Sunday, 29th June sees the start of “University Holidays” timetables on Stagecoach services to Lancaster University. This year however, as well as the usual reductions to services 1, 4 and X4, there are more significant revisions affecting the Alexandra Park section of the campus.
Service 100 will, during university holidays, be curtailed to operate only as far as the University Underpass, whilst the 1/1A will be extended around the Alexandra Park loop in its place as announced by Lancashire County Council on its website. It is not clear from the council website, but the Bus Users’ Group understands that these changes to the 1/1A and 100 will apply on Monday to Saturday only. On Sunday, when the 1A doesn’t serve the University at all during the holidays, the 100 will continue over its full route includingh Alexandra Park.
The county council does not spell out the implications of the change, which are that are that as service 1 is itself cut back to operate only between Heysham and Lancaster City Centre in the holidays, the daytime service to Alexandra Park on the 1A is reduced from the current four buses per hour on the 100 to three. During the evenings there will be no service at all between the city centre and Alexandra Park other than occasional journeys on services 41 to Preston and 42 to Blackpool.
Stagecoach may feel that reducing the service to the largely residential part of the campus during times when fewer students are likely to be living there is a sensible economy, but it introduces an extra layer of complexity into timetables that are already complicated and difficult to sell to the travelling public, especially those that have no connection with the university and no knowledge of term and holiday dates.
Lancaster Bus Users' Group 