with the number of times I was stranded at bus stops in the freezing cold, sometimes for over 2 hours, waiting for the 373 to show up.

I have been driving since 2001 and I have never looked back. There is no way I would give up my car for public transport. I have to commute to and from Basildon 4-days-a-week. It costs me £25.00 per fortnight to fill up my car with petrol (I don't own a gas guzzler). Just think of the money I am saving on expensive bus and train fares. And here's another bonus - I am never late for work.

Unlike the 373 - and other bus services serving Aveley - at least I can rely on my car.

Once again, the people of Aveley have been let down by Thurrock Council.

Aveley always been part of Thurrock's forgotten wilderness.


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???, Purfleet says...
2:13pm Wed 13 Feb 08

I can't believe that Ensign are being blamed for this (Steve from Grays). I lived in Aveley for a number of years and used to rely on the 373 to get from Kenningtons to Upminster station. I can honestly say that the 373 was the biggest pile of sh!t bus route that's ever existed. I'm a capitalist at heart; however, the sooner the council grow balls big enough to fcuk Arriva of out of the borough, the better. I'd suggest (and indeed did advocate) running the service from Upminster to Lakeside - via Ockendon. The route from Grays to Romford was far too long and gave rise to unacceptable delays. Anyone wanting to travel to Grays or Romford, could easily do so by changing at Lakeside or Upmister respectively - without having to wait too long. Arriva have been looking for an excuse to get out of that route for sometime! The 373 was always the poor relation to its sister the 370.

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AS, Grays says...
7:27pm Wed 13 Feb 08

Arriva are totally unreliable and have been for ages.
It is no wonder that a lot ot their ex drivers now drive for Ensign.

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Jo, says...
6:37pm Thu 14 Feb 08

AS wrote:
Arriva are totally unreliable and have been for ages. It is no wonder that a lot ot their ex drivers now drive for Ensign.
Arriva are useless but so are Ensign, they ran the 55 bus route to Ockendon Station for two weeks and have now decided to withdraw it on the same day as Arriva is withdrawing the 383, thanks Ensign you're as useless as Arriva

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Chris Brown, Aveley Essex says...
9:52pm Thu 14 Feb 08

Well Well Well!!!,here we are again,why is it that Aveley gets the cuts first everytime!!!,if the bus companys keep on cutting services then Aveley will end up with no service at all,and how do we the people of Aveley get to Romford or Upminster or Grays!!!!!.
they what us to use the buses but if they keep on cutting how the hell can we them when they just cut them all the time

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Debbie, South Ockendon says...
9:10am Fri 15 Feb 08

I believe that Thurrock Council are making a big mistake by appearing to shrug off the fact that the 373 (appalling service, but at least we had bus route) to Upminster bus service is being axed. Surely this will have political consequences for them!!

Thurrock Council appear to be washing their hands of the problem by saying its not in the councils control and that they are reviewing some options, whatever this means and on the same page of the Thurrock Gazette (last weeks edition) we are being told to expect a 2.5% rise in our Council Tax.

I am also in agreement with the Aveley resident - In a country where we are being asked to use public transport and get out of your cars, we are being forced to use the cars to transport our children to school. But not only this, what about people who work, will they have to drive their children to school earlier than they need to be there and make them wait around until their parents can pick them up from school after work. Finally, what about people that cannot drive!!

I am one parent that is not prepared for my child to walk to Ockendon train station past all the derelict factories, not the nicest of walks even on a sunny day!!!

I have e-mailed my comments to 6 Councillors including the Leader of Thurrock Council, once I had it confirmed by Arriva a weeks or so ago that the service was being axed, the only answer I have received is 'its not my portfolio but will try to find out what I can for you'. Are they all hoping that this will go away if they ignore questions/comments from their residents??

I have been told that the 370 is a really good bus service so, why can’t we have a good bus service from the Daiglen Drive/Erriff Drive/Foyle Drive side of Ockendon, Aveley and the Kenningtons to Upminster??

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as, GRAYS says...
12:19pm Fri 15 Feb 08

Why are there timetables for the council susidised Arriva operated 150 Sunday bus to Basildon displayed at bus stops in Palmers Avenue Grays when the bus does not even use that road.

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The Truth Seeker, Seeking Truth Everywhere says...
9:00am Sun 17 Feb 08

Most of the people who sign this petition are hypocrites.

If they bothered to use the service it would not be stopping.

Why should the council give the bus company wheel barrows full of cash to subsidise a service that nobody uses?

One very simple lesson folks - use it or lose it!

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Al, says...
10:56am Sun 17 Feb 08

The Truth Seeker wrote:
Most of the people who sign this petition are hypocrites. If they bothered to use the service it would not be stopping. Why should the council give the bus company wheel barrows full of cash to subsidise a service that nobody uses? One very simple lesson folks - use it or lose it!
Its obvious that you do not use local bus services otherwise you would know that the 373 bus is always well used, in the mornings by the time it gets to Usk Road its usually full up, also schoolchildren have to use it to get to and from schools in Upminster because all the senior schools bar one have now been demolished on the Belhus Estate have been demolished to make way for more houses, thus bringing more people into the area who have children, who need schools. It is also well used during the rest of the day.I think you should engage your brain before you speak and find our what you are talking about before you call people hypocrites, who are you, a spokesman for Arriva?

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Debbie, South Ockendon says...
12:38pm Sun 17 Feb 08

The Truth Seeker wrote:
Most of the people who sign this petition are hypocrites. If they bothered to use the service it would not be stopping. Why should the council give the bus company wheel barrows full of cash to subsidise a service that nobody uses? One very simple lesson folks - use it or lose it!
Well, well, well, there is always someone that has to hide behind a false name to try to undermine what people are trying to do!

By Thurrock council subsidising a bus route, (which may not cost barrows full of cash) it may save them money in the long term.. If children in Thurrock cannot travel to schools in Havering they will have to increase the number of school places available in Thurrock, which could include expanding buildings, employing more teachers and I am sure that subsidising a bus route will be the cheaper option!!!

What about people that travel to London to work, don’t drive or the elderly who cannot walk miles to the nearest shops, don’t they have a right to public transport??

We are not asking for a taxi service paid for by Thurrock Council, we just want what most other areas have got, a reliable bus route!!!

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Lucy Ruby, says...
12:57pm Mon 18 Feb 08

the 373 is vital for the residents of Aveley,althought the community is small this is the only transporttation link for most of the resident in the area.

I am insence that none of the concilors in Thurrock is interested in providing basic services for the residents.Most mornings there is hardly a sit for anyone on this bus so I do not understand the withdrawal of services. How will my daughters get to school will anyone be providing the children with a school bus?

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Al, says...
8:15am Tue 19 Feb 08

What I don't understand is if this bus route is so popular and always packed - why then are the bus company axing it?

Are they blackmailing the council to give them more cash?

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Denise, Ockendon says...
11:57am Tue 19 Feb 08

Although I do not use the busses that often I do wonder why Arriva couldn't just change their timetable slightly so they run before or after Ensign, also Ensign are well used because there are many people like me who use a four-wheeled shopper trolley and there is room on the 66 and 55 to get these on without causing too much stress to mothers with prams. But there you go if we not busses on the Belhus estate what is the use of the bus pass? Yes I have signed the petition.

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Adam, Belhus says...
11:39am Wed 20 Feb 08

One of the reasons the 373 is being axed is because, upminster being a borough of london will have a emissions zone in or around it and arriva would have had to pay huge amounts of money as there buses emit more emissions then are aloud by TFL. The 370 will continue to run as the route will be getting new buses in the near future.

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Emma, Aveley says...
1:00pm Wed 20 Feb 08

The 373 is a vital link for commuters to get to & from work and children to get to & from school. Surely every area deserves a link to public transport.

I was wondering whether anyone has considered whether Arriva saying it is not financially viable is an excuse (particularly as the morning & evening buses are extremely busy) and part of the reason is that the low emission zone which starts on Romford Road, applies to buses from July? As Arriva's buses are all older than 2000 registration plates then they would incur an additional cost (obviously thanks to Ken Livingstone).
I hope a solution is found before we lose a very valuable bus route.

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DENISE, Ockendon says...
1:49pm Wed 20 Feb 08

So do I, I don't think i fair that it is our area which loses bus services more than other area in Thurrock. What are the forgotten part of Thurrock. They soon remember us when they want our votes and our money.

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NicoleWhitehead, Essex says...
7:13pm Thu 6 Mar 08

This is an absolute disgrace. How the hell am I going to get into Upminster without walking over a mile to get a bus. There are around 8 people near me who all get the 373 to our Upminster school as there is no other way of getting there.

So they are saying they are going to offer us the 55? I don't want to go to bloody Grays! Stuff Grays! I need to get to Upminster.

Going to be talking to the council. Whether the conversation will be civilised or not is another matter

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omahadogred, south ockendon says...
8:20am Wed 18 Jun 08

again i have to make a complaint regarding this useless bus service we have i have contacted the ensign bus company in the past and the same old thing we are trying our best yes they are trying very trying now the bus service has changed its times yet again it now runs at 06.55am from ockendon how pathetic i think that this company should be taken out of service and have someone who knows what to do and how to run a reliable service like the old green london country bus service we used to have i have now contacted our locall counsillor i will now contact the minister of transport in london and ivite him if i can to come and see for himself what this so called bus service is like

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PETITION: Barrie Lawrence PETITION: Barrie Lawrence

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