Southend councillors have called for more power over bus routes after branding public transport in the borough ‘a joke’.

Two prominent members of Southend’s administration took to Twitter to criticise the existing public transport arrangements, with Independent Martin Terry writing that it is “not working” and “contributing to pollution”.

Mr Terry went on to say bus services and taxi services need “reinventing” to work for the economy and residents of Southend.

His comments were backed by Labour's Matt Dent, who wrote on Twitter that public transport, particularly buses, “is a joke”.

Mr Dent later explained that his comments were aimed at current legislation that allows bus companies rather than the council to decide which routes to operate.

He said in an ideal world, we would like to see bus services owned by the authority.

Mr Dent said: “The buses are sub-par in terms of routes.

“While some east to west routes serve the town reasonably well, there are limited routes going north to south so there are limited options for residents to get where they want without using a car.

“The bus services have become extremely deregulated and bus companies run where they want to and not where residents want and need them to.”

He added that he did not intend for his comments about services being a “a joke” to be offensive.

However, Conservative Kevin Buck said: “Public transport could be improved in Southend and it could be more environmentally friendly but if they had done their homework they would know that companies like Arriva and First Essex have made significant investment in upgrading older vehicles to the latest and most stringent standards.

“This means investment of hundreds of thousands, so I think constructive dialogue with bus operators would be better than political sound bites on social media.”

Steve Wickers, Managing Director at First Essex said: “Through strong partnerships with key stakeholders and major investment by the bus operators, most of the routes established within the area, have modern high frequency services that are sustainable and meet the demands of people choosing to use the bus as their preferred method of travel.

“I believe that bus services are better managed by the private sector, especially under the present circumstance with limited funding and resource available through our local authorities.”

Colin Wright, general manager for Arriva Southend, said: “At Arriva, we are fully committed to working with local authorities to provide the best possible services in Southend and surrounding areas.

"We take complaints very seriously, and we meet with Essex County Council and Southend Borough Council on a regular basis to discuss issues and their appropriate management where necessary."

Councillor Ron Woodley, who is the deputy leader of the council and oversees transportation in the borough, said bus services to an “exceptionally good job” on the routes they operate but certain areas are left out due to them not being as profitable as others.

He said he would be more than happy to discuss an expansion with the bus companies.