BOSSES at First Essex have assured customers they will take a formal warning issued over the punctuality of their services "very seriously".
Deputy traffic commissioner Marcia Davis gave the bus firm an official warning on Thursday following a public hearing into the operator's failings, in particular the reliability and punctuality of the 461 services it runs across the county.
Speaking to the Chronicle, managing director Adrian Jones said: "Absolutely we take the warning very seriously and we will do everything we can to make things better than they are.
"We recognise the 95 per cent punctuality target given to us and that's what we will aspire to.
"I think the decision indicates that the deputy traffic commissioner listened to what we had to say about the reasons behind the levels of punctuality and why they weren't at the level she wanted.
"It could have been different as she has wider reaching power in terms of awarding a fine or even taking away licensing discs but I think the evidence of our planning process and how we arrive at the schedules went in our favour.
"We want to provide a reliable service; we believe that is just as important to us as it is to our customers."
It had emerged during the inquiry that in a sample of 327 buses checked by the Vehicles and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) in April and May last year, 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, once early arrivals had later been deducted from this total, as these do not fall within statutory requirements of the operating licence, the firm was left with a punctuality percentage of 83 per cent overall.
"We will aim for 95 per cent although there will be some times where things are out of our control but as long as we have the systems in place to minimise disruption and sufficient resources we will do our very, very best to get it up there," added Mr Jones.
"It's a really good team that we have here; there are a lot of good people.
"Customers might not always see it and all the work that goes on behind the scenes, but everyone is committed to doing a very good job.
"We do take notice of customers' comments, good and bad, as it's only through these that we can modify our services."
Changes have already been made to one of the worst-offending services, the 45, which now has buses running every 12 minutes and an additional vehicle to cope with demand.
The newly-appointed managing director, who previously oversaw services in the capital before taking the job in Essex, will also be reviewing schedules alongside his team to check they are "right and adequate".
He believes that once real-time information timetables are introduced by the end of this year, customers will begin to see real improvements.
He was referring to a £670,000 upgrade to the county's electronic bus timetables which was due to be implemented a year ago but has still not materialised.
The new system will allow passengers to see the exact location of their bus, including the predicted arrival time, rather than just the scheduled times.
Essex County Council says the introduction of the new system, when fully operational, will save £3.568m over the ten-year contract.
"From our point of view it will give us more of an idea as to how services are running and where there are problems so that we can intervene and from our customers point of view they will be able to see when the next bus is coming so they're aware of any delays," Mr Jones told the Chronicle.
