Stagecoach changes its timetables

by Jim

Stagecoach has changed the way it publishes its printed timetables for Lancaster and Morecambe, bringing them into line with other parts of the network. A new 69-page booklet, in a similar style to the popular “Lakes by Bus” publication, includes (almost) every Lancaster and Morecambe-based service and replaces a whole series of individual service leaflets.

Design

The Guide contains a network map, unfortunately not to the same high cartograpic standard as that in the Lakes Guide, but nevetheless adequate; a list of the bus services contained and a three-stage “How to Catch the Bus” section. Presumably aimed at those new to bus travel, or considering in for the first time, this takes readers through the process of planning a journey and buying a ticket. The third stage, however, entitled “Go”, advises passengers to “Wave the bus down and enjoy the journey”. New users – or those from other parts of the world where bus travel is less formal – could be forgiven for not realising that the “waving down” has to be done at a recognised bus stop!

Also included are some ideas for days out on the bus to local attractions and details (but not prices) of tickets. (A QR code link is provided for these).

Timetables

The timetables themselves follow the standard Stagecoach pattern in a clear and easy-to-read format, although those with poor colour vision might struggle to understand the purpose of the various shadings applied to some journeys. One fault concerns services 1/1A, 4 and 100 that serve Lancaster University and have significantly different service levels in term time and holidays. Both levels of service are shown, but unlike some previous leaflets there is no information on when “term time” and “holidays” actually are. Instead, passengers are asked: “For Lancaster University term dates, please check their website”(sic). It wouldn’t have been difficult to provide an actualwebsite adress, the Bus Users’ Group can do it on our website after all. In practice, there is plenty of room in the booklet to provide the actual dates for the whole of the forthcoming academic year and these are known well in advance.

Only Stagecoach services are included as the “Enhanced Partnership of Operators and Councils” doesn’t appear to extend to comprehensive timetables yet. On the two services where Stagecoach provides part of the timetable and Lonsdale Buses the remainder – the 18 and 81 – only Stagecoach journeys are shown and passengers are just informed that the other operator provides the rest, again with no website address or other means of establishing the full timetable.

Unfortunately, unlike recent leaflets, it appears that there is no room for the Bus Users’ Group logo in the new publucation.

Dates of Operation

The cover carries the apparently arbitrary date of 1st August (no timetables actually changed on this date), although the timetable for service 55 doesn’t apply until 30th August, when minor changes will be introduced. Unlike the Lakes Guide, there is no end date to validity. This is a common problem with bus timetables and produces unceratinty over accuracy as time goes on. The Group hopes that Stagecoach will resist the temptation to make minor changes, or at least to save them up and combine them with sufficiently large revsions that justify re-issuing the whole Guide. Better still would be to submit to the discipline of a published “until” date and delay any chnages until then, so that passengers know where they stand. This has been practice in the Lakes Guide for several years and hasn’t prevented the introduction of additional services during the validity period.

Missing Links

The 555 and 755 timetables can only be found in the Lakes Guide

Two important services are missing from the Guide. The 555 Lancaster to Kendal and 755 Heysham to Bowness have only QR codes that enable suitably-equipped passenegrs to read the timetables on their smartphones. For print copies it is necessary to obtain a copy of the Lakes Guide.

Omitting these services saves just five pages of print (out of 69) and the current timetables for these services run until 1st November, by which time Stagecoach is more than lilely to want to make changes to Lancaster services anyway. The Group feels that they should be included.

The booklet is available from Lancaster Bus Station and it is promised that copies will also be available on the buses, although we have yet to see one.

Despite these minor “niggles” the Bus Users’ Group recognises and supports Stagecoach’s commitment to printed timetables and the fact that putting (almost) everything in one booklet makes it much easier for passengers to get the full picture of the services available to them. Who knows, it might even encorage people to make additional bus journeys to places that they didn’t even know they could get to!

Fares Up. . . And Fares Down!

by Jim

Bus fares are changing in August, but not all in the same direction – and there will be further ups and downs to come in the next few months.

Free Child Tickets in August

Both our local operators, Stagecoach and Lonsdale Buses, will be participating in the government’s “Great British Summer Savings” scheme that sees children aged 15 and under travelling completely free on local buses for the whole month of August.

Once you have delved deeply enough into the website to find the announcement, here is what Stagecoach says about it: “Free travel is available on most local bus journeys in England between 1 and 31 August 2026 for children aged 5–15 inclusive. However, some services are not included in the scheme, including certain longer-distance coach services, routes where older and disabled persons’ concessionary travel is not available, and dedicated school bus services.” The Bus Users’ Group understands that the only service likely to be included in the list of exceptions, where free child travel will not apply, is service X8, the Saturday-only limited stop service that calls at Lancaster Bus Station en-route from Chorley to Keswick.

Lonsdale Buses does not mention the scheme on its website at the time of writing, but it has confirmed to us that it will be part of the scheme.

There is nothing to say that children have to be accompanied by a fare-paying adult, nor do they need a pass or special ticket to take advantgage of the offer. Older children, however, might want to carry some sort of proof of age, especially if they look older than they are.

Stagecoach Fares up on 5th August

Four days after children become eligible for free travel, the cost for some adult passengers is going up as Stagecoach revises fares.

With effect from Wednesday 5th August, some Stagecoach bus fares are changing across “Cumbria” & Lancashire. Most passengers will not see a change to the fare which they pay, with the maximum price of a single ticket remaining at £3 and some other tickets, such as 28 day and Xtra products, remaining frozen in price.

Full details are on this link: but basically, some fares under £3 will rise by 10p; A Bay Area Day Rider will increase by 20p to £6.20, a Lancashire Day Rider goes up by £1 to £11 and a North West Explorer rises by 50p to £12.50 with a seven day Mega Rider going up from £22 to £23. The maximum price of a single journey will remain capped at £3.

All Fares Reduced from January

Assuming that our local operators agree to participate in the recently-announced £2 Fare Cap Scheme, these increases, at least to single fares, will be short-lived. Any fare under £3 that is increased by 10p from 5th August, will automatically reduce to £2 from January! Existing £3 single fares will also be reduced to £2 for the whole of 2027.

Stagecoach may also not get the hoped-for benefit from the increased price of Day Tickets. At £6.20 the Day Rider will be bought by anyone making more than two “capped” journeys at £3 each, but with the cap at £2 it will need more than three such journeys before a Day Rider becoames the best option. A North-West Explorer at £12.50 will only become a viable option if seven or more journeys are made in one day, making it attractive only to the most dedicated of bus riders.

Lonsdale Buses, assuming it joins the scheme, may want to think about the price of its £15 day ticket – requiring no fewer than 8 journeys in a day to break even against capped single fares.

Neither Up nor Down

And where does all this leave Lancashire County Council’s £1 Evening & Sunday fare cap? These fares won’t be affected by the August increase, but are due to rise to £2 in September. However, in January ALL bus fares are to be capped at £2 (assuming operators participate), which will be government-funded and if the government is paying to cap all fares at £2, presumably Lancashire will not need to pay for them to be capped at all. This could and perhaps should mean that the £1 cap will be reinstated or, better still, not raised from September in the first place.

We will keep you posted.