Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Bus News

[Andy Pacer]

The registration data for the service has it down as cancelled from the 23rd April - see https://www.vehicle-operator-licens...registered-local-bus-services/details/592164/ for a bit more detailed info.

Yes, I'm familiar with the TC website. I was just wondering if anywhere on Bus Times alluded to this and future changes.

 

[ACBest]

Yes, I'm familiar with the TC website. I was just wondering if anywhere on Bus Times alluded to this and future changes.

Ah sorry! If you scroll down to the bottom of the service list on Bus Times, and click the O licence number, it’ll bring you up a list of registrations and the same TC data.

 

[Andy Pacer]

Ah sorry! If you scroll down to the bottom of the service list on Bus Times, and click the O licence number, it’ll bring you up a list of registrations and the same TC data.

That's really useful, thanks!

 

[43055]

Does anyone know what the likelihood of the X52 returning is? I know D&G have confirmed on Bustimes and D&Gs website the 32X and X41 will be running the Alton Towers trips next month , but N&D have said they're "awaiting info from Alton Towers"

The X52 timetable is now on the Notts and Derby website. Runs from the 11th April until 2nd September and 17th until 28th October Monday to Friday.

 

[43055]

Arriva Derby changes are now on the website with a few more changes than expecting with London Road/Train Station going from a 7-8 min service to every 20 mins on Saturdays. At least on weekdays they may be a even 10 min service into town instead of both a 1 and 1A following each other. Also not sure about the need for a 8 and 8A. Would it be easier/batter just to run the 8 every 10 mins?

Arriva Bus

www.arrivabus.co.uk

We’re making changes to some routes and timetables in Derby from 23 April 2022.​

1/1A/1C Derby – Alvaston – Boulton Moor
We’ll be running new routes 1, 1A and 1C.

Buses between Derby Bus Station, Derby Midland Train Station, London Road, Blue Peter, Alvaston and Boulton Moor will run up to every 10 minutes on Mondays to Fridays during the day, up to every 20 minutes on Saturdays during the day and up to every 30 minutes on Monday to Saturday evenings and Sundays.

Route 1A will run from Derby Bus Station to Pride Park and Blue Peter before running in an anti-clockwise loop of Alvaston and Boulton Moor. Buses return to Derby Bus Station past Derby Midland Train Station.

Route 1C will operate in the opposite direction. From Derby Bus Station buses will run past Derby Midland Train Station before running in a clockwise loop of Alvaston and Boulton Moor. Buses return to Derby Bus Station past Blue Peter and Pride Park. Customers who require the Train Station, can also use this service for their journey with buses serving the Pride Park entrance.

Both the 1A and 1C will run every up to every 20 minutes Monday to Saturday during the day, and up to every 30 minutes on Monday to Saturday evenings and Sundays.

On Mondays to Fridays, a revised route 1 will run every 20 minutes from Derby City Centre past Derby Midland Train Station to Blue Peter then to Alvaston as far as Crayford Road, Boulton Moor. Buses will turn around here, and head back to the City Centre in the opposite, meaning more frequent buses between Alvaston, London Road and the city centre with buses up to every 10 minutes.

Route 1A, for journeys past Pride Park and Radford Street, will leave from Bay 15

Route 1C, for journeys past Derby Midland Train Station and Blue Peter, will leave from Bay 16.

Route 1, for journeys past Derby Midland Train Station and Blue Peter, will leave from Bay 17

4 Derby – Normanton – Harvey Road
We’re making a small change to the end of the route at Alvaston, Blue Peter.

We’re moving the last stop across to Harvey Road at the junction of Barrett Road to help avoid congestion at the Blue Peter bus stop. We’ll still be serving each current stop, so you can jump on and off the bus close to the shops. There are no other changes to the bus route or times, with a combined 10 minute frequency along Normanton Road to Derby City Centre with route 7.

5/5A Derby – Littleover – Sunny Hill
We’re changing the timetable to run buses up to every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday during the day, with extra journeys at peak times to provide some additional seats at busy times. Buses will run every up to 60 minutes on Sundays. We’ve also made a few minor changes to the overall timetable to help keep buses running on time.

8/8A Derby - Mackworth
We’re enhancing the frequency of buses to run more often offering a bus up to every 10 minutes between Derby City Centre, Slack Lane and Prince Charles Avenue to Mackworth and Henley Green on Mondays to Fridays during the day, up to every 12 minutes on Saturdays during the day and up to every 30 minutes on Monday to Saturday evenings and Sundays.

Routes 8 and 8A will run Mondays to Fridays, up to every 10 minutes between Derby City Centre and Prince Charles Avenue, before they split with the 8 continuing to Brentford Drive, Holborn Drive, Wimbledon Road, Finchley Avenue and Edgware Road to Henley Green and the 8A continuing past the shops on Prince Charles Avenue to Henley Green. Both routes return along from Henley Green, along Prince Charles Avenue, past the shops and Slack Lane, to the city centre.

On Saturdays, buses run every 12 minutes, and on Sundays, every 30 minutes. The route will continue to follow its current anti-clockwise loop around Mackworth and Henley Green, from Brentford Drive, along Holborn Drive, Wimbledon Road, Finchley Avenue and Edgware Road to Henley Green, and then will continue along Prince Charles Avenue, past the shops and Slack Lane, to return to the city centre.

Route 8A will run on Mondays to Fridays, up to every 20 minutes. It will follow will go from Brentford Drive, past Prince Charles Avenue shops to Henley Green before returning along Prince Charles Avenue and Derby City Centre. There is no Saturday or Sunday service on route 8A.

Both bus routes will continue to leave from Albert Street in Derby City Centre.

9 Derby - Mackworth
This route is being partially replaced in Mackworth and Henley Green by routes 8 and 8A. Ashbourne Road continues to be served by trentbarton’s swift.

20/22/24/26 Derby – Chaddesden - Oakwood
We’re making a few changes to these routes with a timetable that’s built around our customers’ needs. Routes 20, 22, 24 and 26 will continue to run every 15 minutes on Monday to Fridays, with buses now running every 20 minutes on Saturdays. There’s no change to the Sunday timetables.

38 Derby – Sinfin – Stenson Fields
We’re making a small number of timetable changes to help keep buses running on time.
Buses between Derby Bus Station, Sinfin Lane, Sinfin and Stenson Fields will run up to every 12 minutes on Mondays to Fridays during the day, up to every 15 minutes on Saturdays during the day and up to every 30 minutes on Monday to Saturday evenings and Sundays.

F1 Derby - Alvaston
We’ll no longer be running service F1. However all current links between Derby City Centre, Pride Park and Alvaston will be continue as revised routes 1, 1A and 1C.

Pride Park and Ride
We’ll now be serving Pride Park and Ride with our revised 1A and 1C routes, operating up to every 20 minutes in either direction. Wyvern Business Park will continue to be served during peak hours only on Mondays to Fridays on our new route, the Wyvern.

the Wyvern
This new route will now operate direct from Derby Bus Station to Wyvern Business Park during Monday to Friday peak times. The Wyvern will leave from Bay 15 in Derby Bus Station.

 

[Robertj21a]

That doesn't sound too bad at all given the sizeable cutbacks in some other parts of the country.

 

[derbybusdepot]

Some of the new timetables are quite complicated to read on the Arriva website, especially the one for the 1/1a/1c. 1a/1c seem to be the two new main circulars running 7 days a week and in evening, one out via pride park. In fairness these will call at the back of the station, so a regular service to the station will still be available - about confusing for passengers travelling into Derby though! Route 1 seems to offer additional journies Monday to Friday.

5 and 5a reduced to every 30 minutes (15 combined).

The most bizarre change seems to be to the 26. Every other inbound journey (15 min frequency) will continue to the Wyvern at peak times only Monday to Friday as service "the wyvern" (every 30 minutes). Once reaching the Wyvern it seems as though they run light to Oakwood to take up an inbound 26 to Derby. Outbound 26 only run every 30 minutes before 9am. In the evening peak between 3 and 6 this is reversed.

This has potential to work,but the change doesn't seem marketed towards passengers needs, more just an operational change to cover a separate route without using additional vehicles.

Overall they look to be reducing PVR by 4 Monday to Friday, more so on Saturdays when more services have slightly reduced frequencies.

Fleet set to be reduced by 4 vehicles.

 

[ACBest]

On a more sad note, Travel Wright's service side operated for the final time yesterday, bringing 96 years of operations to an end - with the coaching side having one more day excursion happening this Wednesday, after which the business will be completely closed, culminating in an auction, bids for which need to be in by the 12th April.

Gem Mini Travel of Rampton will be operating services 136 (Retford to Tuxford & Walesby), 341 (Newark to Fernwood via Balderton) and 367 (Newark to Collingham & Harby); and Marshalls of Sutton-on-Trent will be taking on service 332 (Newark to Caunton, Norwell & Bathley). These are only on short-term tenders, with a longer term plan currently being drawn up by Nottinghamshire County Council. Expect those three letters D, R and T to form part of that plan. (Demand Responsive Transport - it's the future... excuse me whilst I remain cynical!)

Service 227 (Newark to Edwinstowe via Southwell & Bilsthorpe) is permanently withdrawn, and the former TW journeys on service 335 (Newark to Retford via Ollerton) are not yet covered, with the first tendering exercise proving unsuccessful in finding a new operator. (A second round of tendering is now taking place.)

There are some photos of the last few days of Wright's operations on my Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/acbestphotography/ - with a few more yet to be uploaded over the next few days.

 

[SSmith2009]

Centrebus 19 Nottingham to Melton is being withdrawn this coming Saturday (9th April)

Final decision taken on Melton to Nottingham bus service

It has been confirmed this evening (Monday) that the bus service between Melton and Nottingham will stop operating next week as planned after local councils said they would not be able to offer subsidies to keep it going.

www.meltontimes.co.uk

Final decision taken on Melton to Nottingham bus service
It has been confirmed this evening (Monday) that the bus service between Melton and Nottingham will stop operating next week as planned after local councils said they would not be able to offer subsidies to keep it going.

The bus stop in St Mary's Way, Melton, where passengers catch the Number 19 services running between the town and Nottingham EMN-220404-182405001
Since we broke the news last month that Centrebus had decided to axe the Number 19 route because it was no longer commercially viable, workers, students, shoppers and sports fans have contacted us to say they would be left stranded without it.

Melton MP, Alicia Kearns, even raised the issue in the House of Commmons, calling on the company not to scrap ‘460 square miles of decent bus services’ by withdrawing the Number 19.

Both Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire County Councils explored options to help finance the service but they have now told us they would not be able to help save it.

 

[Andy Pacer]

I guess this is one of the issues with linking villages and a medium sized town with a city over the county boundary - which LA (local authority) would actually want to support it.

 

[LowLevel]

Very unfortunate, especially given the train is no real alternative - hideously expensive and far from direct.

 

[carlberry]

Melton MP, Alicia Kearns, even raised the issue in the House of Commmons, calling on the company not to scrap ‘460 square miles of decent bus services’ by withdrawing the Number 19.

Where on earth did they get the 460 square miles from? It's 20 miles long so this suggests it's somehow serving an area 13 miles in each direction on either side of it, despite being a direct bus service with no variations.

 

[Andy Pacer]

Very unfortunate, especially given the train is no real alternative - hideously expensive and far from direct.

Presumably it would be Nottingham via Leicester? Agreed its a very round about route.

 

[danielcanning]

Centrebus 19 Nottingham to Melton is being withdrawn this coming Saturday (9th April)

Final decision taken on Melton to Nottingham bus service

It has been confirmed this evening (Monday) that the bus service between Melton and Nottingham will stop operating next week as planned after local councils said they would not be able to offer subsidies to keep it going.

www.meltontimes.co.uk

I think it’s about time funding bus services is made a statutory duty, if council tax has to rise as a consequence then so be it…

 

[Deerfold]

I guess this is one of the issues with linking villages and a medium sized town with a city over the county boundary - which LA (local authority) would actually want to support it.

It's been cut many times. It used to go much further (did it reach Peterborough?) and be hourly with earlier and later buses.

 

[Andy Pacer]

It's been cut many times. It used to go much further (did it reach Peterborough?) and be hourly with earlier and later buses.

Yes so I recall, historically it was the 19 from Oakham to Nottingham, later merged with the ex Kime's 9 when Centrebus acquired them.

The point I'm making is that it's understandable that LCC wouldn't want to fun a service to a City under a neighbouring LA, and vice versa, although that doesn't help the passengers.

 

[Simon75]

On a more sad note, Travel Wright's service side operated for the final time yesterday, bringing 96 years of operations to an end - with the coaching side having one more day excursion happening this Wednesday, after which the business will be completely closed, culminating in an auction, bids for which need to be in by the 12th April.

What's happening to the Stagecoach outstation, which is based there ?

 

[SCH117X]

Yes so I recall, historically it was the 19 from Oakham to Nottingham, later merged with the ex Kime's 9 when Centrebus acquired them.

The point I'm making is that it's understandable that LCC wouldn't want to fun a service to a City under a neighbouring LA, and vice versa, although that doesn't help the passengers.

You can further back than that; it was Bartons 17 Nottinhgam-Peterborough. The best hope for it would be funding not from a LA but from a business or regional organistaion

 

[ChrisC]

You can further back than that; it was Bartons 17 Nottinhgam-Peterborough. The best hope for it would be funding not from a LA but from a business or regional organistaion

It’s quite sad when you think back to the large network of routes that Barton ran out via so many villages especially from Nottingham. The current Trent Barton network of routes is now quite small when you think how many Trent and Barton had between them. Going back even further up until the 1970’s there was also the huge network of Midland General routes that Trent inherited when they took them over.

 

[43055]

Some of the new timetables are quite complicated to read on the Arriva website, especially the one for the 1/1a/1c. 1a/1c seem to be the two new main circulars running 7 days a week and in evening, one out via pride park. In fairness these will call at the back of the station, so a regular service to the station will still be available - about confusing for passengers travelling into Derby though! Route 1 seems to offer additional journies Monday to Friday.

5 and 5a reduced to every 30 minutes (15 combined).

The most bizarre change seems to be to the 26. Every other inbound journey (15 min frequency) will continue to the Wyvern at peak times only Monday to Friday as service "the wyvern" (every 30 minutes). Once reaching the Wyvern it seems as though they run light to Oakwood to take up an inbound 26 to Derby. Outbound 26 only run every 30 minutes before 9am. In the evening peak between 3 and 6 this is reversed.

This has potential to work,but the change doesn't seem marketed towards passengers needs, more just an operational change to cover a separate route without using additional vehicles.

Overall they look to be reducing PVR by 4 Monday to Friday, more so on Saturdays when more services have slightly reduced frequencies.

Fleet set to be reduced by 4 vehicles.

The new 1/1a/1c timetable is just a mess due to only having 1 timing point for the P&R so times are out of order and departures not in order. Also all the return 1 trips are on a separate table. I have noticed the new times have already been put up at the tops around London Road and Pride Park even though the changes are 2 weeks away.

 

[station_road]

Most of the new timetables are now on the Derbyshire County Council website, although not yet the 1/a/c (maybe so complicated it has defeated the council's timetable software!)

Derbyshire County Council - Local Services in the City of Derby

 

[43055]

Most of the new timetables are now on the Derbyshire County Council website, although not yet the 1/a/c (maybe so complicated it has defeated the council's timetable software!)

Derbyshire County Council - Local Services in the City of Derby

They now have the timetable but it is just a link the arriva PDF.

For a Sunday there seems to lots of cancellations for Trent barton listed on the Facebook page. In particular the Burton routes where the X38 is not running at all and a number of journeys missing on the villager and V3. The villager will also have a 6 hour gap in the service between the 1505 and 2115 from Derby due to 3 consecutive services being cancelled. This makes EMR's regional services look good.

 

[43055]

Arriva Derby's 4406 has been repainted into standard livery out of sapphire. I assume the other E400's will follow suit.

 

[Volvo142]

4402 currently being done.

Soon the only place you'll be able to see a 38 branded Sapphire bus will be Aylesbury

 

[Mugby]

Does anyone know; are Arriva Derby suffering cancellations as badly as TrentBarton at the moment?

 

[43055]

Does anyone know; are Arriva Derby suffering cancellations as badly as TrentBarton at the moment?

From my observations Arriva are not suffering from cancellations.

 

[ChrisC]

Does anyone know; are Arriva Derby suffering cancellations as badly as TrentBarton at the moment?

There are quite a number of TrentBarton cancellations today although I don’t think there have been so quite so many these past 2 weeks as previously. Once again the 0825 bus from Sutton to Nottingham on the 141 route has been cancelled which seems to be quite a regular thing. It used to be quite a busy bus with shoppers using it from the villages into Hucknall especially on Fridays when it’s market day and also from Papplewick Lane and Bestwood into Nottingham.

After months of unreliability I caught it last week on one of the days it was running and there were only four of us on it on arrival in Nottingham. All the stops where people regularly used to be waiting there was no one there. People are just giving up using it at the moment. I know that there are driver shortages but it doesn’t work cancelling buses at busy times on services that are only hourly.

 

[43055]

There are quite a number of TrentBarton cancellations today although I don’t think there have been so quite so many these past 2 weeks as previously. Once again the 0825 bus from Sutton to Nottingham on the 141 route has been cancelled which seems to be quite a regular thing. It used to be quite a busy bus with shoppers using it from the villages into Hucknall especially on Fridays when it’s market day and also from Papplewick Lane and Bestwood into Nottingham.

After months of unreliability I caught it last week on one of the days it was running and there were only four of us on it on arrival in Nottingham. All the stops where people regularly used to be waiting there was no one there. People are just giving up using it at the moment. I know that there are driver shortages but it doesn’t work cancelling buses at busy times on services that are only hourly.

I am surprised that a route from the Sutton depot has not been reduced like the Derby and Langley Mill routes eg the threes or nines as the 141 appears most days on the list. I also feel that trentbarton are not reporting all the cancelled buses as last Friday the 1135 villager from Derby never ran and was never listed and the 1205 driver said it was due to the driver shortage. While waiting a member of staff came over to the adjacent red arrow bay to apologize for the missing service but never came over to the villager bay.

 

[Mugby]

From my observations Arriva are not suffering from cancellations.

That's interesting.

Of course TrentBarton have to make the right noises and reassure people they're doing everything they possibly can to mitigate the cancellations
but it makes me wonder if they are holding back on recruitment until October when the 'Final Settlement' expires and big decisions will have to be made.
There could be some serious cuts in service levels and no point in recruiting now if redundancies will need to be made in six months time.

The number of cancellations this year has been staggering, the lost mileage and consequent loss of revenue is very serious indeed. It puts the company in a shaky position because many passengers will get their own transport, use taxis, make other arrangements or simply just not travel. Once those passengers are lost, they won't come back.

TrentBarton are a private company, they don't have the resources of the big groups and the current situation can't carry on indefinitely. Quite a number of vehicles are creeping up past thirteen years old now and it will be interesting to see how they cope with fleet renewal from now on. It will also be interesting to see if the proposed new Derby depot on Stores Road will need to be shelved for the foreseeable future.

I think there could be some very big changes before this year is out!

 

[SSmith2009]

From my observations arriva are not suffering from cancellations.

Thurmaston depot on the other hand are missing buses on a few services and it seems to always be the lower frequency routes