Tuesday 13th June 2023 When London Transport’s network of Green Line coach routes was in its prime you could glide across London on a limited stop bus, often on the top deck of a souped up Routemaster linking such delightful Home Counties’ locations as Woking and Chertsey with Stevenage and Hitchin or Tunbridge Wells with... Continue Reading →
Sunday 11th June 2023 After my Exmoor Coaster bus ride last Monday, described in yesterday’s blog, I turned my attention to East Devon for three more interesting bus journeys on Tuesday. First up was new route X30 introduced on 3rd April thanks to Devon County Council’s Bus Service Improvement Plan funded by the DfT. Operated... Continue Reading →
Saturday 10th June 2023 I'd been looking forward to another ride on First Bus's wonderful Exmoor Coaster open top bus route and in particular its newly extended route from Lynmouth via Lynton and Combe Martin to Ilfracombe. First Bus tentatively dipped its toe in the water with a separate service between Lynmouth and Ilfracombe last... Continue Reading →
Thursday 8th June 2023 It's been a strange few weeks for bus and train passengers using Oxford's railway station. Not only has a long planned closure of busy Botley Road necessitated bus passengers from west of the city alighting short of the station and enduring a seven to ten minute walk under the railway bridge... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 6th June 2023 The long awaited 4.7km extension of Edinburgh’s trams from the city centre via Leith to Ocean Terminal and Newhaven begins carrying passengers from midday tomorrow. It’s only 24 years since first proposed and ten years since Newhaven would have got its trams had the original project not gone pear shaped in... Continue Reading →
Sunday 4th June 2023 I’ve been out DRT riding again. This time in High Wycombe. Carousel’s PickMeUp, introduced last September as a three year scheme with £736,000 from the DfT’s Rural Mobility Fund and Section 106 funding, is being hailed as a DRT that’s working well and "going from strength to strength". A series of... Continue Reading →
Saturday 3rd June 2023 It's only been operating in north west Norfolk for eight years but its owner directors have a wealth of bus industry experience, making Lynx one of Britain's top quality independently owned bus companies and always a pleasure to travel with. The company is run by Julian Patterson who, together with Andy... Continue Reading →
Thursday 1st June 2023 It’s been a long time coming - plans were first announced in 2007 - but Reading Green Park station finally opened for business on Saturday. Located on the southern edge of the town close to the town's Green Park business area and sewage works, the station is served by half hourly... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 30th May 2023 Last Wednesday and Thursday saw another successful Young Bus Managers’ conference which once again I had the pleasure to jointly host with Martijn Gilbert and imbibe the energy, enthusiasm and positivity not only of the attendees who came from a wide range of different size companies from all over the country... Continue Reading →
Saturday 27th May 2023 Good customer service from First and Southern Firstly a couple of follow ups from last month's round up and bouquets and praise for both First Bus and Southern Rail's customer service teams. On that long wait at Crewe rail station on a route 3 due to what looked like an error... Continue Reading →
Thursday 25th May 2023 While in Edinburgh enjoying autonomous bus riding last week I took the opportunity to take a look at some of the routes McGills inherited with last September's purchase of First Scotland East. First Scotland East ended its days as a business in two halves. Livingston based routes providing a network around... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 23rd May 2023 As well as travelling on fflecsi to explore the Dale Peninsular as described a couple of weeks ago I also used the TrawsCymru network while in the area on a more extensive itinerary to enjoy more of the glorious scenery across south west Wales. Some time ago the TrawsCymru network was... Continue Reading →
Sunday 21st May 2023 Readers nay recall a gloom laden blog I posted back in January 2022 warning that London Mayor Sadiq Khan was drawing up proposals to end Day Travelcards as part of funding negotiations at that time for continued financial support from Government. Sure enough, 16 months later on 18th April, TfL launched... Continue Reading →
Saturday 20th May 2023 It would have been another family owned small bus company on the back of a coach hire business to tell you about as my alphabetical ramblings continue, but the Sutton family who’d owned Kirkby Lonsdale Coach Hire Ltd since it was formed in 1991 sold it on to a company called... Continue Reading →
Thursday 18th May 2023 I’m sorry to be reporting on yet another new DRT scheme so soon after last week’s East Sussex FlexiBus write up, but this is the reality of the bus industry at the moment with more DRT operations slowly but surely taking over. This latest scheme in West Rushcliffe began on Monday... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 16th May 2023 In what's describe as a “world first”, Stagecoach began operating the much hyped and long awaited autonomous bus trial across the Forth Road Bridge yesterday. And if you’re thinking that “world first” claim rings a bell - you're not mistaken as it was just over two months ago I reported on... Continue Reading →
Saturday 13th May 2023 I thought it would be nice to report on a positive Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) development so took a trip to Leighton Buzzard on Thursday to sample Arriva’s brand new bus network introduced on Tuesday in partnership with Central Bedfordshire Council. Central Beds got awarded £3.7 million for its BSIP;... Continue Reading →
Thursday 11th May 2023 Not to be left out of the firmly rolling bandwagon of local authorities expending vast sums of public money from Government on Demand Responsive Transport (DRT), East Sussex County Council joined in the fun on Tuesday with a “soft launch” of five of ten designated zones covering the entire county. The... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 9th May 2023 “Fflecsi is the perfect way to enjoy fun days out and explore the beauty of this part of Pembrokeshire” encourages a colourful Transport for Wales (TfW) leaflet extolling the virtues of its fflecsi DRT service and the scenic county of Pembrokeshire and the Coastal National Park. I didn’t need convincing about... Continue Reading →
Saturday 6th May 2023 It may not be among the most well known bus companies in Britain, or even Scotland where it’s based (Wishaw just south of Motherwell) but now in its fifteenth year of operations, JMB Travel has carved out an impressive presence amid the otherwise domination of First Bus across Lanarkshire. JMB Travel... Continue Reading →
Thursday 4th May 2023 Moves are in hand to refresh and regenerate the area outside Aldershot railway station. But in a move that's described as "access improvements to Aldershot station and town centre" the adjacent bus station is about to close. I know, I was puzzled too, so took a wander over to the town... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 2nd May 2023 Following the closure of Arriva's bus garages in Macclesfield and Winsford and the company’s withdrawal from Mid Cheshire on Saturday 22nd April I took a few rides around the area last Friday to see how the first week of the new regime was going with D&G Bus principally at the helm.... Continue Reading →
Saturday 29th April 2023 Another month's round up of notable sights spotted on recent travels. Hooray for a London bus map Many thanks once again to Mike Harris who has just published the latest up to date version of his Greater London Bus Map. It's edition no 40 and bang up to date including today's... Continue Reading →
Thursday 27th April 2023 The Katch DRT operation was introduced in May 2021 for a 12 month trial by Suffolk County Council. It provided a link between Wickham Market railway station located in the village of Campsea Ashe, Wickham Market itself located two and a half miles away and Framlingham village six and a half... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 25th April 2023 Last Friday Rob Jones, managing director, Stagecoach in Cumbria and North Lancashire (that name is going to need an update now Cumberland and Westmorland & Furness councils have replaced Cumbria) kindly invited me to the launch of the company’s circa £3 million investment in nine smart new Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC... Continue Reading →
Saturday 22nd April 2023 Ipswich Buses is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year. Founded in 1903, it's one of just five municipally owned bus companies left in England (along with Blackpool, Nottingham, Reading and Warrington) with two more in Wales (Cardiff and Newport) and not forgetting Lothian in Scotland. The company's head office and bus... Continue Reading →
Thursday 20th April 2023 One of my favourite quirky bus routes in London is the Richmond Park free minibus which has been running on Wednesdays between April and October for some years (aside from 2020 an 2021 due to Covid). This year's operation began on 5th April and includes an extended route, an increase to... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 18th April 2023 Central Hertfordshire residents woke up to a brand new bus route on Sunday. Operating an hourly frequency, seven-days-a-week, the new route 907 links Stevenage with Ware, Hertford, Hoddesdon, Broxbourne and Cheshunt. And if you're thinking some of those towns are already linked by the existing bus network, you'd be absolutely right.... Continue Reading →
Saturday 15th April 2023 Aside from DRT another topic that often comes up in these blogs is the state of bus provision in Harlow. In November 2021 I wrote about a positive outlook for the future highlighting the Borough Council's plans to completely rebuild the bus station. That can’t come soon enough for the long... Continue Reading →
Thursday 13th April 2023 I needed to get from Lancaster to Glasgow last month and instead of heading up the West Coast Main Line (which was closed north of Carlisle anyway due to track works at Carstairs), having plenty of time, I decided to enjoy a leisurely ride around the wonderful Cumbrian coast on the... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 11th April 2023 The ten mile heritage railway line run by Swanage Railway saw trains reconnected to the National Rail network again last week with a three/four journey a day four-days-a-week service through to Wareham. The line was severed in 1972 when British Rail ripped up the tracks after the train service was withdrawn... Continue Reading →
Saturday 8th April 2023 It's an Open Access duo for the next two letters in this year's fortnightly A to Z of bus and train companies enabling a 'compare and contrast' of two very similar rail businesses. Grand Central, owned by Arriva, was set up as an independent business in 2000 beginning operations in December... Continue Reading →
Thursday 6th April 2023 As well as bright green buses in the West of England from Monday (see Tuesday's blog), this week has also seen the launch of a fleet of bright green buses on a new circular bus route around Leicester city centre. I paid a visit on Tuesday to take a look. Branded... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 4th April 2023 This week sees the controversial withdrawal of many tendered bus routes within the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) area and their replacement with an extensive DRT operation. It's been a rocky road to implementation and I've got a feeling it'll be an even rockier road now it's up and running.... Continue Reading →
Sunday 2nd April 2023 I wrote a tribute to the wonderful award winning photographer Roger Bamber when he sadly died last September. Before his untimely death he'd been working on a book showcasing the tremendous collection of photographs taken during his lifelong career including spells with the Daily Mail, the Sun and The Guardian. It... Continue Reading →
Saturday 1st April It’s been a scenic bus route on my ‘to do’ list ever since I took the marathon Stagecoach route 35 from Elgin to Aberdeen in Autumn 2021 and the driver recommended route 201 from Aberdeen to Braemar to me. I finally got the opportunity to achieve this goal while in Scotland recently... Continue Reading →
Thursday 30th March 2023 Welcome to another monthly miscellany round up of what's caught my eye on travels during March. HS2 into Euston delayed until 2041 And I don’t mean just after twenty to nine. It’s 18 years away. I’m thinking I’ll be very lucky if I live that long to see the day trains... Continue Reading →
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 →
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