Bus firm First Essex has been given a formal warning today for the poor punctuality of their services.
The announcement from Deputy Traffic Commissioner Marcia Davis follows a public inquiry on June 30 at which bus bosses were grilled for their late or missing services, particularly in the Chelmsford and Braintree districts.
The warning will now be considered at any future inquiries into the company and could contribute to a more severe penalty in the future if the firm's punctuality doesn't improve.
It was revealed during the inquiry that in a sample size of 327 services checked by the Vehicles and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) in April and May 2013 79 buses, or 24 per cent, had been more than a minute early, more than five minutes late or had failed to appear at all.
However lawyer for the national company, James Backhouse, said that early arrivals had later been deducted from this total to give the firm a punctuality percentage of 83 per cent overall.
The formal hearing followed a series of complaints regarding the operator's service - many of which have featured in the Chronicle's letters pages over the years.
Responding to the decision a First Essex spokesperson said: "We're pleased with the Traffic Commissioner's findings and we are determined to improve services in the area.
"The Public Inquiry was an opportunity for us to explain in detail the circumstances behind punctuality issues on our services from last year. We outlined the range of measures we have implemented since, including the introduction of a new management team, and more resources on the 45 service to improve our operations and deliver a better service for our customers.
In addition, we spoke about our future plans for the business including how we are further addressing our operational performance, but also implementing some exciting customer friendly initiatives."
The Commissioner is expected to produce a full written copy of her decision in the next few days.
