Trivia : improved/new services since covid

[Simon75]

First are introducing a few new airport services soon
X20 Stansted to Colchester
Watford to Heathrow
Leicester to Birmingham Airport

What other new/improvements services are there since covid ?

 

[Flange Squeal]

Stagecoach South have increased Sunday frequencies to beyond pre-Covid levels on a number of routes with no BSIP (Bus Service Improvement Plan) funding, such as 4 (Aldershot to Farnham, never had a Sunday service but now two-hourly offering hourly end to end combined with two-hourly route 5), 20 (Aldershot to Guildford, now every 20 mins from half-hourly), 64 (Winchester to Alton, doubled to half-hourly), 91 (Woking to Knaphill, every 20 mins from half-hourly). Some routes have also seen new earlier morning journeys than they had previously.

The last route (91) was briefly increased to every 10 mins in 2022 (it hadn’t run at this frequency for at least 10 years, having been run down by Arriva to every 12 then 15 mins since), however driver shortages meant this big improvement was relatively short lived and hasn’t been restored.

Reading Buses are soon to introduce a new Basingstoke - Frimley - Camberley - Bagshot - Heathrow coach service, however I understand this has come about as a result of funding from Heathrow Airport rather than commercial venture. Similarly, other new Heathrow routes starting in the next month or so include H21 to Bedfont (Diamond) and GoToGate to Clewer/Dedworth (Thames Valley). The current White Bus 446 runs hourly Woking to Staines with hourly weekday shorts running between Woking and Chertsey offering half-hourly over that section, but these are being extended to Hatton Cross via Terminal 4 in August so that will mean the 446 will see a half-hourly frequency Woking to Staines with hourly extensions to Ashford Hospital (something wanted locally for some time) and the airport.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Surely there must be quite a number of BSIP related examples?

Also, I think the uplift for Cornwall that, whilst planned in 2019, only went fully live post the first lockdown.

Then you have loads of other leisure related ones like First's plethora of open top routes such as Exmoor Coaster, Falmouth Coaster, the X52 in Dorset, the Tenby Coaster etc

 

[A0]

First are introducing a few new airport services soon
X20 Stansted to Colchester
Watford to Heathrow
Leicester to Birmingham Airport

What other new/improvements services are there since covid ?

It will be interesting to see how long any of these last.

Stansted - Colchester has been tried more than once.

Watford - Heathrow I notice is being numbered 'RA' i.e. 'Rail Air' - which since Avanti West Coast is part owned by First, I wonder if this is a return to the old 'Rail Air' link from Watford that has been tried before ?

Leicester - Birmingham makes sense though - especially as there isn't a direct rail link from Leicester to Birmingham International - it requires at least one change to make that journey, two if you decide to avoid Birmingham.

 

[delt1c]

The Citylink 902 from Edinburgh airport to Glasgow Buchanan St Bus station via Livingston. This a great new service from Livingston restoring a direct Link Glasgow in the West and Edinburgh airport in the east .

 

[Citistar]

First West of England have improved some routes with copious Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) funding from the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) and North Somerset Council. They are:
172 Bath - Norton Radstock - Bristol (increased to every 30 mins M-S daytimes, also Bath - Norton corridor now every 12 mins overall)
349/522 Keynsham to Bristol (corridor increased to every 15 mins M-S daytimes)
522 Bath - Norton Radstock - Keynsham - Bristol (restored to hourly on a daily basis having been commercially withdrawn as 178 in October 2022)
T1 Thornbury to Bristol (increased to every 20 mins M-S daytimes, having been widely reported that it was in danger of being cut from the half hourly frequency it had been on due to poor recovery since 2020)
X1 Weston to Bristol (increased to every 15 mins M-S daytimes)
X7/X8/X9 Clevedon - Nailsea - Bristol (increased to 4 buses per hour (BPH) between Nailsea and Bristol M-S daytimes)
X39 Bath to Bristol (restored to every 15 mins M-S daytimes, 8bph over common sections with 349 and 522)

 

[Flange Squeal]

It will be interesting to see how long any of these last.

Watford - Heathrow I notice is being numbered 'RA' i.e. 'Rail Air' - which since Avanti West Coast is part owned by First, I wonder if this is a return to the old 'Rail Air' link from Watford that has been tried before

This one possibly longer than if it was purely an operator initiative. Like the new routes mentioned upthread to places like Bagshot, Camberley and Basingstoke, the Watford Railair was one of the improvements specifically mentioned in Heathrow’s expansion consultation plan. So all the time they continue to push for a third runway, I guess their funding of routes like this will continue so they can show good and improved public transport links in place to back up their proposals. Pages 64/65 of this document show a few more details on the proposals from the 2019 expansion consultation which we are now seeing being launched through the creation/improvement/extension of various bus and coach routes.

https://www.heathrow.com/content/dam/heathrow/web/common/documents/company/about/consultation/airport%20expansion%20consultation.pdf

 

[Martin1988]

On the whole National Express upped the frequency of the routes from Bristol to London and Bristol to Birmingham routes and both now on the whole have a higher frequency than what was in place prior to March 2020. Before the start of the pandemic there were times particularly mid week when the 040 ran up to 75 minutes but now it runs at least every 60 minutes and at times up to every 30.

The Bristol to Birmingham route now runs mostly hourly 7 days a week and there are later journeys back from Birmingham to Bristol at both 2030 and 2100.

 

[JW4]

First are introducing a few new airport services soon
X20 Stansted to Colchester
Watford to Heathrow
Leicester to Birmingham Airport

What other new/improvements services are there since covid ?

is there an article mentioning the Leicester-Birmingham Airport service? Isnt it only coaches atm

 

[northwichcat]

312 Wilmslow to Handforth Dean, due to S106 funding from the Next development being allocated to a bus service.

I don't know if it's classed as an improvement but from 23 July Warrington's Own Buses will be joining two services together, which will introduce direct Warrington to Manchester Airport via Altrincham services.

 

[stuart81]

Isn't the Colchester to Stanstead X20 replacing the 70 / 370 between Colchester and Braintree?

 

[plugwash]

During Covid round where I live (southern Stockport won't say exactly where) a number of busses were withdrawn and others re-routed/extended to fill in the gaps. The result is that I can now get between my place and my parents place on a single bus where it used to take two.

 

[northwichcat]

During Covid round where I live (southern Stockport won't say exactly where) a number of busses were withdrawn and others re-routed/extended to fill in the gaps. The result is that I can now get between my place and my parents place on a single bus where it used to take two.

Manchester Community Transport going out of business, followed by Little Gem has resulted in a lot of changes in the Stockport area. There's another coming up soon with the 385 Mellor - Marple - Bosden Farm - Offerton - Heaviley - Stockport.

 

[Eyersey468]

East Yorkshire have made the x46/x47 half hourly

 

[EnviroExplorer]

Stagecoach South West have introduced a new X30 service, with funding from Devon County Council’s Bus Improvement Plan, between Seaton and Exeter via Colyton, Honiton and various Science and Technology Parks on the outskirts of Exeter.

Although only offering 3 return journeys a day, these are appropriately timed for peak journeys, and I made use of the service today when the alternative 9A from Seaton was running over half hour late.

 

[SSmith2009]

Vectare introduced the Novus Direct fixed timetable bus service/Novus Flex DRT services to/from New Lubbesthorpe to replace the arriva click DRT service in July 2022

They've become popular and from 17th July 2023, Novus Fosse will be introduced to replace the Novis Flex service providing a one way loop of New Lubbesthorpe - NEXT HQ - Enderby - Palmers Garden Centre - Fosse Park - Meridian - Thorpe Astley back into New Lubbesthorpe.

 

[Peter Philips]

Stagecoach South West have introduced a new X30 service, with funding from Devon County Council’s Bus Improvement Plan, between Seaton and Exeter via Colyton, Honiton and various Science and Technology Parks on the outskirts of Exeter.

Although only offering 3 return journeys a day, these are appropriately timed for peak journeys, and I made use of the service today when the alternative 9A from Seaton was running over half hour late.

DCC also extended its Barnstaple-Holsworthy 85 through to Launceston and Tavistock and linked/increased two Newton Abbot Dartline contracted routes to create a useful new direct Teignmouth-Torbay Hospital two-hourly route 174 won by Country Bus.

 

[Statto]

319 Kirkby - Skelmersdale introduced last January under Trainlink brand, not sure if it's funded by Merseytravel or Lancashire County Council, but operated by Stagecoach.

T8 Chester - Corwen via Mold & Ruthin, introduced last January.

 

[markymark2000]

319 Kirkby - Skelmersdale introduced last January under Trainlink brand, not sure if it's funded by Merseytravel or Lancashire County Council, but operated by Stagecoach.

Lancashire County council using their Bus Service Improvement Plan funding.

 

[WibbleWobble]

Stagecoach South have just introduced a new 500 between Littlehampton and Chichester via Barnham, running every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes and hourly evenings / Sundays.

Paid for by BSIP funding through West Sussex County Council.

You could also say that the Morebus 70/80 is an improvement on what was there previously, albeit some is replacing what Yellows ran. However, the 70's extension to Rockley Park means that the summer service to the park is now double last year's frequency.