South Essex Rapid Transit (SERT) is a proposed public transport scheme which would provide a fast, reliable public transport service in, and between, Thurrock

Thurrock

Thurrock is a unitary authority with borough status in the English ceremonial county of Essex. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The local authority is Thurrock Council....

, Basildon and Southend-on-Sea

Southend-on-Sea

Southend-on-Sea is a unitary authority area, town, and seaside resort in Essex, England. The district has Borough status, and comprises the towns of Chalkwell, Eastwood, Leigh-on-Sea, North Shoebury, Prittlewell, Shoeburyness, Southchurch, Thorpe Bay, and Westcliff-on-Sea. The district is situated...

 in Essex

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

, England. SERT buses would have priority at traffic lights and would also have dedicated lanes where possible. A planned opening in 2012 is dependent on approval of £53 million from central government as well as additional funding from other sources.

The scheme's future has been put into question as in October 2010 the Department for Transport

Department for Transport

In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...

placed the project into the pre-qualification pool. Planned projects in this pool have the least chance of being funded, and therefore, developed in this governmental spending period.