Essex County Council Parnership Highlights
Working in partnership with councils to deliver benefits for local communities.
We have partnered with Essex County Council over the past 2 years to deliver projects that improve the bus passenger experience and support communities, including our groundbreaking Milestone shelters as part of Basildon’s Greener Route, local community initiatives such as the Colchester Zoo shelter wrap, and the Revive programme. Now halfway through refurbishing 60 bus shelters across Essex, Revive is improving safety, accessibility and passenger experience while extending the life of key infrastructure at no cost to the council.
A greener future for Basildon
Through close collaboration between Bauer Media Outdoor, Essex County Council and First Bus, the Basildon Greener Route demonstrates what can be achieved through partnership, innovation, and shared commitment to sustainability. These upgrades mark a significant development in creating a more accessible, passenger‑focused and sustainable public transport system for Basildon.
The new Milestone shelters are designed around the needs of today’s passengers and compliment the rollout of 55 electric buses now operating across Basildon, funded by both Government support and investment from First Bus.
“Working with Bauer Media Outdoor has been really excellent. It's been a collaborative exercise working on the design, looking at where we place the shelters, all the features and additions that we wanted to include to benefit our residents and early feedback is they really value the enhancements that the Milestone shelters have brought to their bus journey along Whitmore Way. By introducing the Milestone range, we're hoping to make the whole journey from the point of boarding to getting on the bus and to getting to the destination as comfortable, accessible and inclusive as possible.”
James Hopkins, Lead for Digital, Customer and Innovation at Essex County Council
Essex Community Projects
In May, we partnered with Essex County Council to invite children and young people to create artwork for new bus shelters across the county. The competition, open to under-25s, celebrated themes including community heroes, local neighbourhoods, cultural diversity and local events.
Hundreds of entries were received, showcasing the creativity and pride of Essex communities. Two winning designs were selected by a judging panel from Essex County Council, Bauer Media Outdoor and First Site art gallery.
Earlier this year, new bus shelters were installed at Colchester Zoo through a partnership between Essex County Council, Bauer Media Outdoor UK, First Bus and Colchester Zoological Society. Featuring improved lighting, additional seating and bespoke zoo branding, the shelters enhance the travel experience for visitors and staff while highlighting the zoo's conservation work.
Revive, Refurbish and Reuse
Revive is our refurbishment programme designed to help council partners preserve and enhance public infrastructure by extending the lifespan of existing bus shelters by up to 10 years.
Across Essex, 60 bus shelters were identified for refurbishment, including repainting, replacing seating, new timetable cases and flag signage installed. By upgrading existing infrastructure rather than replacing it, Revive delivers a more sustainable, cost-effective solution that avoids unnecessary landfill and reduces carbon emissions by 94% compared with full shelter replacement.
The programme helps improve the passenger experience while supporting Essex County Council's environmental objectives, protecting valuable public assets and maximising investment in local transport infrastructure.
Get in touch
Contact us today if you'd like to find out more about our Milestone range or discover how we can help serve the needs of your communities, and we'll put you in touch with our partnership team.