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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 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 →
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 →
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 13th December 2022 Among the bus service cuts made by Stagecoach East at the end of October were changes to the company’s bus routes between Peterborough and the market towns of March, Spalding and Ramsey. Route 33 provides a long established link to March and used to run hourly but cut back to two-hourly... Continue Reading →
Saturday 3rd December 2022 And so to the third and final of my palindromic anagram London bus route riding trilogy. Having enjoyed the 123/321 and 132/231 it can only be the turn of routes 213 and 312 thus completing the only six route palindromic anagram possible on TfL's bus network. So far I’ve not had... Continue Reading →
Thursday 1st December 2022 There aren’t many instances of head to head competition between bus companies these days, particularly not on inter urban corridors. So I was a bit surprised to see Arriva and D&G Bus are battling it out between Crewe and Macclesfield with each company running an hourly service numbered 38. The route... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 22nd November 2022 Having seen Irizar’s new ‘ie tram’ bus displayed at the EuroBus EXPO show earlier this month I thought I’d take a ride on Go-Ahead London’s route 358, where the buses are destined to enter service early next year, to see how they’re likely to perform on this busy route. It’s a... Continue Reading →
Thursday 17th November 2022 After my two palindrome rides on London's bus routes 123 and 321 last month, it seemed a good idea to repeat the adventure and do an anagram variant with a journey on both routes 132 and 231, not least because it made sense to ride the 132 after finishing my journey... Continue Reading →
Sunday 6th November 2022 When I wrote about Stagecoach East’s cuts to services back in September I mentioned two routes in Peterborough (routes 23/24) the company was withdrawing from for which I couldn’t find any timetables online. I’m grateful to Mel Holly and Brendan Fox for explaining the services were limited to just three or... Continue Reading →
Saturday 5th November 2022 I wrote about Stagecoach East’s service cuts back in September and suggested at that time there’ll be other bus companies based in the area that’ll likely come forward to take over the bus routes being withdrawn. Sure enough Grant Palmer, Stephensons and Vectare stepped forward and contracts have also gone to... Continue Reading →
Thursday 27th October 2022 A couple of weeks ago I took a ride on three bus routes operated by Norfolk based Sanders Coaches, in particular the company's route 34 which takes a delightful route hugging the coastline as it links North Walsham and Stalham. Thanks to Ray Wilkes who kindly got in touch to suggest... Continue Reading →
Thursday 20th October 2022 I can’t let Rannoch Moor, Bodmin Moor, Dartmoor and Exmoor get all the bus blog action so thought it was high time I paid another visit to the lovely North York Moors and take a bus ride across this scenic delight of a National Park. You just can’t beat a double... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 18th October 2022 Three Routemaster buses are back in service on a bus route in central London. New route A started running between Waterloo and Piccadilly Circus on Saturday. From social media posts over the last couple of weeks it looks unashamedly targeted at bus enthusiasts and tourists, but will it succeed where TfL’s... Continue Reading →
Thursday 13th October 2022 I'm back palindrome bus riding again to finish off comparing TfL's routes 123 and 321 and regaling you about my recent journey from New Cross Gate Sainsbury's down to Foots Cray Tesco having run out of energy to tell you about it after the marathon ride from Ilford to Wood Green.... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 11th October 2022 Welcome to an occasional series of London bus rides on palindrome route numbers. And first up for consecutive number lovers are routes 123 and 321. I’m delighted to kick off with a ride on the 123 for two reasons. Firstly this year marks 50 years since I began my bus conducting... Continue Reading →
Saturday 8th October 2022 Hidden London: Shepherd's Bush Photo courtesy London Transport Museum London Transport Museum's popular programme of Hidden London tours gained a new location this week, offering a look behind the scenes at the Central Line station at Shepherd's Bush. If you enjoy having a nose behind usually locked doors at a full... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 4th October 2022 Truro bus station Despite Saturday's rail strike I managed a quick visit to Cornwall over the weekend which entailed an unwelcome long drive as I had a commitment in Truro on Sunday morning I had to fulfill. As I seldom drive long distances these days the trip reminded me of the... Continue Reading →
Thursday 22nd September 2022 First comes surprise news last night TfL’s Transport Commissioner Andy Byford is quitting after just two years in the job. It’s somewhat ironic his mantra since arriving at TfL’s top job in June 2020 has been the need for long term funding and stability for the organisation yet he’s turned out... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 13th September 2022 Many thanks to Cartographer-in-Chief Ray Stenning for this superb map. Last Friday saw the "LCBS 50th Anniversary Tour Group (and assorted other adventures)" reunite for some nostalgic bus riding around south west London with the whacky idea (thanks Andrew) of retracing London Transport’s small trolleybus network centred on Kingston which was... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 6th September 2022 Spoiler alert: this is it. The island of Barra at the southern end of the Outer Hebrides is famous for its unique beach airport runway where planes are dependent on coastal tides to land and take off but those who like their transport trivia also know the island is famed for... Continue Reading →
Sunday 4th September 2022 The South Downs National Park is blessed with some excellent frequent bus routes criss crossing its extensive area as well as Southern and SWR run railway lines. They make for helpful connections at the start and finish of walks, including the popular South Downs Way. Routes that come immediately to mind... Continue Reading →
Thursday 1st September 2022 I left you at the end of Tuesday's blog enjoying a wander around Launceston preparing to take a ride on Cornwall’s other about-to-be-withdrawn-from-this-weekend bus route - the three journeys a day (Monday to Friday) route 235 from Launceston south to Callington. Spoiler alert: I don’t really know if it’s “Britain’s narrowest... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 30th August 2022 Cornwall is the country’s luckiest county; being first in the queue to receive oodles of Government cash to splash on additional bus routes, improved frequencies, new buses and cheaper fares - the way things are promised for 31 other areas fortunate to draw a winning ticket in the Government's Bus Service... Continue Reading →
Sunday 28th August 2022 Back in 2014 - a Solo in Uppingham on route RF1 Some people like to drive cars sporting a personalised registration plate depicting their initials. It’s not so easy to do this when you’re a 'bus and train user' but routes numbered RF1 and RF2 are pretty close to the concept... Continue Reading →
Thursday 25th August 2022 Firstly an update to Tuesday's blog regarding Kent's bus cull for blog subscribers and early morning online readers before the post was updated at 07:30. Thanks to reader Darryl I added an update after it had been published to confirm at a Kent County Council Scrutiny Committee meeting last Thursday the... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 23rd August 2022 Earlier in the year I reported on Kent County Council’s review of its supported bus services with a mission to save £2.2 million from the Council's annual £6.1 million tendered bus budget. And that was before the impact of Covid Bus Services Support Grant/Bus Recovery Grant originally scheduled to end this... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 16th August 2022 It looks as though Oxford’s failed Pick-Me-Up DRT operation is going to make a comeback; this time in deep rural Oxfordshire (cue emoji with raised eyebrows). It’s reported Oxfordshire County Council later this year is planning to replace hourly tendered route 250 which currently serves the expanding residential development known as... Continue Reading →
Thursday 11th August 2022 A couple of years ago I blogged about Rosso’s hourly route 13 that runs from Rawtenstall bus station to New Hall Hey taking just six minutes for the full circular round trip and at that time claimed it must be Britain’s Shortest Bus Route. That led to a number of other... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 9th August 2022 I was last in Snowdonia on the erstwhile Snowdon Sherpa network of bus routes almost a year ago last September and concluded my blogged review with a hope the network would receive some attention to presentational detail and expanded to fulfil its obvious potential. Coincidentally, good news followed with a much... Continue Reading →
Thursday 28th July 2022 Today sees the start of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham continuing through to Monday 8th August. It's a great opportunity for public transport to show off its credentials, as happened during the 2012 Olympics. But, oh dear, ten years on and circumstances are rather different, not least the impact of driver... Continue Reading →
Saturday 23rd July 2022 First Bus in the South West has expanded its Adventures by Bus portfolio of leisure services in north Devon this summer. After my Bridgwater to Minehead quirky rural ride last Tuesday, on Wednesday I sampled the reinstatement of the much missed Minehead to Ilfracombe link (albeit with a change in Lynmouth)... Continue Reading →
Sunday 17th July 2022 Here’s another entry for Britain’s Top 10 Quirkiest Bus Routes. It links many villages and hamlets in north Somerset which otherwise have no bus service.The timetable comprises just three return journeys a day which requires three buses to operate it.It takes one hour and 47 minutes to travel from end to... Continue Reading →
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