A Billericay councillor has condemned the scrapping of a local commuter bus route as 'absolute madness'.

First Thamesway decided to axe the 32/32a service, which ran every 10 minutes between Ramsden Heath and Billericay Railway Station, after research showed that not enough passengers were using it to make it viable.

The replacement 102 service, which links Wickford, Ramsden Bellhouse, Ramsden Heath, Billericay Station and Basildon, was launched on Monday, but it only runs every 20 minutes and according to district councillor and commuter Frank Bellard, that is just not enough.

He said: "This is absolute madness. The service was well used and fitted in well with the 10 minute train service in and out of Liverpool Street station.

"My wife and I, who used this service every day as we commute into London, have stopped driving our car to the station because of the frequency and reliability of the 32/32a. This service was a success, so what did Thamesway propose - cut it!

"The people who have planned this cannot have ever commuted on a regular basis. It is important to catch connections and it is shameful that when government ministers talk about an integrated transport system, it means nothing to people who run our transport systems."

Chris McCormack, from First Thamesway, explained: "We had a survey carried out and that showed that the services were underused and couldn't be sustained.

"We will be monitoring the situation and if there is evidence that the new service is busting at the seams, then it will obviously be in our interest to put more buses on."

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