On my travels last week, I noticed on the displayed timetables up at a Cumbria Coast station two Monday-Friday bus services from Ulverston.
The printed timetable shows 16:08 from Ulverston, calling to set-down at Cark and Kents Bank, terminating at Grange-over-Sands. This appears in journey planners and is listed on RealTimeTrains, so I presume is running every day. The printed timetable also shows a 15:42 from Ulverston, calling to set-down at Dalton and Roose, terminating at Barrow-in-Furness. This does not appear in any journey planners or RTT, so I'm guessing doesn't run?
These services fill a two-hour gap in what is otherwise an hourly service on the Furness Line. There's a similar gap between 11:00-12:00 in the morning, with no bus service.
These aren't rail-replacement services: there are no scheduled train services which start in Ulverston, and haven't been for years. The two services run in opposite directions, so it's not a way of replacing a through train. Neither service provides a connection to onwards services anyway.
These also aren't the local X6 bus service being advertised as a rail service. That bus doesn't go to Cark/Kent's Bank/Roose, and I double-checked against its timetable.
My best guess is that these are school services: certainly that would fit with the 16:08 in particular, and there is no secondary school in the Cartmel Peninsula which this service serves. Perhaps the service from Ulverston to Barrow lacked demand: there would be few if any children travelling to school in Ulverston from Dalton or Barrow, and so has been quietly withdrawn? This wouldn't explain why they are persisting through the summer, though maybe there's a small commuting demand as well or Northern are just running empty busses all month?
Anyone know anything more about these - are they local authority funded, did the 15:42 ever exist, how long have they been around, is my school-hunch correct...?
The printed timetable shows 16:08 from Ulverston, calling to set-down at Cark and Kents Bank, terminating at Grange-over-Sands. This appears in journey planners and is listed on RealTimeTrains, so I presume is running every day. The printed timetable also shows a 15:42 from Ulverston, calling to set-down at Dalton and Roose, terminating at Barrow-in-Furness. This does not appear in any journey planners or RTT, so I'm guessing doesn't run?
These services fill a two-hour gap in what is otherwise an hourly service on the Furness Line. There's a similar gap between 11:00-12:00 in the morning, with no bus service.
These aren't rail-replacement services: there are no scheduled train services which start in Ulverston, and haven't been for years. The two services run in opposite directions, so it's not a way of replacing a through train. Neither service provides a connection to onwards services anyway.
These also aren't the local X6 bus service being advertised as a rail service. That bus doesn't go to Cark/Kent's Bank/Roose, and I double-checked against its timetable.
My best guess is that these are school services: certainly that would fit with the 16:08 in particular, and there is no secondary school in the Cartmel Peninsula which this service serves. Perhaps the service from Ulverston to Barrow lacked demand: there would be few if any children travelling to school in Ulverston from Dalton or Barrow, and so has been quietly withdrawn? This wouldn't explain why they are persisting through the summer, though maybe there's a small commuting demand as well or Northern are just running empty busses all month?
Anyone know anything more about these - are they local authority funded, did the 15:42 ever exist, how long have they been around, is my school-hunch correct...?
