Stebbing Parish Council

UPDATE - From 1 January until 31 March 2023, all Digigo single fares will be capped at £2.

After over 16 years of sterling service the Stebbing mini bus is no longer operational. It will cost too much to get the bus road worthy and despite efforts at fund raising there are not enough funds available to purchase a new bus. I think everybody would like to thank Pat Going, the drivers and the committee for keeping the mini bus going for as long as it has.

However, there are some new transport services in Stebbing that will hopefully go some way to fill the gap. Below is a summary of the transport services within the village.

DigiGo – This is a new service from Essex County Council and is somewhere between a bus and a taxi service. It has recently been extended to include Stebbing. This offers on-demand or pre-bookable travel to parts of Essex. There is no fixed route or timetable and the service can be booked online or via an app on a mobile or by telephone (03330 137138). For more information access https://www.essexhighways.org/getting-around/ddrtdigigo/digigo. The service is free for senior citizens after 9am on weekdays and on weekends.

16 Bus – This service goes from Wethersfield to Chelmsford via Stebbing (return). The timetable is at https://bustimes.org/services/16-chelmsford-finchingfield. The bus enters the village from Wethersfield at Bran End, goes through the High Street, turns left at Church End and continues through Stebbing Green to Chelmsford via Felsted. It runs approx. every 2 hours, except Sundays, and also stops at Broomfield Hospital.

324 Bus – This is a new service that runs from Stebbing to Bishops Stortford (return) and stops in Dunmow High Street and at Tesco’s in Dunmow. The timetable is at https://bustimes.org/services/324-stebbing-gt-dunmow-takeley-parsonage-est-bisho?date=2022-10-18. The bus starts at Church End (Ruffels Place), goes through the High Street, turns left at Bran End towards Dunmow. It runs approx. every 2-3 hours, except Sundays.

417 Bus – This service goes from Rayne to Saffron Walden via Stebbing (return). The timetable is at http://stephensonsofessex.com/wp-content/uploads/bsk-pdf-manager/2020/08/417.419-25.08.20-1.pdf. This is a school service and only runs once in the morning to Saffron Walden and returns in the afternoon. It also only runs on school days.

Uttlesford Community Travel – This is run by a non-profit organisation and provides services to residents of Uttlesford who find it difficult to use normal public transport. The ‘book-a-ride’ service can be booked online or via telephone on 01799 519008 or 01371 875787. Details are at https://uttlesfordcommunitytravel.org/.

These new services provide a welcome addition to the village and are an environmentally friendly way to improve our accessibility to the surrounding towns and villages. Please use these services and provide feedback to the Parish Council about the benefits or any improvements required. ‘Use it or Lose it’.

Access to the timetables are also available on the Stebbing Parish web site under Local Services; https://stebbing-pc.gov.uk/community/stebbing-local-services. You can apply for a bus pass at https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-elderly-person-bus-pass