COUNCIL officers are set to investigate faulty electronic bus timetables across Basildon following complaints about a lack of information.

Bus passengers claim screens at bus stops throughout the borough are no longer in use, with messages reading “refer to timetable” displayed.

Essex County Council says it has received no formal reports about the fault and cannot find a reason for the message on its electronic monitoring system.

Taxi driver Ralph Morgan, spokesman for the Basildon HackneyCarriage Association, said: “We have had people call a taxi out because they have got fed up waiting up to an hour for a bus.

“It’s good business for us, but that’s not the point. People have no idea how long they’re expected to wait because these electronic timetables don’t work. We’ve got the technology, so you would expect it to actually help people. It’s ridiculous.

“A lot of people who rely on buses are elderly, so I worry about them – it must be very confusing. The council has spent money installing all of these machines, so I thought they would want them to do what they’re meant to.”

Robert Crouch, 66, of High Road, Laindon, who regularly uses buses to get around, said: “The electronic signs at all of the bus stops I use haven’t been working for a while now and no one seems to know why.

“It took me a long time to get used to the new timetables in the first place, so it’s very annoying. The council spends all this money on these big ideas and it turns out to be a complete waste.”

After being contacted by the Echo, officers at Essex County Council have promised to look into the issue.

A spokesman said: “Essex County Council has not received any reports regarding electronic bus timetable displays in Basildon not screening the timetable information.

This has also been checked on an electronic monitoring system and no faults have been detected.

“A county council officer will be dispatched today to assess the displays in Basildon to check what information is being shown.”