Wednesday 29th March 2023 An unscheduled Wednesday Blog Special Mayor Sadiq Khan was out headline grabbing yesterday launching his idea for a Superloop network of limited stop express style bus routes encircling outer London. The vision is for an Overground-come-M25 bus network and is being promoted now to stymie criticism the Mayor isn't doing enough... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 28th March 2023 A small variation on one of the latest coaches in the ember fleet with a turquoise circle at the rear. Ember, the Scottish coach company with expansionist plans introduced a Dundee to Glasgow service last August to compliment its Dundee to Edinburgh service introduced at the height of the pandemic when... Continue Reading →
Sunday 26th March 2023 One of the best journeys is Britain's longest bus route - Scottish Citylink's 915/916 Glasgow to Uig where this photo was taken. I had the best of times working in the bus industry throughout my career as I hope I conveyed in yesterday's blog, but it's also been a wonderful first... Continue Reading →
Saturday 25th March 2023 The Mayors of Hove and Brighton launch the new look Brighton & Hove in late 1985 (they were two independent towns). I can hardly believe it’s ten years ago this weekend I walked out of Brighton & Hove’s Conway Street, Hove head office for the very last time and entered the... Continue Reading →
Thursday 23rd March 2023 After D for Delainie and E for Ensignbus I'm staying with the independent family owned bus company theme for my next visit in this year's A to Z series of bus and train companies and headed over to Chippenham on Tuesday for a look at the respected bus company based in... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 21st March 2023 It’s not often a locally based community led climate action campaigning group puts its money where its mouth is and starts up a brand new route to encourage motorists to leave their cars at home and catch a bus instead. Even more rare it turns into a rip roaring success within... Continue Reading →
Sunday 19th Match 2023 And so to the final leg of last month’s bus journey from Newcastle to Edinburgh. Having enjoyed a leisurely ride on Arriva's scenic route X18 to Berwick-upon-Tweed where I had a stopover to savour Borders Buses route 477 to Holy Island it's now time to cross the border appropriately enough with... Continue Reading →
Saturday 8th March 2023 It was 24 years ago my then Operations Director colleague at the Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company, Paul Williams, came up with the idea of adding the names of some of the area’s iconic landmarks to the new fleet of 20 Dennis Trident double deck buses we were about... Continue Reading →
Thursday 16th March 2023 The route as originally introduced last October When Stagecoach East introduced its “sustainable bus network” last October it combined its route 81 between Bedford and Luton via the A6 with its route 99 between Luton Airport, Luton and Milton Keynes via the M1 to create one long through route. A new... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 14th March 2023 The bus had recently transferred in to Berwick-upon-Tweed from Borders Buses' parent company West Coast Motors I left you on my journey by bus from Newcastle to Edinburgh in the border town of Berwick-upon-Tweed having travelled there on Arriva's scenic route X18. Before continuing on my way to Edinburgh I wanted... Continue Reading →
Sunday 12th March 2023 You’re never far away from a DRT experience these days. Those living in the West of England region will soon be subjected to multiple schemes by the Combined Authority so I thought I’d relate my latest experiences on the off chance someone responsible at that Authority might come across this blog... Continue Reading →
Saturday 11th March 2023 Whenever anyone mentions Luton Airport readers of a certain age will almost certainly be imaging the iconic TV advert from the late 1970s for Campari shot in an exotic location featuring suave, elegantly dressed, sophisticated, smooth talking Jeremy Clyde asking Lorraine Chase “were you truly wafted here from Paradise?" to which... Continue Reading →
Thursday 9th March 2023 Sorry, East Midlands Railway you were going to be my E, but as today is a rather special occasion, being the very last day of an independently owned Ensignbus before midnight’s takeover by First Bus, I thought it only appropriate to mark this historic occasion with a special feature. I blogged... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 7th March 2023 TfL's Press Office was busy yesterday proclaiming"further new proposals for more than 400,000km increase in buses services in outer London to strengthen alternatives to private cars and maximise benefits of ULEZ". And if you think the grammar doesn't quite sound right in that sentence, don't blame my usual sloppy fat finger... Continue Reading →
Saturday 4th March 2023 Another new bus route began on Thursday. It’s been given route number 001. Operated by First Bus on a 15 minute headway it takes just under a quarter of an hour to complete its circular loop around the swish business park in Didcot known as Milton Park operating for almost 12... Continue Reading →
Thursday 2nd March 2023 I blogged about the £655 million capacity upgrade to Bank Underground station in January 2022 when the Northern Line Bank branch closed for five months to enable the new southbound tunnel and platform to be completed and opened. Since then contractors have been beavering away on all the other enhancements including... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 28th February 2023 Welcome to February's compote of miscellany I've encountered on recent travels but first a couple of plugs for two recent publications. UK National Rail Map Alex Nelson and his nationalrail.com website has updated his brilliant map showing every railway station in the UK (yes, it includes Northern Ireland too). If you... Continue Reading →
Saturday 25th February It’s the archetypal family owned business. Delaine Buses is one of the very few left in the bus industry. Fiercely independent and hugely proud of its heritage which can be traced back to 1890 when the family’s carpentry and general contracting business began carrying people to local fairs and markets using their... Continue Reading →
Friday 24th February 2023 I couldn't round off a week of travelling on new bus routes without a ride on the very latest DRT scheme which started on Monday in Kent. (New blog subscribers are welcome to put DRT into the search function on this website to read about my travel experiences on all other... Continue Reading →
Thursday 23rd February 2023 After visiting Telford, Skelmersdale and Bicester it's time to take a journey on another new bus route and this time one linking England and Wales. Last week I went to Chester to take a ride on the new TrawsCymru route T8 which passes through Flintshire and Denbighshire to terminate at what's... Continue Reading →
Wednesday 22nd February 2023 After Telford and Skelmersdale today's New Bus Route Week blog features new bus routes 24 and 25 in Bicester, Oxfordshire. Readers may recall I blogged about route 250 running between Bicester and Oxford via the huge new residential development at Heyford Park last August. The original plan had been to replace... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 21st February 2023 All this week I'm describing travel experiences on brand new bus routes. It certainly makes a change from cataloguing routes about to be withdrawn and with Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) funding now starting to flow, we can expect to see many more forlorn initiatives like the ones I'm featuring in... Continue Reading →
Monday 20th February 2023 This week is New Bus Route Week on the BusAndTrainUser blog. In contrast to all the negative news about bus routes being withdrawn or threatened with cuts due to lack of funding I’ve been out and about sampling recently introduced bus routes and will celebrate their arrival with a post every... Continue Reading →
Saturday 18th February 2023 It's the end of an era for buses in Southampton today as First Bus closes its bus garage doors for good bringing to an end 143 years of bus operation that can be traced back to 1879 when horse bus operation began and in due course Southampton Corporation Transport took over... Continue Reading →
Thursday 16th February 2023 The train journey along the East Coast Main Line between Newcastle and Edinburgh is always a treat with some wonderful coastal views to savour. Although taking the bus for the 100 mile journey obviously takes much longer it offers equally fantastic scenery including castles and market towns. It's been many years... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 14th February 2023 Inverness Airport railway station had an official opening on 2nd February Back in December I reported on four bus and train developments in and around Inverness: the introduction of Request To Stop facilities at Scotscalder on the Far North Line; new electric buses in Inverness; the about to open Inverness Airport... Continue Reading →
Saturday 11th February 2023 Chiltern Railways is how rail franchising was always meant to be. Commencing operations in July 1996 it was crucially awarded a lengthy 20 year franchise in 2000 enabling the late and much missed Adrian Shooter and his team to invest significantly in infrastructure improvements over that substantial timeline during which they... Continue Reading →
Thursday 9th February 2023 Tuesday's newspapers gave a strong sense of déjà-vu with reports of yet another impending bus cuts cliff edge as post Covid funding for bus services comes to an end on 31st March with registrations for any service withdrawals/amendments from that date due within the next week. We’ve been here twice before,... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 7th February 2023 The transformation of Transport for Wales' train fleet continues with new Stadler built diesel powered Class 231 trains now running on the Rhmney to Penarth line in the Cardiff Valleys. It follows November's launch of the first CAF built Class 197s in North Wales. The 11 trains which make up this... Continue Reading →
Saturday 4th February 2023 Welcome to another quarterly dose of nostalgia going back 40 years recalling what I got up to as the recently arrived Assistant Traffic Manager (ATM) at Southdown Motor Services Ltd, one of the National Bus Company’s prestigious subsidiaries based in Brighton with an operating area stretching along the south coast from... Continue Reading →
Thursday 2nd February 2023 It’s been a long time coming, as these things always are at TfL. Having launched a consultation proposing the withdrawal of route 271 and associated changes to routes 21, 141, 143, and 263 as long ago as November 2021, the end is finally here. Tomorrow is the last day to enjoy... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 31st January 2023 Message to email subscribers: I am very sorry some subscribers didn't receive Saturday's blog and quite likely today's too. I have raised this issue with WordPress and asked them to urgently look into it. One of their “Happiness Engineers” (yes, really) has been in touch to advise ‘there is an ongoing... Continue Reading →
Saturday 28th January 2023 Blackpool Transport's history can be traced back 138 years to the Town Council's introduction of trams in September 1885. However, my 2023 fortnightly A-to-Z wander through selected bus and train operators is meant to be a contemporary commentary rather than a history lesson, so let's fast forward and see what the... Continue Reading →
Thursday 26th January 2023 The first of Merseyrail's new fleet of 53 trains finally entered service on Monday morning. Ordered back in 2016 to replace the ageing Class 507/508, the new Class 777 trains were originally due into service in 2019/20, but as is the way with these things manufacturing delays, delivery delays, handover delays... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 24th January 2023 No; not the motorway although obviously the M4 does go to Bristol. The clue is in the lower case 'm'. This is all about Bristol's latest new bus route as part of the city's metrobus branded network which began on Sunday. The new route m4 runs from Cribbs Causeway to the... Continue Reading →
Saturday 21st January 2023 Tomorrow sees one of England’s seven jointly operated inter-urban bus routes change to be operated by just one company. After today Arriva are quitting the long established route 685 between Newcastle and Carlisle with fellow operator Stagecoach taking over Arriva’s three bus workings increasing their commitment from two buses up to... Continue Reading →
Thursday 18th January 2023 This month’s miscellany I spotted on recent travels. Coalville information I was in Coalville on Tuesday. It has two locations in the town centre where buses congregate - one called Marlborough Square and the other Memorial Square. It can be confusing for visitors but credit to Leicestershire County Council which has... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 17th January 2023 2023 will see another impressive number of new railway stations added to the network. This follows a busy 2022 when five new Crossrail stations opened (Canary Wharf, Custom House, Tottenham Court Road, Woolwich, and Bond Street) as well as two others (Reston and Barking Riverside). This follows only two openings in... Continue Reading →
Saturday 14th January 2023 Welcome to another year of A to Z fortnightly blogposts which for 2023 are featuring bus and train companies. I’m beginning with the ironically named Avanti West Coast .... bearing in mind recent history, ‘Avanti’ is Italian for ‘Forward’ “reflecting a mission to deliver an innovative railway service that is ready... Continue Reading →
Thursday 12th January 2023 The Chiltern Railways ‘ghost bus’ ran for the first time yesterday demonstrating our railway at its most bizarre. It was a whacky Wednesday welcome to a superfluous one-journey-a-week outing between West Ealing and West Ruislip stations which no passengers in their right minds will ever use other than for the enjoyment... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 10th January 2023 For the purposes of this blog please imagine you've woken up and it's July 1960. You're just catching a train on the Hertford North line from Grange Park station and in the booking office propped up against the ticket office window are a pile of little orange books. You know immediately... Continue Reading →
Saturday 7th January 2023 Listening to Mark Harper, Secretary of State for Transport and Mick Lynch, General Secretary of the RMT doing the media rounds during this week’s strikes brought home the dysfunctional state of Britain’s railways. There seems no hope of an early resolution to the current industrial disputes while a state of paralysis... Continue Reading →
Thursday 5th January 2023 There are some great bus routes along the northern coastlines of Somerset, Devon and Cornwall especially since Cornwall Council won the bus support funding lottery and First Bus found they could prosper by attracting the leisure travel market. I’ve ridden the complete coastline a few times over the last few years... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 3rd January 2023 I visited Devon at the end of last week and after all the negative media coverage of Stagecoach’s driver shortage last summer it was heartening to see some positive developments, particularly in Exeter. I hadn’t been back to the city’s new bus station since it opened in July 2021 so it... Continue Reading →
Saturday 31st December 2022 Today was going to be the last day of operation for the Hythe Ferry. The hourly service links the town, on the west side of Southampton Water, with Southampton. Blue Funnel Ferries have been running the service since taking it over from previous owners White Horse Ferries in April 2017. Rising... Continue Reading →
Thursday 29th December 2022 I wrote about my journey on Britain's shortest bus route back in August. That was Vectare's route 30 introduced in January 2022 between St Margaret's Hospital, Epping and Coopersale with a four minute end-to-end journey time. At that time a number of blog readers kindly suggested more contenders for a top... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 27th December 2022 Another month; another potpourri of miscellany. Another great Ensignbus running day A big shout out to the Newman family (Peter, Steve and Ross) for organising another great running day based on Lakeside at the beginning of the month. It's proving to be one of the most popular events of its kind... Continue Reading →
Saturday 24th December 2022 Dear Santa I know it's your busiest day and night of the year, but please can you deliver something from my list (I’ve not been naughty this year) …. A network bus map produced by TfL to the style adopted up until 2016 for buses in London in both online and... Continue Reading →
Thursday 22nd December 2022 Four new unusual bus routes started running in north London this week. That’s the introductory paragraph I optimistically wrote as I left home yesterday morning to try them out. Spoiler alert: one never ran; one had such a long gap in service I gave up waiting; one was extensively disrupted by... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 20th December 2022 It's one of those weeks for end of year reviews and news round ups so I thought a few updates on how Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) is going would be in order particularly as the DfT and so many local authorities have such high hopes for it. 2022 has seen nine... Continue Reading →
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