YOU can seldom be out on Thurrock’s roads without coming across a distinctive blue Ensignbus.

Now, the firm which carries the borough’s folk in and around this neck of the woods has been voted the best independent bus operator in the country.

Ensignbus, based in Purfleet, received the accolade at the UK Bus Awards last week.

And the 42-year-old firm also boasts one of the UK’s best engineers in Jason Jackson, who came second in the Bus Engineer of the Year category at the ceremony.

It is the second time in two years that the Thurrock operator, with its distinctive blue vehicles, has won the top independent award.

It follows a surge in the number of people using buses in recent years, with the recession biting hard. Ensignbus carries about 70,000 passengers per week, 20,000 more than a few years ago.

“We were astonished,” said Peter Newman, founder and chairman of the company.

“We really didn’t expect it, having won it in 2012.

“But it reflects the service locally that we provide.

Thurrock has got a very, very good bus service, probably better than most people realise.”

Paul Dickson, customer services manager at Ensignbus, explained how the service had adapted to a changing Thurrock.

He said: “People have less money to spend on cars at the moment. A lot of people are moving to the area from London, too, and they are already accustomed to using public transport.

“There has also been a lot of new development here.”

On top of the local services the firm offers, it also does private hire – with its fleet of impressively-restored heritage buses.

One is set to appear in a new film next year called Girls Night Out, which is set on VE Day in 1945 and follows Princess Margaret and her sister Elizabeth when they are allowed out of Buckingham Palace for one night.

Ensignbus are also on hand to act as a rail replacement service, both locally and in London, in the event of Tube strikes, for instance.

The firm offers special Christmas trips, too. On Saturday, December 6, there is a vintage bus running day, with three special, one-off routes from Shenfield to Grays, Upminster to Gravesend and Upminster to Brentwood.

There are also Christmas trips to Rochester in Kent, Winter Wonderland in London and Bury St Edmunds Christmas fayre.

For more information and to book a place on the trips, which are selling fast, visit www.ensignbus.com