• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

Trivia: What bus routes still make use of a ferry?

Status
Not open for further replies.

geoffk

Established Member
Joined
4 Aug 2010
Messages
3,223
A bus route from Swanage to Bournemouth across the Sandbanks Ferry still operates and in the past there have been others, e.g. across the Saltash Ferry before the road bridge opened, but what others survive? There must be some in Scotland - regular local bus routes as opposed to coach tours/excursions.
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

jfollows

Established Member
Joined
26 Feb 2011
Messages
5,757
Location
Wilmslow
Venice (Lido) to Chioggia Number 11 bus travels on a ferry for part of its journey.
 

NorthOxonian

Established Member
Associate Staff
Buses & Coaches
Joined
5 Jul 2018
Messages
1,483
Location
Oxford/Newcastle
There must be some in Scotland - regular local bus routes as opposed to coach tours/excursions.
I believe a handful of services use the ferry at Corran which allows buses to get from Fort William to the remote Ardnamuchan peninsula, but it doesn't seem like very many do.
 

Flange Squeal

Established Member
Joined
17 Jul 2012
Messages
1,251
This might not count as it's admittedly a coach, but operates as a scheduled service rather than tour/excursion - Hannon's Belfast to Glasgow Express service. It uses the Stena Line Belfast to Cairnryan ferry.
 

danm14

Member
Joined
24 Jun 2017
Messages
704
This might not count as it's admittedly a coach, but operates as a scheduled service rather than tour/excursion - Hannon's Belfast to Glasgow Express service. It uses the Stena Line Belfast to Cairnryan ferry.
Likewise the joint service operated by Feda O'Donnell, John McGinley and Seamus Doherty from the Donegal Gaeltacht to Glasgow via the Larne-Cairnryan P&O ferry. It's currently suspended due to Covid-19, however.

The Ulsterbus service from Belfast to Glasgow/Edinburgh on the other hand operates with separate coaches on either side, with the passengers travelling on the Stena Line ferry as foot passengers. The coaches await the ferry's arrival in the event of a delay - although in extreme circumstances another coach will be provided, as the service also conveys local passengers within Scotland.
 
Last edited:

Elwyn

Member
Joined
5 May 2014
Messages
437
Location
Co. Antrim, Ireland
In Shetland, ZetTrans Service 24 from Cullivoe to Lerwick catches the inter island ferry from the island of Yell to the island of Mainland.
 

Ken H

On Moderation
Joined
11 Nov 2018
Messages
6,272
Location
N Yorks
The Argostoli (Kefalonia) - Athens bus uses the Sami - Patras ferry to get to the mainland
 

Gloster

Established Member
Joined
4 Sep 2020
Messages
8,289
Location
Up the creek
In Denmark, I am fairly sure that the 800 Odense-Nykøbing F. still runs on and off the Spodsbjerg-Tårs ferry. There may be one or two others.
 

67thave

Member
Joined
9 Nov 2020
Messages
100
Location
Long Island
King County Metro (the agency which serves Greater Seattle) has buses which roll on and off the ferries to provide one-seat service from the mainland to Vashon Island in peak times (or this was at least the case before COVID - it might be temporarily suspended as of now).
There was also a service in Virginia linking Williamsburg to Surry County via the ferry at Jamestown, but that seems to have disappeared earlier this year.
I think there are also several bus routes running southwards from Turku (in Finland) which utilize ferries, and if I recall correctly, they typically have 9xx-series numbers.
 

Ken H

On Moderation
Joined
11 Nov 2018
Messages
6,272
Location
N Yorks
It's not quite a ferry, but Stagecoach 1 Hartlepool - Middlesborough uses the transporter bridge.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

TheGrandWazoo

Veteran Member
Joined
18 Feb 2013
Messages
19,969
Location
Somerset with international travel (e.g. across th
not quite a ferry but Stagecoach 1 Hartlepool - Middlesborough uses the transporter bridge
Except it doesn't. It runs from Hartlepool to Port Clarence where it serves the main road onto which the bridge approach meets. However, it then heads via Haverton Hill and crosses the Tees via the Newport Bridge towards Middlesbrough.
 

Ken H

On Moderation
Joined
11 Nov 2018
Messages
6,272
Location
N Yorks
Except it doesn't. It runs from Hartlepool to Port Clarence where it serves the main road onto which the bridge approach meets. However, it then heads via Haverton Hill and crosses the Tees via the Newport Bridge towards Middlesbrough.

Sorry, that is not clear from the Stagecoach website.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

TheGrandWazoo

Veteran Member
Joined
18 Feb 2013
Messages
19,969
Location
Somerset with international travel (e.g. across th

scotrail158713

Established Member
Joined
30 Jan 2019
Messages
1,797
Location
Dundee
I believe a handful of services use the ferry at Corran which allows buses to get from Fort William to the remote Ardnamuchan peninsula, but it doesn't seem like very many do.
Having checked with someone I know on the peninsula it's one return journey a day between Kilchoan and Fort William that uses the Corran ferry.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Joined
21 Aug 2021
Messages
214
Location
Aylesbury
A bus route from Swanage to Bournemouth across the Sandbanks Ferry still operates and in the past there have been others, e.g. across the Saltash Ferry before the road bridge opened, but what others survive? There must be some in Scotland - regular local bus routes as opposed to coach tours/excursions.
It is not a bus but do any of the international coach services still use the ferries from the UK to France or do they all use the Eurotunnel now?
 

JRT

Member
Joined
11 Nov 2020
Messages
291
Location
Bradford
Years ago, 1988 in fact, I managed to circle the Isle of Wight by bus, including the West Cowes – East Cowes route via the ferry. It was disappointing in 1998 that the bus no longer went that way.
 

Clydeflyer

Member
Joined
4 Aug 2019
Messages
28
Stagecoach / Transporter Bridge.... at one point did Stagecoach actually own the Transporter Bridge? I've got it in my head they did and they inherited it as part of a takeover of someone. Might have been at the time where Stagecoach owned lots of non-bus businesses like Porterbrook, Prestwick Airport, etc..
 

TheGrandWazoo

Veteran Member
Joined
18 Feb 2013
Messages
19,969
Location
Somerset with international travel (e.g. across th
Stagecoach / Transporter Bridge.... at one point did Stagecoach actually own the Transporter Bridge? I've got it in my head they did and they inherited it as part of a takeover of someone. Might have been at the time where Stagecoach owned lots of non-bus businesses like Porterbrook, Prestwick Airport, etc..
No - it is owned by Stockton and Middlesbrough councils (though responsibility for it rests with the latter).

It may have had some sort of connection with the respective corporation transport undertakings but can't recall anything. Any such link certainly would not have lasted past the creation of Cleveland Transit Ltd as an arms length business, let alone the sale to Stagecoach in 1994.
 

asb

Member
Joined
17 Jan 2011
Messages
91
No - it is owned by Stockton and Middlesbrough councils (though responsibility for it rests with the latter).

It may have had some sort of connection with the respective corporation transport undertakings but can't recall anything. Any such link certainly would not have lasted past the creation of Cleveland Transit Ltd as an arms length business, let alone the sale to Stagecoach in 1994.
Stagecoach Transit managed the bridge and its staff on behalf of Middlesbrough Council for several years after taking over Cleveland Transit. The staff eventually moved over to the Council at some point after 2000.
 

James101

Member
Joined
11 Oct 2017
Messages
142
Stagecoach Transit managed the bridge and its staff on behalf of Middlesbrough Council for several years after taking over Cleveland Transit. The staff eventually moved over to the Council at some point after 2000.
Indeed I remember being surprised at being issued a Stagecoach branded ticket when crossing about 2002. It may have just been the case the machine and ticket was left over by then but certainly indicates Stagecoach were part of the operation post Cleveland Transit.
 

mb88

Member
Joined
17 Aug 2012
Messages
438
Whilst browsing through bustimes.org I noticed that Millport Motors, based on the island of Cumbrae off the East Ayrshire coast, operates the service from the ferry terminal to the town of Millport on the island. However they also operate the service 578A on behalf of SPT on the mainland. This got me thinking about the logistics of this. Does the bus travel across on the ferry each morning and then back again in the evening? Or is a bus permanently parked up somewhere on the mainland?

More generally, does anyone know of any scheduled services which routinely use a ferry as part of their route? Or indeed any cases where buses use a ferry whilst running off service to get to the start point of their route?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top