Direct bus journeys that only run on evenings/Sundays

[Martin1988]

Can anyone think of any examples of direct journeys which are only available in the evenings and/or on Sundays? For example when the normal daytime routes are merged?

Two I can think of are 17 from Southmead to Keynsham which terminates in Keynsham Town Centre on Monday to Saturday but on Sundays extends to Park Estate and Service 273 from Bath to Devizes which only runs in the evenings and on Sundays with separate services from Bath to Melksham and Melksham to Devizes during the day.

Can anyone think of any other examples?

 

[Teapot42]

On Sundays the various parts of the X17 are merged, so the bus runs all the way from Wirksworth to Barnsley. There are still short runs morning and evening, but the 'core' service covers the whole route, unlike Mon-Sat where it is split in to Wirksworth to Sheffield and Matlock to Barnsley. (Aside from one evening service which does Wirksworth to Barnsley - there is no return that does the full route M-Sa)

 

[Falcon1200]

In the West of Scotland, McGills 66 Neilston/Paisley service is on Sundays only extended beyond Paisley to Shortroods, a housing area north of Paisley town centre.

 

[Starmill]

Direct journeys between Manchester Airport and Fairfield Centre, in Buxton, are available on Sundays. Route 199.

 

[Flange Squeal]

Falcon Buses route 461 in Surrey runs Kingston > Walton > Weybridge > Addlestone > St Peter’s Hospital up to every 20 mins Monday to Saturday. On Sundays, it extends past the hospital to reach Chertsey with funding from the county council. I think this is to maintain a direct link between Addlestone and Chertsey, which Mon-Sat has routes 557 (over the same route Addlestone > Hospital > Chertsey) and 456 (via a direct route). Chertsey did used to have a direct link to many of these places east of Addlestone in even fairly recent days gone by, but now it’s limited to Sundays & Public Holidays.

I’m not sure if this one counts…

Stagecoach South 91 runs Woking > Goldsworth Park > Knaphill during Mon-Sat daytime.

A Mon-Sat daytime route 28, operated by Falcon Buses, runs Woking > St Johns > Knaphill > Brookwood > Pirbright > Guildford

During the evening and Sundays when Falcon’s 28 doesn’t run, Stagecoach’s 91 extends beyond Knaphill to Pirbright (evenings) and Guildford (Sundays). So while Woking is linked to Knaphill, Brookwood, Pirbright and Guildford all week, the residents of Goldsworth Park (a large housing estate home to around 12,000 people) only have a direct link to Guildford on Sundays.

 

[Polarbear]

Cross River service 423 in Merseyside is one. Broadly covers daytime route 413 but also extends to/from Liverpool (413 only operates on the Wirral).

 

[PeterC]

First Essex 251 from Warley to Wickford. The last remnant of the old Eastern National 251 from Wood Green to Southend.

There must be a few similar routes where the subsidised Sunday service tracks all or part of a pre privatisation service and keeps the historic route number.

 

[SSmith2009]

Central Connect run limited weekday am/pm journeys on service 2X (Loughborough to Leicester) as a filter for their Leicester services but on Saturdays evenings operate an extra bus back to Loughborough as a 2N which largely follows the same route.

 

[JonathanH]

401 Westerham to Tonbridge on a Sunday, but only as far as Sevenoaks on other days of the week.

 

[mikeg]

I’m sure there are some in North Yorkshire, for example the 856 between Northallerton and Gayle. The weekday and Saturday service is the 73 and only goes between Northallerton and Bedale. There is then a rather more sparse service from Bedale.

That’s before we consider Dalesbus and Moorsbus, which only run in the summer months.

 

[JD2168]

58 from Macclesfield to Buxton on Sunday’s extends to Chatsworth House.

 

[cool110]

Stagecoach South Lancs. have just launched the Sunday only 125R from Chorley to Horwich Parkway via Rivington.

 

[alholmes]

246 from Bromley to Westerham, extended to Chartwell on summer Sundays.

 

[TheGuy77]

If this counts, the 120 bus in Sheffield runs between Fulwood and Crystal Peaks (First) or Ranmoor and Halfway (Stagecoach) during Monday-Saturday. But in the Evenings and on Sundays, both operators run the full length of the route from Fulwood to Halfway.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 31 May 2025 ==

The 75 route from Jordanthorpe - Chapeltown also extends to High Green during evenings and Sundays, to cover for Stagecoach Route 1.

 

[Statto]

Also on Wirral, Saughall Massie has Evening & Sunday 38A, West Kirby - Mill Park/Eastham Ferry, (variation of the main daytime 38) the daytime routes serving Saughall Massie (1B & 17) operate completly different routes.

 

[PTR 444]

Morebus X8 (Poole - Blandford) diverts via Lytchett Matravers on Sundays, although there is one weekday evening journey that also goes that way.

 

[Jimmi]

In evenings, Hodgsons Coaches have the contract to run service 35A between Bishop Auckland and Ferryhill, via Ferryhill (no that's not a typo!) and Spennymoor, it's basically a mix of parts of the daytime 8/8A and 56 routes, but does have the quirk of offering a direct bus between Bishop Auckland and Chilton, plus some stops on the A689 which aren't served in the daytime anymore.

 

[gingerheid]

At either end the SPT funded 585A in Ayrshire serves what was the daytime route of a service that existed until 2007. At some point the number was updated to match the current daytime route (the 585), but the route it serves was previously the daytime 30.

On evenings and Sundays Muirkirk has a direct SPT funded X76B bus to Cumnock and Kilmarnock, but during the day the service is the 42 to Cumnock and Ayr. I think the subsidised service again matches the route of a former daytime service that is no longer with us.

The SPT funded X6A and X6B also do things that don't exist during the day, but it is really just three routes strung together for no useful purpose other than operational convenience!

 

[stevieinselby]

If we're allowing summer-only services then there are loads across the Moorsbus and Dalesbus networks ... with year round services on the same patch, there's the 856 as noted above, and the 874 linking Wetherby, Leeds, Ilkley, Grassington and Buckden.

 

[markymark2000]

At either end the SPT funded 585A in Ayrshire serves what was the daytime route of a service that existed until 2007. At some point the number was updated to match the current daytime route (the 585), but the route it serves was previously the daytime 30.

On evenings and Sundays Muirkirk has a direct SPT funded X76B bus to Cumnock and Kilmarnock, but during the day the service is the 42 to Cumnock and Ayr. I think the subsidised service again matches the route of a former daytime service that is no longer with us.

The SPT funded X6A and X6B also do things that don't exist during the day, but it is really just three routes strung together for no useful purpose other than operational convenience!

SPT land is absolutely full of them because it's somewhat beyond their capabilities to run the evening and Sunday tendered network, somewhat in line with the core offering.

JMB 19A is a great example. It links Royston Road up to Robroyston (a link which any other day of the week requires a change of bus), and then also serves Auchinleck Ave in Robroyston which has no service at all Monday-Saturday.
McGills 578 service provides links from Skelmorlie and Wemyss Bay Lomond Road up to Greenock Mon-Sat evenings (the core 901 service only runs on the main road)
Canavan 147 is absolutely full of loads of evening & Sunday only links around various estates as the routes tries to be a jack of all trades serving everywhere (and likely ending up serving nowhere well)
ARG/McNairn 117/117A service in Coatbridge run evenings and sundays along King Street and sections of Blair Road areas which get no core service. Why on earth these routes aren't just diverted via Corsewall St like the commercial service, I don't know (no time difference)
PVT 29C provides evening and sunday links from Mansewood to Glasgow. The core 29/29A only runs to Shawlands and passengers would have to change buses. On evenings and Sundays, SPT think it's a good idea for the 29C to spend 20 minutes of it's 30 minute journey, duplicating over 6 commercial buses per hour (not sure that is the wisest use of public money but perhaps I am in a minority there).

I could go on.

 

[nw1]

Two I can think of are 17 from Southmead to Keynsham which terminates in Keynsham Town Centre on Monday to Saturday but on Sundays extends to Park Estate and Service 273 from Bath to Devizes which only runs in the evenings and on Sundays with separate services from Bath to Melksham and Melksham to Devizes during the day.

I wonder why they do that? I'd have imagined there must be people in Devizes who would commute to/shop in Bath, so you might think they would run it as a through service.

Traditionally it was always a through service. In the mid-90s it was the 271/272 Bath-Easterton, which is some miles even further out than Devizes, out in the sticks.

 

[Dai Corner]

Stagecoach South Wales 172 Aberdare-Bridgend is extended to Porthcawl on Sundays.

 

[thomasheywood]

Can anyone think of any examples of direct journeys which are only available in the evenings and/or on Sundays? For example when the normal daytime routes are merged?

Two I can think of are 17 from Southmead to Keynsham which terminates in Keynsham Town Centre on Monday to Saturday but on Sundays extends to Park Estate and Service 273 from Bath to Devizes which only runs in the evenings and on Sundays with separate services from Bath to Melksham and Melksham to Devizes during the day.

Can anyone think of any other examples?

I wonder why they do that? I'd have imagined there must be people in Devizes who would commute to/shop in Bath, so you might think they would run it as a through service.

Traditionally it was always a through service. In the mid-90s it was the 271/272 Bath-Easterton, which is some miles even further out than Devizes, out in the sticks.

There are still through buses from Devizes to Bath

272 - Bath - Box - Melksham - Devizes

Faresaver

bustimes.org

 

[overthewater]

Route 29 From Falkirk to Bathgate, during the day its only Falkirk to Avonbridge, which is madness.

 

[aliceh]

Not that there's a lot of call for it, but in Southampton, the U1N night bus additionally calls at Chamberlain Halls (usually served by the U2), meaning a direct journey between Chamberlain and Wessex Lane halls is possible.

And in Poole, the 25 and 26 get combined in the evenings, making journeys from Tollerford Road to Tower Park possible (but only in that direction)

 

[NorthOxonian]

Sometimes night services are extended where a major driver of demand is university students - two examples would be in Durham and St Andrews. The 21 extends from Durham up to the university colleges giving them a direct link from Newcastle, and the 99 extends to the David Russell Apartments in St Andrews providing a direct connection to Dundee - both run only after midnight on Friday and Saturday nights.

 

[MotCO]

246 from Bromley to Westerham, extended to Chartwell on summer Sundays.

With sometimes a surprise double decker on the route Monday to Saturday, but restricted to single deckers on Sundays.

 

[Omnidekkalover]

Anyone mentioned the Sunday X17 which is scheduled to do the full run from wirksworth to Barnsley in one go. With normal journeys being either wirksworth to Sheffield or Matlock to Barnsley

 

[MikeFromLFE]

I'm not sure if it fits your definition as it's a Monday - Friday service - the First Leicester 13W is a one way, once a day service that departs at 0523 from near the First depot to Beaumont Leys. It's a positoning move but would be very useful route if it ran both ways and hourly.

 

[YorkRailFan]

In East Yorkshire, the last 145 from Market Weighton (18:10, weekdays only) runs through to Bridlington, with all other 145s running as far as Driffield. This provides the only direct bus between Market Weighton (and some other villages in between such as Middleton-on-the-Wolds) and Bridlington.