 On 31 March 2008, service 7 was extended at the suggestion of Great Wakering Parish Council and the Rochford Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership, who are subsidising the service.The company trials the operation of new services to gauge service demand, and makes services permanent if there are enough passengers to support them being run.It has also been criticised by Southend Borough Council for the age of its bus fleet, as some of its buses are nearly 20 years old and many do not have low-floor, easy-access step-free entry which is important for older people, as Southend has an ageing population with the most senior citizens in the country, although most areas do not have full low-floor networks yet, and buses are built to have working lives of about 20 years.