First Essex

[Cesarcollie]

So why did my one count down saying like 12 minutes all the way down to Due but then never came..?

No idea.

 

[Canary73]

They are inaccurate whether it’s due or a count down in minutes.

 

[stuart81]

I note nearly all the BJ11 B7RLE Wright Eclipse 2’s have been withdrawn and scrapped, just curious why as you would think they’d have a few more years left in them especially as they started on Chelmsford Park and Ride so wouldn’t have had the hardest of lives

 

[Canary73]

I note nearly all the BJ11 B7RLE Wright Eclipse 2’s have been withdrawn and scrapped, just curious why as you would think they’d have a few more years left in them especially as they started on Chelmsford Park and Ride so wouldn’t have had the hardest of lives

I wonder what with though? I got the 371 yesterday which was a double decker then a 73, then a 331 and 47. A real mixed bag of buses - can't recall the last time we got buses that weren't hand me downs from other parts of First. The service across Chelmsford could do with restoring links to Bishops Stortford and NW Essex. There used to be a handy NX coach service to Cambridge but that got axed a few years back to getting there is several changes.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

I note nearly all the BJ11 B7RLE Wright Eclipse 2’s have been withdrawn and scrapped, just curious why as you would think they’d have a few more years left in them especially as they started on Chelmsford Park and Ride so wouldn’t have had the hardest of lives

They’re still 15 years old and with so many EVs, there’s no shortage of secondhand vehicles on the market and First have no need for them.

 

[JD2168]

I note nearly all the BJ11 B7RLE Wright Eclipse 2’s have been withdrawn and scrapped, just curious why as you would think they’d have a few more years left in them especially as they started on Chelmsford Park and Ride so wouldn’t have had the hardest of lives

The trio that went to South Yorkshire 69512-69514 are still in service daily

 

[cactustwirly]

It has been confirmed by Arriva that Colchester depot has been sold to First

Arriva has announced plans to sell its Colchester bus depot to First Bus, following a detailed review of the operation.

The sale is subject to approval by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). If it goes ahead, the depot, fleet and assets will transfer to First Bus, along with all colleagues based there.

Arriva’s last day of operation in Colchester would be Saturday 19 December, with First Bus taking over from Sunday 20 December. Services 1, 2, 3 and 8 that currently operate from the depot will be maintained.

Customers should not expect any changes in the short term.

This was not an easy decision, and it is not a reflection of the hard work and commitment of our colleagues in Colchester.

Colchester depot update October 2026

Arriva has announced plans to sell its Colchester bus depot to First Bus, following a detailed review of the operation.

www.arrivabus.co.uk

 

[Canary73]

Watch them run that into the ground

 

[Whiteway215]

New Bath Yutong.

30216/28/34/35. YK76LLZ LMF LNO LNP

I’m beginning to think Bath will receive the final 29 of the present order and that Lawrence Hill will receive 30168 onwards.

 

[Cesarcollie]

Watch them run that into the ground

There’s nothing much left to run into the ground tbh.

 

[Whiteway215]

New Bath Yutong.

30216/28/34/35. YK76LLZ LMF LNO LNP

I’m beginning to think Bath will receive the final 29 of the present order and that Lawrence Hill will receive 30168 onwards.

Sorry wrong place to post this. My apologies.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Watch them run that into the ground

Because it’s such a quality operation now?

 

[Canary73]

Because it’s such a quality operation now?

Because reducing service quality through closing travel centres, lines of communication and cutting services is First’s specialty. Whatever Arriva were doing, First Essex won’t improve it

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Because reducing service quality through closing travel centres, lines of communication and cutting services is First’s specialty. Whatever Arriva were doing, First Essex won’t improve it

It’s already run into the ground with a fleet older than the hills.

A fleet of 16/17 yr old e200s, some of which are refugees from an earlier close down at Guildford, lost the P&R, pulled off the Stansted route, relocated from their historic depot… it’s not exactly that First are buying a well loved operation

 

[Metal Mickey]

It’s already run into the ground with a fleet older than the hills.

A fleet of 16/17 yr old e200s, some of which are refugees from an earlier close down at Guildford, lost the P&R, pulled off the Stansted route, relocated from their historic depot… it’s not exactly that First are buying a well loved operation

Arriva Colchester’s customers will also soon be given the pleasure of First’s complicated timetables which they’ve rolled into action in almost every area that they operate in the UK.

Arriva’s online provision and customer comms also far superior to First’s.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Arriva Colchester’s customers will also soon be given the pleasure of First’s complicated timetables which they’ve rolled into action in almost every area that they operate in the UK.

Arriva’s online provision and customer comms also far superior to First’s.

I must have missed the moment when Arriva became this exemplar of operations. The previous poster cited cutting services and closing travel centres... something that Arriva wouldn't have done in places like Wycombe or Hemel or..... hang on. In fact, didn't they close their Southend travel centre at the same time as First closed theirs (i.e. over Covid).... and Leicester, Milton Keynes, Wakefield?

I don't much care for First but their Colchester fleet is newer than Arriva's by a mile. First Colchester's fleet hasn't had new vehicles since 2015/6 (?) and is the poor relation; at least First Essex has had new fleet and there's been a few cascades.

Aside from the 2015 P&R fleet, I'm not certain Arriva has ever allocated a new vehicle to Colchester. Arriva's fleet is fit for nothing other than a trip to Barnsley - photos from Matthew Burton and Martin Ruthe on flickr. Be still my beating heart...





I would hope, but not an expectation, that First will rationalise the network AND invest in the town's fleet and network.

Not defending First but to suggest that Arriva hasn't already run Colchester into the ground is like arguing against gravity!

 

[Wawanesa]

I suspect that First won't invest much in Colchester until it reaches the top of the queue for Electrification. From that point of view, the acquisition of Arriva's depot could well be useful as installing chargers in First's garage will inevitably reduce its capacity in the short term.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

I suspect that First won't invest much in Colchester until it reaches the top of the queue for Electrification. From that point of view, the acquisition of Arriva's depot could well be useful as installing chargers in First's garage will inevitably reduce its capacity in the short term.

I wasn't thinking of new fleet for that very reason; more that they may move across some of the late model Streetlites if only to improve the age profile. I doubt the Arriva depot will be around for too long.

 

[buslad1988]

I’d give it 3-6 months before the Arriva routes are consolidated into Firsts established Colchester network. I’d predict:

51/52 (minor variation) already covers northern end of the 8
55 (frequency uplift) already covers southern end of the 8
64 (variation) to serve Harwich Road and extended cross city to Shrub End to cover the 1
87 (minor enhancement) already covers northern end of the 2
A return of the S10 (with a new number) to cover the eastern end of the 2

It would probably only require 6/7 additional buses max to do this.. continuing to run 8’s every 12 mins on top of the 51/52 every 10 mins (just as one example) isn’t sustainable in the medium to long term.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

I’d give it 3-6 months before the Arriva routes are consolidated into Firsts established Colchester network. I’d predict:

51/52 (minor variation) already covers northern end of the 8
55 (frequency uplift) already covers southern end of the 8
64 (variation) to serve Harwich Road and extended cross city to Shrub End to cover the 1
87 (minor enhancement) already covers northern end of the 2
A return of the S10 (with a new number) to cover the eastern end of the 2

It would probably only require 6/7 additional buses max to do this.. continuing to run 8’s every 12 mins on top of the 51/52 every 10 mins (just as one example) isn’t sustainable in the medium to long term.

Probably a fair bet though wondering if the Highwoods end might not get some sort of uplift. However, it is clearly ripe for some consolidation. One wonders if there haven't been parallel discussions about dialling back some of the Southend duplication... not that they would, obviously.

 

[Cesarcollie]

I suspect that First won't invest much in Colchester until it reaches the top of the queue for Electrification. From that point of view, the acquisition of Arriva's depot could well be useful as installing chargers in First's garage will inevitably reduce its capacity in the short term.

The Arriva depot is leased. I very much doubt it will be retained by First beyond the next break clause. The current First depot has plenty of space for electrification, and after a recast of the network, I doubt the existing First PVR will increase very much, if at all, as others above have speculated.Every Arriva route is already covered by First, bar a few estate roads.

 

[Gareth1990]

If every route is covered adequately by First what was the point in them purchasing the garage? They certainly won’t be keeping any of Arriva’s knackered buses so why did First buy them out?

 

[NWSpotting]

First have a massive presence countrywide, and are investing in electric in many big regions, meaning they will likely have plenty of diesels that are still much newer than Arriva's to spare for the new Colchester operation tbf

 

[TAS]

If every route is covered adequately by First what was the point in them purchasing the garage? They certainly won’t be keeping any of Arriva’s knackered buses so why did First buy them out?

They aren't all adequately covered by First - only a minority are (most of First's competitive services introduced since Covid have been withdrawn).

Here's a comparison of Arriva's corridors with First's services, grouped by what I would think might happen:

Arriva service likely to be withdrawn with existing First services perhaps increased in frequency and tweaked in route:
Horkesley Heath via Mile End Road - Arriva route 2 2ph; First route 87 2bph (Arriva serve Defoe Crescent, First don't)
Highwoods via General Hospital - Arriva route 8 6bph; First routes 51/52 6bph (Arriva serve Severalls in peak hours, First don't)

Possible merger of services but the Arriva service would be the major component:
Monkwick via Mersea Road - Arriva route 8 6bph; First route 55 1bph (continues to Mersea)

Arriva service likely to remain but with frequency possibly decreased and some route tweaks:
Greenstead via Harwich Road - Arriva routes 1/3 8bph; First none (but route 104 has 1bph on Harwich Road which continues to Harwich and route 54 6bph to Greenstead via the Hythe)

Arriva services likely to remain as they are now:
Prettygate via Maldon Road - Arriva route 1 4bph; First none (but routes 75/375 have 1bph on Maldon Road and continue to Maldon and three stops in Shrub End are also served with 2bph by route 56 - route 1 was only recently diverted to serve these so could be returned to its previous route)
Highwoods via St John's - Arriva route 2 2bph; First none

I imagine that there may also be various changes to which corridors are connected to each other as cross-city services to match up frequencies, running time etc. I also assume that any services which remain will be renumbered into the 5* sequence.

 

[buslad1988]

If every route is covered adequately by First what was the point in them purchasing the garage? They certainly won’t be keeping any of Arriva’s knackered buses so why did First buy them out?

As others have stated; it’s probably to protect Central Connect (TMS) from purchasing the operation.

Obviously TMS could always launch a few city services themselves in due course anyway… but if they inherited Arriva’s ops you’re giving them a customer base from the get go; unlike starting from scratch! So it’s worth First trying to play clever - and also means they’ll inherit a few drivers too.

If TMS are willing to throw money away on the Chelmsford Park & Ride shenanigans I’d imagine they’d be willing to explore other opportunities. Colchester sits perfectly amongst their ops so I can’t see why they wouldn’t eventually want a slice of the pie. It’s why smaller ops like Ipswich Buses should watch out.

 

[TAS]

Obviously TMS could always launch a few city services themselves in due course anyway… but if they inherited Arriva’s ops you’re giving them a customer base from the get go; unlike starting from scratch! So it’s worth First trying to play clever - and also means they’ll inherit a few drivers too.

Worth noting on that front that comments on social media claim that First has a driver shortage in Colchester at the moment, so the extra staff will probably come in handy (especially given the local competition for drivers from the Sizewell contract) even with a reduced overall PVR from merging the two operations.

 

[Metal Mickey]

I must have missed the moment when Arriva became this exemplar of operations. The previous poster cited cutting services and closing travel centres... something that Arriva wouldn't have done in places like Wycombe or Hemel or..... hang on. In fact, didn't they close their Southend travel centre at the same time as First closed theirs (i.e. over Covid).... and Leicester, Milton Keynes, Wakefield?

I don't much care for First but their Colchester fleet is newer than Arriva's by a mile. First Colchester's fleet hasn't had new vehicles since 2015/6 (?) and is the poor relation; at least First Essex has had new fleet and there's been a few cascades.

Aside from the 2015 P&R fleet, I'm not certain Arriva has ever allocated a new vehicle to Colchester. Arriva's fleet is fit for nothing other than a trip to Barnsley - photos from Matthew Burton and Martin Ruthe on flickr. Be still my beating heart...

View attachment 213331
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View attachment 213333

I would hope, but not an expectation, that First will rationalise the network AND invest in the town's fleet and network.

Not defending First but to suggest that Arriva hasn't already run Colchester into the ground is like arguing against gravity!

Although I’ve little knowledge of Essex, First aren’t exactly industry leaders in vehicle presentation. South Yorkshire, Bristol and Bath being prime examples with a plethora of different liveries.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Although I’ve little knowledge of Essex, First aren’t exactly industry leaders in vehicle presentation. South Yorkshire, Bristol and Bath being prime examples with a plethora of different liveries.

That's because they have decided to abandon the local liveries in favour of ultra-violet, compounded by the moving around of fleet in order to standardise vehicle types. Essex has the legacy of Urban, green Essex, red Shuttle, and now ultra violet but is one of the better OpCos in getting vehicles repainted.

However, to reiterate, it isn't like Arriva's Colchester operation hasn't already been run into the ground.

 

[Pyromaniac]

@TheGrandWazoo Catching an earlier post, Arriva Colchester had new vehicles in late 2018, two 68 plated Sapphire Streetlites for the 133. I suspect with funding from Stansted Airport at the time!

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

@TheGrandWazoo Catching an earlier post, Arriva Colchester had new vehicles in late 2018, two 68 plated Sapphire Streetlites for the 133. I suspect with funding from Stansted Airport at the time!

Good catch - I’d forgotten about those. I suspect you’re right that they were funded via Stansted, if only indirectly.