Update from Stansted Airport

Thursday 17th April 2025

There’s a new ‘kid on the block’ providing express coaches between London and Stansted Airport. Flibco has been awarded a five year contract by the Airport’s owners commencing 1st April, replacing previous incumbent Airport Bus Express, for the lucrative link to Stratford and Liverpool Street where it competes with National Express, whose contract continues.

Meanwhile Arriva has given notice it’s withdrawing from hourly route 133 which provides local links from Braintree and villages on route to the Airport with expansion minded Central Connect already confirming it’ll step in when Arriva finishes in June.

I took a ride on both routes on Tuesday to see how they’re doing, which being the week leading up to the Easter weekend and Stansted in school holiday mode, should be a good test of the markets.

I began my foray aiming to catch the 12:15 departure on route 133 from Braintree’s Bus Interchange over to the Airport. It’s an hourly frequency with an off-peak journey time of 55 minutes making for a tight but doable two bus operation for Arriva. Additional journeys run in the early morning (02:50 from Braintree) and late at night (00:30 from Stansted).

First Bus operates an Airlink branded hourly X20 between Colchester, Braintree, Great Dunmow and Stansted which provides for a quicker journey between Braintree and the Airport than the 133, taking 37 minutes. This also operates through the night although the first journey to the Airport from Braintree isn’t until 05:35.

That new service was introduced in July 2023 with high profile branding (see my previous blog when I gave it a ride) relegating Arriva’s 133 to a lower league just linking Braintree with three or four villages as well as connecting those with the Airport rather than attracting end-to-end traffic.

I’d spotted the bus I was catching heading towards Braintree on bustimes.org and was a bit surprised it was taking so long to arrive into the bus station. It didn’t come into the Transport Interchange until 12:20 and, although there was a slick driver changeover, by the time the incoming five passengers had alighted, and the three of us waiting, had boarded, It was 12:25, so we left 10 minutes down.

As we headed into Braintree’s narrow town centre roads the reason for the delay became clear – the inevitable four way temporary traffic lights for yet more roadworks.

Fortunately delays exiting the town were not as bad as coming in so we were soon through that, picked up another passenger, and headed westwards towards the villages of Rayne, Felsted, Little Dunmow, Great Dunmow and Takeley.

I must say our driver did a sterling job driving at a good pace (but safely) to make up for lost time and by Great Dunmow, due at 12:53, we were only two minutes late, having picked up a passenger in Felsted.

I was beginning to think Arriva have done wonders to keep the route going for so long, with just four of us on board, but in Great Dunmow although one of the two who boarded with me in Braintree alighted, four adults and two children boarded.

One of these travelled just a few stops and the other to Takeley where we picked up four more who looked as though they were workers at the Airport.

After that we were soon pulling into Stansted’s extensive bus and coach station and all eleven of us on board alighted, the journey having carried 14 in total. Not brilliant, but not too bad.

Eight passengers boarded for the return journey at 13:15 from the Airport.

I can see how the route has become pretty marginal at best for Arriva, not least since the arrival of the X20…

… and is rather out on a limb being operated from its Colchester base, but it’s good news the expansionist Central Connect are stepping in to maintain the links, and as you’d expect from that company’s high presentational standards, details of the replacement route are already available online including a map…

… and a timetable. However, as well as being renumbered to route 333, there’ll be reductions in coverage with no Sunday service and a much reduced three hourly frequency on Saturdays, so probably no longer any good for workers at the Airport.

It’s interesting to compare and contrast the online announcements about the withdrawal of route 133 on Arriva’s website…

… and Central Connect’s explanation about its replacement.

Having arrived in Stansted I turned my attention to Britain’s latest express coach operator, Luxemburg based Flibco, which has certainly already made its presence felt at Stansted Airport.

Using a vivid green colour scheme that’s very similar to Flixbus, Flibco already operates coach services to 14 airports across Europe and here in the UK is using coaches and drivers supplied by Coach Travel Group to run the half hourly service to and from Stratford and Liverpool Street which has been given the route number FL1.

As I arrived at the brightly marked stands used by Flibco its 13:30 departure was already loading with a member of staff checking tickets as a good number of passengers moved from the orderly queuing system located next to the National Express departure bays, across to the waiting coach.

There’s a ticket office nearby which has a sales desk for both Flibco and National Express…

… but it would seem the company’s policy is not to staff that, but instead sell tickets by the departure stands for £16 single or encourage passengers to buy online…

… which is what I did from my smartphone for the next departure at 14:00 and paid £13.99 for a single to Liverpool Street, the same price as for Stratford.

This price increases to £15.99 if travelling with a piece of luggage which needs stowing and to £16.99 for two pieces of luggage. A saving of £9 is available if making a return journey compared to two singles. National Express are charging £17 for a one-way journey but offer significant reductions if booking in advance – eg as low as £7.

Greater Anglia charge £25 single to Liverpool Street but runs four trains an hour (instead of two per hour for each coach company) and a quicker journey time of 47 minutes. Flibco give a journey time of 40 minutes to Stratford and 84 minutes to Liverpool Street which seemed a generous allowance for that last section of route so I was interested to see how my journey would go.

We began loading up at 13:50 with initially only five of us in the queue but by 14:00, 21 passengers had boarded and we left spot on time.

The coach has a smart interior with usb sockets, foot rests and reclining seats which seemed to recline a little too far for me without causing the person sitting behind undue inconvenience when leaning back into their space. Legroom isn’t particularly generous…

… although I sat in the seats behind the wheelchair ‘bay’ so had a nice amount of space to stretch out.

We were soon on the M11 and within 20 minutes passing the M25 exit as we continued down meeting the A12 through Wansted and almost exactly 40 minutes after leaving Stansted pulled up at the bus stop opposite Stratford City Bus Station where 15 passenger alighted leaving six of us on board for the final fling to Liverpool Street.

The Bow Road was behaving itself as we glided through Bow, Mile End, Whitechapel and were soon at Aldgate where we turned right and made our way to Bishopsgate to pull up just past the entrance to Liverpool Street station where we arrived at 15:06, a journey time of 66 minutes. Not bad at all. I can imagine it takes much longer at peak times with traffic through Mile End, Whitehchapel and Aldgate notorious for delays.

Within minutes of arriving a Flibco representative on the pavement began loading passengers for the next journey due to depart at 15:30 which surprised me, as if we’d arrived at the advertised time of 15:24, that would have given only six minutes turnaround time.

The National Express departure due at 15:10 arrived behind us, loaded up and departed.

TfL’s bus stop plate contractor hasn’t got around to replacing the plate promoting Airport Bus Express erstwhile route A21 with Flibco’s replacement route FL1 but I’m sure that’s all in hand. Ahem.

It was an impressive journey with no delays, a comfortable ride and not a feeling of being on a crowded coach. I’m sure exactly the same experience would have been enjoyed with National Express too. Both operators are doing a good job catering for this key market and Flibco is certainly a company to watch as the express coach market continues to see expansion in Britain.

Roger French

Blogging timetable TThS with an extra bonus daily blog over the Easter Weekend (FSSuM) making for a DAILY BLOGFEST FOR THE NEXT SIX DAYS. Enjoy!

36 thoughts on “Update from Stansted Airport”

  2. Central Connect and Simonds have been expanding fast with Simonds taking on the Norwich P&R bit surprisingly using mini buses on it

    It could be they might use mini buses on the Stansted service , Passenger wise they should be adequate but if people have lots of luggage that may not work

    Simonds have also picked up a minor bus service in Ipswich, How they operate that who knows as I think their only depot is in Diss

    Central Connect are also likely to pick up at least some of the new ECC contracts in the Harlow area

    They possibly need to tidy up their branding and have all the bus services shown on the Centra Connect site, Currently they are split between Flag finder, Simonds and Central Connect

    Possibly they could try extending a few journeys on the 333 to Sudbury, These could replace the Flagfinder service 60 journeys, It might generate a bit more traffic

    Like

    1. Central Connect do seem to have the Midus touch at the moment, but I wondered which contracts in Harlow you were thinking of? They already have almost all of them, Arriva seemingly having decided not to complete on the last round.

      Like

        1. The so called Harlow improvements seem a bit lacking in ambition. Harlow once was really well connected regionally by buses when it was London Country/ Greenline. It’s surprising cross-boundary services weren’t really mentioned. Surely bringing back the direct routes to Chingford and Romford would make sense. Double deckers on some of the buses to Bishop’s Stortford and Stansted? More local routes to Harlow Town station, instead of just the bus station? They should simplify the fares on town routes and have hopper fares on them too. A full review of Harlow’s town bus routes would make sense, to identify what areas aren’t properly served by buses and provide a more consistent evening and weekend service. There’s a lot of options to fix Harlow’s buses but they need some ambition. And I’m curious what this Saturday service to Hoddesdon is? The 25 already runs Monday to Saturday, but a Sunday service on it would be great! The 392 needs improvements too.

          Aaron

          Like

    2. “Central Connect and Simonds have been expanding fast with Simonds taking on the Norwich P&R bit surprisingly using mini buses on it”

      Not quite. Although two Merc sprinters have been seen out in service on the two P&R routes they operate, other workings, presumably peak time ones, have been run with E400s or standard sized E200MMCs.

      Like

    2. The article doesn’t make it clear what happened exactly, I suppose it’s too soon to know. The bus nearest to the fire engine is on the wrong track head on with the other bus. Suggests the fire engine hit the bus and shunted it onto the wrong track of the busway.

      Peter Brown

      Like

      1. Having looked again at the scene on today’s Look East lunchtime news, I think Peter Brown is right. Reports suggest that the fire engine was blue-lighting and may have hit the bus on the light-controlled crossroads; and one local person has blamed the traffic light phasing.

        Ian McNeil

        Like

    3. Surely that’s just the end of the legal process stemming from something that happened some while back and where mods have been made to eliminate the risks. So they’re not actually “in trouble again”.

      Like

  4. It’s a pity that the Stansted services can’t use the bus station at Liverpool Street as the Bishopsgate stop can get quite congested in the Summer period. This isn’t helped by the fact that the ‘temporary’ footway extensions introduced by the City of London and TfL during COVID are still in situ with bus stops and shelters in some cases some distance apart. This needs to be sorted out and not left as a patchwork quilt as the area looks a complete mess

    Martin W

    Liked by 1 person

  5. National Express have updated their signage for vehicles at Stansted Airport and have created a colour coded route system for signage at the airport.

    Of course, in long held National Express marketing tactics style, the Liverpool Street and Stratford service happens to have been allocated a bright green colour.

    My only surprise is that the advertising still has the National Express logo rather than a generic ‘Buses to London’ one which is another one of their favourite marketing tactics at airports when they are competing with someone head to head.

    Like

  7. I wonder who owns the old “London Express” and “London Crusader” ex NBC brands , London Express having a Green and Red variation of the original(? 2nd Generation? National Express branding.

    For the Stanstead Coach Services both operators are half hourly headway? whats the split between them on the departures.

    The 88 min running time to Liverpool Street is probably including any hoped for driver’s break in it . Depending what kind of Onward travel or stay considerations you have at Liverpool Street , Stratford seems to give better options, though any of the platforms the Elizabeth Line uses seems crowded at all times and the rail Station really needs some kind of rebuilding – ideally the Elizabeth Line should have been tunnelled to at least appear at Forest Gate ( with passageways to a combined Stratford/Maryland Station betwixt those two places )

    Like

  8. Centrals Connect are now working with Flix Bus they started their first service in the Leicester area

    I should imagine they will also start up a service in East Anglia

    Like

  9. The Essex Live link posted above also manages for that site to give a link to a 16th April 2025 article for First Bus changes ( improvements ) to its Chelmsford Area services. Including

    A brand new bus service will connect several Essex towns with a busy city from later this month. First Essex have revealed plans to introduce a new 333 service that will run between Chelmsford and Heybridge.

    The bus route will run via Maldon, serving the Westcombe Park area of Heybridge. It will run Monday to Sunday with a 30-minute frequency service from Maldon to Chelmsford between Monday and Saturday.

    I think this is due to start on April 20th.

    So this means two 333 services running into Chelmsford come May ?

    JBC Prestatyn

    Like

  10. The beginning of the end for Arriva in Colchester

    Service 1 – This service will be extended to serve Paxman Avenue. Sunday services will no longer operate due to low usage. On Saturdays and non-schooldays frequency will be reduced to every 15 minutes.
    https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/find-a-service/1-shrub-end-to-greenstead

    Service 2 – There will be some changes to this service to improve punctuality.
    https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/find-a-service/2-horkesley-heath-to-highwoods

    Service 8 – Sunday services on this route will be withdrawn. There will also be a reduced frequency on Saturdays to every 15 minutes in line with passenger usage.
    https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/find-a-service/8-monkwick-to-highwoods

    Service 132/133 – Unfortunately this service will be withdrawn due to low usage. Another operator, Central Connect, will partially replace this service. For more information please visit their website. 
     

    Like

    1. No, just another chapter in a long, drawn-out saga.

      A Saturday frequency reduction is a favourite trick in Arriva Southern Counties at the moment – also being implemented in Kent, Hertfordshire and Southend. However, First is reducing its competitive services with Arriva on some corridors in Colchester, so it is not clear at all as to what the future holds.

      KCC

      Like

      1. There is not much mow left of Arriva in Colchester. I suspect it will keep going until the Colchester Rapid Transport system starts up

        Like

  12. Observations over recent years of coach service arrangements at Stansted Airport do not paint a very good picture. The services themselves are excellent and NatEx of course serve a variety of different destinations in Central London. But very large numbers queuing in pens, sometimes facing long waits to board is not a good look.

    There are multitudes of “Customer Assistants” or whatever the term is now, running about and/or gathering in groups to chat loudly/obsess with their phone etc, when surely vehicles could very often be waiting on the stand to board in the same way those choosing to travel by train enjoy.

    The coach only comes up close to departure time and then tickets seemingly need to be checked……for some time, and in spite of competition, it always looks as if some improvements could be made

    Like

  13. I am sure when the 133 was introduced originally running from Colchester to Stansted the Braintree to Stansted segment was subsidized by the airport on the basis of encouraging workers at the airport to use rather than a car. Presume this has now stopped. Pre-covid used the service a fair bit with almost nobody on the Colchester section but often full on the Braintree to Stansted section

    The days of Arriva in Colchester must be numbered having sold it some years ago for a £1 but then ending up with it again through a takeover.

    Tony B

    Like

  14. Interesting that the Stratford to Liverpool Street section took 26 minutes.

    A knowledgeable traveller would easily beat that by getting out at Stratford and taking the Lizzie or potentially joining a Greater Anglia train at Stratford instead of Liverpool street. And if their ultimate destination was elsewhere in London probably saving even more time by making good use of connections from Stratford

    Yes there is the extra cost of the tube fare (if just going to Liverpool Street) but not that much in the grander scheme of things, and little/no extra cost if traveling elsewhere

    MilesT

    Like

    1. I can see the appeal of staying on the coach even if it takes longer, especially as heaving large luggage up and down stairs and escalators at Stratford is not a fun experience in the slightest.

      Like

  15. Another route and area abandoned by Arriva. Thankfully Central Connect could step in here, but shows that deregulation is no good at all. If it can’t make a success out of an airport route, then the company may as well pack it in! Yes people in Braintree have the X20 but villagers between there and Stansted would’ve had no bus route at all, and Dunmow and Takeley even less options than now. Even with a company that has good intentions like Central Connect, there obviously needs to be subsidies, support and full involvement from the County Council, so we get a network rather than a bunch of random routes.

    Essex received £17 million in BSIP money this year, so why can’t some of it go to the new 333 route so the timetable could’ve been better preserved. Only running what is profitable only leads to managed decline, which Arriva seem great at doing themselves rather than running a proper service, it is impossible to increase bus ridership if quieter services don’t run. Still wouldn’t complain if Arriva left Herts and Essex altogether and Central Connect just ran everything Arriva had. Night and day difference with the quality of information from Central Connect, love their website it’s so clearly presented and only Intalink is similarly easy to use.

    Also used Stansted Airport only 2 weeks ago, the rail station is currently being partly rebuilt with a new ticket office and the staff I spoke to said ticket barriers will be installed to coincide with the contactless expansion. Apparently the station work will be finished in July, so hopefully contactless will come soon afterwards as it really simplifies the tickets!

    Aaron

    Like

    1. Looking at the public accounts it looks as if Arriva South counties is loss making and is dependent on the parent company to continue trading. It also appears to have pretty much never paid a dividend to the parent company

      Like

  16. The ongoing hatred and doomsaying about Arriva by certain Anonymous posters here reminds me of certain other fora where there has long been ongoing hatred and doomsaying about First in the west of England, from Bristol through to Cornwall.

    Some people online should spend less time hating, that’s all I’ll say.

    Like

    1. I have lived in my area of Hertfordshire for almost 8 years now and Arriva over this time have shown no interest in improving the service or making it more reliable so more people will use it. Instead they cut the service, change a route without consultation and generally don’t care about their buses. A number of journeys fail to show because the buses aren’t maintained properly. Unsurprisingly they fail to retain staff in the county areas. To me, Arriva are simply incompetent down here, I have zero complaints of anything Arriva runs for TFL or Grand Central, where they must comply with specific standards. I’ve seen Arriva in the North East out of Newcastle and they seem way better up there. Same with North Wales. But in Hertfordshire into Essex, Arriva is apathy and managed decline. They even canned the electric buses investment in Stevenage!

      Seeing the transformation almost overnight around High Wycombe with Carousel (go-ahead), can you really blame me that I’m jealous? Especially with Central Connect setting a far higher standard than Arriva and Uno being much improved since they are constantly hiring and retaining staff now. I think the big problem with keeping buses private and commercial, is they lack the economy of scale and regional reach that is really needed for a great and integrated public transport system. I lived in Bristol before and understand the hate about First, city buses there are unreliable, expensive and fragmented and it’s massively holding their region back. First cut off whole areas of Bristol with minimal notice too. I think the regional Badgerline services are great though. And First, like Arriva, are poor in some places but good in others. First Eastern Counties are great! 

      I can’t speak for others but I wouldn’t care who runs my local buses if they were well run and the routes covered everywhere I need to go. 

      Aaron

      Like

  17. Like Tony B. above, I thought that the 133 was subsidised by the airport. Before the start of the X20 I’m sure that the daytime service had sufficient passengers to be profitable but I don’t know what loadings were like on the night time journeys. It was obvious to me that it really needed to be half hourly to make it really useful to workers at Stansted but Arriva never seemed interested in improving the service. Driver changeovers at Braintree are serviced from Colchester usually with a full size bus rather than the sensible option of a staff car.

    There is a large amount of house building going on along the route and I’m sure many of the new occupants will be working at Stansted.

    Nigel Turner

    Like

  18. In March, Central Connect advised we’d be launching Service 333 on Monday 2nd June, to partially replace Service 133 being withdrawn by Arriva. Our initial offering was to cover the Monday-Friday daytime service with limited Saturday journeys, matching what we believed would be commercially sustainable based on the data provided to us. 

    Working in partnership with Stansted Airport we are now delighted to advise that we will be launching a revised and enhanced timetable from Sunday 1st June. With funding from Stansteds Sustainable Transport Levy, buses will now continue to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Full details of the new timetable can be found below.

    We’ll also be upgrading the vehicles we planned to use on Service 333 wither higher spec, higher capacity buses phased in over Summer 2025. 

    You can read a joint statement from Central Connect and Stansted Airport here.

    Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑