A BUS company boss has said travelling around Colchester needs to be made easier if more people are to use public transport.

Steve Wickers, managing director at First Eastern County, part of First Bus Group, spoke at Colchester Council’s policy and public initiatives panel meeting.

Addressing the panel on sustainable transport in Colchester, Mr Wickers said: “Getting in and out of town is a huge issue. The bus network offers 90,000 seats into Colchester every day and is a valued part of the economy.

“I’m looking for a good idea to get into town much quicker, we are keen to make time savings and increase frequency.

“It should not be underestimated how difficult it is to get in and out of town.

“We would be interested in schemes like new junctions, and yellow lines that can reduce traffic.

“There’s too much congestion coming into Colchester and we need policies to shift cars out of town.” Traffic data from the Department for Transport looks at how well the traffic flows in Colchester in peak periods.

Figures from 2017 show traffic delay on urban routes is worst to the east of Colchester, including the A134 Colne Causeway, Ipswich Road and the A133, the Avenue of Remembrance.

For inter-urban routes, the worst reliability and delay is recorded on the routes to the east including the A133.

Data from the 2011 Census shows 69 per cent of people live and work within the borough. However, the car dominates as more than 60 per cent of all journeys to work are made by car and 81 per cent of people commuting into Colchester for work travel by car.

Councillors recommended introducing cycling and walking to children as early as nursery school, although they admitted air quality needed tackling.

There was also discussion on introducing a parking levy where workers driving into town and parking their cars at peak times would have to pay a small fee.

The suggestions will be taken forward to be discussed with other council members.

Transport officer Rachel Forkin said: “It will also be important to ensure new developments are linked in with the existing walking and cycling network. Car clubs and car sharing can all provide part of the solution to reducing car use and ownership.

“Provision of high-quality travel information and regular bus services is also important."