Has public transport ever run on Christmas and Boxing day?

[Dyncymraeg]

Currently trains and buses don't run Christmas and Boxing day. Have there been periods in British history when buses or trains ran on these days.

 

[Doppelganger]

Currently trains and buses don't run Christmas and Boxing day. Have there been periods in British history when buses or trains ran on these days.

Have you ever been to London?

 

[Beebman]

I followed a Reading-Heathrow Railair coach for a little distance yesterday evening.

 

[RT4038]

Currently trains and buses don't run Christmas and Boxing day. Have there been periods in British history when buses or trains ran on these days.

I think Christmas Day train services ceased in about 1962. London buses on certain main rouutes ran on Christmas Day into the 70s (up to around 14h00?) and possibly some municipal bus services in the provinces. Unsure whether provincial 'company' buses haver ever run Christmas Day, certainly not since around the beginning of the 60s*. Boxing Day trains ran into the 80s, and did many bus services - some buses still do or have restarted. There have been various special/ gimmicky Christmas Day bus operations over the years too.

* Possibly way back when public transport was important, (before widespread car ownership) rather than like it is now.

 

[DaleCooper]

Have a look at this

London workers on Christmas Day 1949​

Watch: London workers on Christmas Day 1949

A look at the bus drivers, traffic police and milkmen who went to work on Christmas Day 1949.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[McRhu]

Slightly tangential, but it's often forgotten that Christmas Day wasn't a public holiday in Scotland till 1958; hence I suppose transport ran much as normal. (Surprisingly even New Year's Day wasn't an official holiday till 1974 - just in time for my entry into the workplace.)

 

[Furryanimal]

Stagecoach are running an hourly service on three routes in South Wales today.
None on New Year’s Day though.

 

[RT4038]

Stagecoach are running an hourly service on three routes in South Wales today.
None on New Year’s Day though.

Large shops open on Boxing Day but not on New Years' Day?

 

[DelW]

I followed a Reading-Heathrow Railair coach for a little distance yesterday evening.

I passed Megabus and National Express coaches heading eastwards on the M4 between Swindon and Reading yesterday morning (i.e. Christmas Day).

A decade or so ago I spent two Christmases in Brussels where public transport, and restaurants and bars, were available more or less as normal on Christmas Day.

 

[hexagon789]

There were trains on Christmas Day in Glasgow and the surrounding area as late as 1974 I seem to recall being mentioned in a similar thread to this a few years ago.

 

[baz962]

Overground has run on boxing day for around four years

 

[30907]

Christmas Day trains ran until around 1970 but at the end in very limited numbers.
Boxing Day lasted maybe another 10 years (depending whether you mean the 26th or the displaced public holiday/s).

Scotland differed as NYD was the main holiday - Boxing Day only became a holiday in 1974 (along with Jan 2) and trains in the Lowlands have continued to run.

The practice of closing down on Dec 25, 26 AND Jan 1 seems confined to bus companies - and local trains round Newcastle, reflecting the area's Scottish influences (goes back pre privatisation BTW).

 

[Andy R. A.]

I only remember one year in the 1970s when BR decided to run a service on the Boxing Day, at least in the London area. It wasn't a particular success, and it was no wonder that it was a number of years later before a limited service was run on a few selected routes on Boxing Day. My notes of a late shift for Boxing Day 1978 at the southern end of the West Coast are recounted here
https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...-ever-run-on-christmas-and-boxing-day.259990/

 

[MadMac]

There were trains on Christmas Day in Glasgow and the surrounding area as late as 1974 I seem to recall being mentioned in a similar thread to this a few years ago.

There was indeed a discussion on this previously. Trains were definitely still running in the Glasgow area on Christmas Day as late as 1975.

 

[Ken H]

Buses deffo ran in Leeds in the 60's I think the night buses that left the centre about 22:30 and 00:45 ran then stopped. Think the buses were 0900 - 20:00 - a lot shorter than a Sunday service. The Jewish bakeries were open in the early hours too, unless Christmas day was a Saturday.

 

[Western 52]

Many airlines operate services on Christmas day. My good lady flew Heathrow to Addis Ababa yesterday, on Christmas day.

 

[Dstock7080]

London Transport last ran passenger trains on Christmas Day 1979, the first year of my employment.

 

[Roger1973]

I believe London Buses and Underground ran a limited Christmas Day service until about 1980.

I happen to have a 1972 LT buses Christmas booklet to hand -

Christmas day had a limited service on a limited number of routes (not all operating the full length of the weekday route, e.g. 12 only ran Oxford Circus - Norwood Junction, and it was only about hourly south of Dulwich) - broadly, buses didn't start until 0800 or 0900, and all services had finished by 1600. (From memory of seeing it on paper somewhere, the bus crew agreement for Christmas day was single spell / maximum 5 1/2 hour duties, and all buses back in depot by 1600.) This included some of the (then) Sunday only routes, e.g. 180A (New Cross - Abbey Wood)

Night buses did not run on the night of 24/25 or 25/26 December, as now.

The Underground ran most but not all lines, with some stations closed, starting from 'about one hour later than on a Sunday' and finishing at 'approximately as on Sunday' - with reduced frequencies until 1400 and even more reduced freqencies after that.

Boxing day had a reduced version of a Sunday service on both.

I have a faint memory of BR (Southern) suburban trains being a 'reduced Sunday service' on Boxing Day in the late 70s, whiich meant an hourly service rather than half hourly, my parents had not enquired about the detail, and we went for the 'missing' train on a trip to visit relatives in Ealing - 30 minutes wasn't quite long enough for it to be worth going back home and coming out again for the one that was running...

(edit to add - on reflection, the above might just have been a bank holiday on 27 or 28 December, not actual boxing day, if 25 and / or 26 December had been at the weekend.)

New Years Day was (from memory) Sunday service.

LT buses continued to run a reduced service on Boxing Day until fairly recently (as in within the last 10 years or so) when it became Sunday service.

In the late 80s, there were some odd allocations as a few garages / operators were closed for the day, which meant in a few cases, different operators ran routes for the day, e.g. Metrobus having a one day operation on route 208 (photo - not mine - on Flickr here) A few routes extended beyond normal termini (to cover part of another route that wasn't running) and there were a handful of one-off routes, like Ensign Bus 86B (photo - also not mine - on Flickr here) which covered parts of other regular routes in the area.

 

[Cheshire Scot]

There was indeed a discussion on this previously. Trains were definitely still running in the Glasgow area on Christmas Day as late as 1975.

There was a previous discussion was within the last few months on which I confirmed trains still running in the Glasgow area on Christmas Day 1979 - and obviously on Boxing Day too.

 

[Falcon1200]

There was a previous discussion was within the last few months on which I confirmed trains still running in the Glasgow area on Christmas Day 1979 - and obviously on Boxing Day too.

By the time I moved to Scotland in 1984 there were no trains on Christmas or Boxing Day, however on the latter day a service in Strathclyde only was introduced in, IIRC, the late 1980s/early 1990s; Certainly by 1992 because I was back at work on Boxing Day 1992 four days after my first child was born! This year the Boxing Day service has been extended to more parts of Central Scotland.

 

[Harvester]

Saw a couple of Nottingham trams running today! A Sunday service is being operated.

 

[Magdalia]

I have a collection of Eastern Region and National Rail public timetables.

The first Eastern Region public timetable that contains definitive information is 1971 when there were already no trains on the Eastern Region on Christmas Day. I'm not sure but I think that dates from some time in the mid 1960s. In 1971 Christmas Day was a Saturday so there was a "basic Sunday service starting mid-morning" on both 26 and 27 December, but Boxing Day 1972 and 1973 had a modified weekday service.

Between 1980 and 1981 was a significant change when all Boxing Day train services were withdrawn, except for "a limited service in the Glasgow area". The 1980 Boxing Day service had been described as a "restricted service on principal routes".

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

Up until at least deregulation Greater Manchester saw a limited service of buses on Christmas Day consisting almost entirely of hospital buses timed to allow for hospital visiting. This was mostly on routes that happened to serve the major hospitals and was often only over part of the routes concerned. Always seemed like something of a token gesture but I gather they were used if rather lightly.

 

[Trainfan2019]

Back in the 80s and possibly 70s, Sheffield operated Christmas day bus services. I was too young to remember the exact details but in recent years I did track down the timetables for Christmas 1985 I think. Back then, Sheffield had an extensive night bus network but I've no details if these ever operated on Christmas Eve / Day.

I can't remember what year the Sheffield Christmas day buses actually ended but possibly continued into the early 1990s. Since then though, I don't remember any details of even any one-off Christmas day special services.

Boxing day buses came back to Sheffield about 12 years ago at least and have operated every year since I think. The amount of services gradually increased but I think they are slightly fewer now. Tends to be a joint effort between First and Stagecoach but with either council support or Travel South Yorkshire / SYPTE.

Sheffield has also seen regular boxing day services on the Supertram network for many years but only 2 of the 3 routes. However, the tram network doesn't serve every area of the city so some areas miss out then. I don't think the tram-train operates on boxing day.

New Year's day buses and trams usually operate in Sheffield these days. However, these are a much reduced version of the special boxing day services and routes. The new year's day buses are operated on the same supported basis as per the boxing day services.

 

[birchesgreen]

Buses used to run in Birmingham on Christmas Day morning apparently according to older relatives. I don't remember it myself. They do run on Boxing Day though, a limited Sunday service i think.

 

[GatwickDepress]

First, Arriva, and Transdev have ran a fairly decent Boxing Day service in Leeds today. Most city routes starting up around nineish and finishing between six and eight in the evening. Seemed to be well used too.

I did have to skip work a few minutes early to make the last bus home though, but my boss didn't mind!

 

[neilmc]

A quick look shows that a limited bus service runs on major routes in Leeds and Manchester on Boxing Day still, and Stagecoach 43 to Manchester Airport actually runs Christmas Day too ( and my son who is a pilot was flying on Christmas Day from Manchester!). When I was a conductor in Leeds in 1974/75 I was lucky enough to be rostered a Christmas Day duty - I say lucky because, as the canteens weren't open, we only worked four hour shifts, an early shift around 1000-1400 and a late shift around 1400-1800 and were paid a full eight hour shift at overtime rate - 14 hours pay for 4 hours of not very hard work!

But of course in those days the transport authorities considered it their duty to run services when at least some people wanted to use them, people without cars would visit relatives cross-city and get home again on Christmas Day.

 

[didcotdean]

When BR first decided to axe full-iish Boxing Day services in 1975 it was criticised by ASLEF as a potential precedent for running no trains on any Bank Holiday. "Very nice for our members but a bad move for passengers", said Ray Buckton. That year Boxing Day fell on Friday and the thinking then was that trains would not be used as people would stay where they were through to the weekend. Trains were back three years later but were cut again when Boxing Day was next on Friday and have never come back with a widespread service since.

 

[Western 52]

Was there ever any freight running on boxing day? I have a vague memory of a milk train running from Cornwall, maybe in the 1970s.

 

[johnnychips]

Sheffield has also seen regular boxing day services on the Supertram network for many years but only 2 of the 3 routes. However, the tram network doesn't serve every area of the city so some areas miss out then. I don't think the tram-train operates on boxing da

Yes, there were certainly buses and trams out today in Sheffield till about seven, though I didn’t see the tram-train or Herdings route, like you suggested above.