A new bus service has launched today and its means holidaymakers can get from Colchester to Stansted Airport and back for as little as £4.

Essex bus operator First Bus launched its new X20 airport service, which links Colchester and Braintree with the airport, this morning.

The newly refurbished buses are equipped with luggage racks, comfortable seats, and air conditioning, to ensure a pleasant travel experience.

The X20 has convenient departure points throughout the route, making it easily accessible for passengers.

The hourly service covers a wide range of stops from the heart of Colchester, through Lexden and onto Marks Tey, calling at Coggeshall and Bradwell. The route then provides a quick link to Stansted from Braintree and Dunmow.

Gazette: Buses - the new route is in addition to the X10 and X30 services which connect other parts of Essex to Stansted AirportBuses - the new route is in addition to the X10 and X30 services which connect other parts of Essex to Stansted Airport (Image: First Essex)

The first service of each day will leave Colchester bus station, in Osborne Street, at 3.20am, arriving at the airport in under an hour and a half at 4.38am.

With the Government’s £2 single fare cap in place until the end of October, a return trip on the new service, which will run seven days a week, costs just £4.

Where can I get the bus from Colchester to Stansted Airport?

Here's where you can hop on the new X20 service to Stansted Airport:

Colchester city centre

  • Colchester train station
  • Wickes
  • The Albert
  • Causton Road
  • The Octagon
  • Town Hall
  • Osborne Street
  • Crouch Street

Lexden Road

  • Oxford Road
  • Beverley Road
  • The Avenue
  • Park Road
  • Fitzwalter Road
  • St Clare Road

London Road

  • Church Lane
  • King Coel Road
  • Lucy Lane
  • Tollgate Road
  • Stanway Western Bypass
  • St Albright's Church
  • White Hart
  • Swan Inn
  • School Road/Mill Road
  • Marks Tey interchange

Coggeshall

  • Lees Farm
  • Colne Road
  • Fire Station
  • Tey Road
  • St Peters Road
  • Jaggard's Road
  • Stoneham Street
  • West Street
  • Humphreys Drive

Bradwell/Braintree

  • Bradwell BP
  • Hollies Road
  • Miles Lane
  • Cherry Lane Garden Centre
  • Marks Farm Tesco
  • Coggeshall Road
  • Cressing Road
  • Albert Road
  • Railway Street
  • Braintree bus station
  • St Michael's Road
  • Godlings Way
  • Tortoiseshell Way

Great Dunmow

  • Travelodge
  • Gatehouse Villas
  • Arts Centre
  • Co-op
  • Chequers Inn
  • High Stile
  • Woodside Way

The service will finish at stand 14 of Stansted Airport's bus station.

Gazette: Buses - the striking blue vehicles will transport passengers to and from the airportBuses - the striking blue vehicles will transport passengers to and from the airport (Image: First Bus)

Buses offer a cheaper and more efficient alternative to travelling to Stansted Airport from Colchester, especially when compared to taking a train, which will see travellers from the city pay more than £50 for an off-peak single fare.

The launch of the new bus service comes after research revealed Stansted is the most expensive UK airport for a drop-off by car.

The new bus service runs in addition to the slightly quicker, albeit more expensive, National Express coach from Colchester to the airport.

It replaces the existing 370 bus route between Colchester, Coggeshall, and Braintree, although First Bus will run additional route 320 journeys between Braintree and Colchester at busy times.

The X20 route is the latest Airlink service offered by First Bus, which already transports passengers to the airport from Basildon, Wickford, and Chelmsford on the X10 and from Southend on the X30.