Hundreds of young people who rely on public transport are calling upon the county council to make improvements to the bus network in the district.

According to more than 500 secondary school pupils, late buses and misleading timetables are constantly causing serious disruption to their plans.

Fifteen-year-old Jaymey McIvor who was recently elected as the Member of Youth Parliament for West Essex says that something must be done.

He said: “Along with other members of the youth council we asked 771 pupils from five secondary schools how they felt about buses in Epping Forest. It is something which seems to affect most of us.

“They are inadequate. The number 20 bus between Buckhurst Hill and Loughton is never on time.

“If you are not lucky enough to have parents who drive you around then you are constantly waiting around for buses and you never know when they are going to arrive. It is dangerous for young people to be waiting around and sometimes we feel intimidated.

“The timetables are either outdated or inaccurate.

“For a district which is trying to push tourism it seems a shame that one of the major modes of transport for tourists is difficult to use.”

Jaymey and fellow youth councillor Aaron Williams, 15, have written to the county council, the district council and TFL but have not had a positive response.

Jaymey, of North Weald High Road, says that now that he is a MYP for West Essex he is going to do everything in his power to make a change.

He said: “Aaron and I would like the council to do something to bring all of the private bus companies together, the entire bus network, and make improvements. Increase the number of buses around the end of the school day and update all of the timetables.

“I would like the chance to pitch this to the county council. Young people do not feel safe and that is not good enough.

“In Switzerland they have a colour coding system for their buses, like a tube map, and it works so well, even if you cannot read them.

“Ours really need to be updated.”

Transport for London replied to the duo and said that they were not aware of any problems whilst Essex County Council said that they would like more information.

Other complaints raised by young people in the district included litter on buses, drivers failing to stop for commuters and stopping the bus to talk to people, making them late.

To add your comments or to track Jaymey and Aaron’s progress follow @JaymeyMcIvorMYP on Twitter.