On Wednesday, September 30, Chairman of Essex County Council Norman Hume officially declared First Essex’s new bus depot open in Colchester.
As part of a £3.5m investment, First Essex has merged its present depots at Queen Street and Haven Road into a new purpose built facility at Quayside.
The location provides a new office facility to work from, along with new workshops built to undertake all engineering functions, First said the working environment is greatly improved and much more efficient. New systems have been introduced to manage bus parts and other materials under one roof, which were previously spread over three sites.
First has also introduced improved bus wash facilities and cleaning processes. It has also refurbished its travel shop and driver facilities at the Colchester town centre site and introduced a brand new learning centre for staff.
Alex Jones Managing Director for First Essex in Colchester, said: “Were committed to delivering the best services for our customers, and providing the best operating environment for our staff.
“Our new centre of operations will help us improve upon our strong punctuality and reliability performance and provide us with an excellent platform to develop our business further.
“This investment, along with a further £2m on 17 brand new Wrightbus StreetLite buses scheduled for December, provides confidence and reassurance to our customers and stakeholders that we are committed to providing a comprehensive bus network for local communities in Colchester.”
Councillor Norman Hume, Chairman of Essex County Council, said: “First Essex is one of our important commercial bus partners and I am delighted to be here to open this brand new bus depot.
“Essex County Council is investing heavily in transport in Colchester – this new depot will contribute to our aim of improving the roads in Colchester and is another boost to the transport infrastructure in the borough.’
