Bus wars spark havoc for 'confused' commuters as rival trips run through village in £860k row

Alice Tomlinson
Tue, 31 Mar 2026 20:10:10 +0000

Hundreds of commuters have been left feeling dazed and confused after two rival bus companies went to war over an £860,000 contract handed out by Essex County Council.

Sandon, a quaint Essex village just outside Chelmsford, is now at the frontline of a battle for thousands of customers after a major change to the local Park & Ride service.

Two rival bus companies – Central Connect and First Bus – are now providing two almost identical services on a route which caters for around 720,000 journeys every year.

Central Connect had been operating under licence with Essex County Council between September 2022 and March 2026.

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However, a new deal with First Bus sparked a furious battle for the Sandon Park & Ride after the multi-national transport group's takeover of the 1,800-capacity car park and bus service was confirmed on March 6.

The sudden change has created confusion and additional costs for the community, with locals calling it a “waste of their resources”.

Wayne Balderstone, a user of Chelmsford’s public transport system, told GB News: “First Bus is trying to muscle things again by following the Central Connect bus - it’s a waste of their resources when there are other services!”

First Bus was awarded the £860,000-a-year contract after being commissioned to provide a council-subsidised bus service to and from the P&R in Sandon, which connects thousands of residents from surrounding villages to Chelmsford city centre.

However, rather than folding their service, Central Connect decided to keep operating the P&R route.

Transport Made Simple (TMS), the parent company of Central Connect, told GB News it is “willing to run the service commercially” without the support of council subsidisation.

A spokesman said: “Councils should only subsidise bus services which the commercial market won't provide.

“Therefore, once ECC were aware that we would continue our service commercially, they shouldn't have proceeded with subsidising an alternative service.”

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“We don't believe that taxpayer money should be spent subsidising a service which we are willing to provide commercially," the spokesman added.

Rather than being spoilt for choice, locals are becoming confused by the two bus services, with many resisting the change despite worrying it will come at a cost.

One Sandon P&R regular told GB News: “It’s just been so confusing. I was getting the old service until recently and thought absolutely nothing of it.

“It was only the other day that I saw the big double-decker out the back. Even then, and this is weeks after First Bus started operating, you had several people asking where to go and how it all works.”

It appears that customers were initially able to use tickets for either service to return to the P&R car park.

However, local residents have suggested First Bus is cracking down on customers switching services.

One regular passenger told the People’s Channel: “I got speaking to someone at the Park & Ride and they were saying that the old company hadn’t applied for a new contract - in his words - they thought they’d automatically get the contract.

"But Essex County Council wanted double-decker buses and First Bus stepped in.

“From what I’ve heard, passengers were getting let on no matter what tickets they had bought. But that’s changing now. The old tickets don’t give you access to parking, so it’s changing.”

GB News can confirm that a small notice has been stuck on the side of the Park & Ride bus stop, explaining that passengers risk being slapped with an additional £3.60 parking levy if they continue to use the old Central Connect service.

Clearly confused by the mixed messaging, many Chelmsford residents have taken to social media to express their frustration.

In response to Central Connect’s Facebook post that they are continuing their P&R service, one woman commented: “What will happen when First Bus starts operating the exit barrier at Sandon?

“We refuse to be herded onto the Essex / First Bus and want to stick with you guys, but don’t really want to have to pay to get out of the car park, in addition to the bus fare.”

However, passengers have also raised concerns about whether the Central Connect service remains commercially viable.

One Sandon Park & Ride commuter told GB News they were the only passenger travelling on the old 701 service on Tuesday morning.

The passenger, who was clearly aged in their late-20s, was jovially asked if he was 19 before being invited to pay for a child's ticket.

However, they were not sure if the offer was a friendly gesture or a telling sign of the saturated market.

The Sandon Park & Ride is essential for locals in the area, with traffic into Chelmsford via the Army and Navy roundabout worsening at a time when the city's population has expanded from just over 157,000 in 2001 to 181,000 in 2021.

Some have welcomed the change and do not believe the issue is such a big deal, with one local accusing Central Connect of being “underhanded”.

She wrote on Facebook: “I don’t see what the problem is. First Bus won the tender, Connect are being underhanded and clearly don’t understand the legal implications of a tender.”

A spokesman for Essex County Council said: "Our official Sandon Park and Ride buses are being run by First.

"We re-tender the bus services contract around every four years to ensure we are achieving the best value for taxpayers. First won the most recent tender and were awarded the contract.

“Central Connect did not bid. After the tender closed, Central Connect decided to run its own commercial service from outside the Sandon Park and Ride site. Central Connect is able to run its own service if it wishes.

"However, it does not meet the standards we require in the council contract. As the Central Connect fares do not include parking charges, passengers will have to pay separately for parking if they use Central Connect’s commercial service. We therefore encourage people to use the official Park and Ride service operated by First.

"This is being explained to people at the park and ride site. “Sandon Park and Ride is critical to a thriving and growing Chelmsford, and it is important we procure a high-quality service which provides value for money to customers and taxpayers.”