HOLIDAYMAKERS from North Essex will have to wait double the amount of time for buses home from Stansted Airport, after timetable changes.

Travel firm First reduced the frequency of its Stansted bus, via Marks Tey and Braintree, from one hour to every two hours, in March, claiming insufficient demand, in a move which caused problems for workers who commute to the airport.

In May, rival company Excel responded by launching its own service, pushing the frequency of buses offered between the two companies back to one an hour.

But now, an extension of First’s X22 service, to take in Clacton, Frating and Elmstead Market, has resulted in a revised timetable, with First’s buses leaving Stansted at the same time as Excel’s.

Both companies now have departures scheduled once every two hours, from 4am until 6pm.

Peter Kay, of Colchester Bus Users’ Support Group, said: “This is hardly a benefit to the public, compared to the hourly service we had previously.”

He added the inconvenience of long waits at Stansted after flights might put people off taking buses.

There was also little price incentive for more than one person using the bus to go to the airport. Tickets from Colchester North Station with Excel cost £17 return, or £34 for two adults, while parking for a week at Stansted was £39.