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Confusing Christmas Times
Passengers expect timetables to change at Christmas – it’s an old tradition after all. But can they reasonably expect to be able to find out when their buses will be running?
Not necessarily, at least if they rely on the internet and Stagecoach’s journey planner it seems!
Christmas Day
One thing that everybody knows is that there are no buses on Christmas Day. But if you were a visitor from Mars, or perhaps Edinburgh https://www.lothianbuses.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/LOTHIAN-XMAS-2025.pdf or, of course Switzerland where normal services are operated, you might want to check.
If, for example, you needed to travel to the University on Christmas Day you could make an enquiry on Stagecoach’s journey planner and would be happy to receive the following result:
Of course, having waited from 1258 until after 1358 (or any similar period throughout the day) without seeing either a 41 or a 100 you wouldn’t be very happy at all, as there are NO BUSES on Christmas Day, which everyone, except the people who run Stagecoach’s journey planner seem to know.
Christmas Week
Having been disappointed on Christmas Day, you might decide not to risk it on Boxing Day, which would be a shame as there is a limited service and the above JP result is correct, even though the times given are from the Infirmary stop, which is where the journey planner considers “Lancaster” actually is.
But surely the following day, Saturday, 27th December, won’t be a problem. Stagecoach is providing a Saturday service on the days between Christmas and New Year so that should be straightforward, shouldn’t it? Well, not exactly. A complication is that services to the University have different timetables depending on whether it is term time or vacation at the university. In particular, whereas in term time services 1 and 1A combine to provide a ten-minute frequency along the A6, during the vacation the 1 is withdrawn, leaving the 1A to run every 20 minutes along this stretch.
But make an enquiry to the Journey planner and what do you get?
A service 1 at 1233 (from the Infirmary, naturally) followed by a 1A at 1243 in a pattern repeated throughout the day giving the impression that there are twice as many buses to the campus as there actually are!
Strangely, the journey planner seems to know that in the vacations the 1A extends to the Graduate College (although it tells you to alight at the stop called “Lonsdale College” and walk, possibly because this is nearer to the actual Graduate College than the stop that has that name!), but it doesn’t know that during this time service 1 doesn’t serve the campus at all!
More confusion
Just to add to the confusion, the journey planner thinks that at least some service 100 buses (which in the vacation terminate at the Underpass) actually continue to the Graduate College as with the following enquiry concerning the 1254 (from the Infirmary of course) to the campus:
The online and printed timetables agree that service 100 terminates at the Underpass on 27th December and all other days during the vacation.
This post is being written on 14th December, by which time it is reasonable to expect passengers to be able to get correct information about services on Christmas Day and during Christmas Week. As far as the change of routes between the 1A and the 100 is concerned this happens every vacation and is not peculiar to Christmas so it ought to be in the journey planner automatically.
The Bus Users’ Group understands that Stagecoach’s website and journey planner are controlled centrally and not by our local Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancs staff, but someone, somewhere needs to sort this out – and in the case of Christmas Day (non) operation has eleven days to do it.
Lonsdale Buses
In the interest of balance, we looked to see what our other local operator was saying about Christmas and as long as you think to look under the “News” pages of its website the information seems clear enough. https://klch.co.uk/blog/article/christmas-operations/
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Christmas buses announced
Stagecoach has announced details of its bus service timetables over the Christmas & New Year period and they are similar to those in recent years.
As usual, on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, two of the busiest days for evenings out when people would prefer not to drive and when taxis are very difficult to come by, all the buses will be safely tucked up in the depot not long after 7pm. Nor will they stir from their slumber the following day, as Christmas Day and New Year’s Day will see no bus services at all in the Lancaster District.
Things are a little better on Boxing Day, as long as you live in the right place, with “special services” on the 1A 2X 6A 41 55 and 100. These start between 0800 and 1000 depending on the route and run until early evening although the 1A journey at 0600 from Heysham Towers to Lancaster Infirmary will also operate.
The rest of the time, between Monday, 22nd December and Friday, 2nd January, a SATURDAY timetable will operate on all services, with buses returning to normal timetables from Saturday, 3rd January.
Click here for Stagecoach’s Christmas leaflet containing full details, including times of first and last buses on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve and Boxing Day special timetables.
Details of services to be operated by Lonsdale Buses will be posted here when available.
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Better Times
Service 100 at the University Underpass (c) Craig Dobie In August we published a post (Confusing Times) that was critical of Lancashire County Council’s bus stop timetable displays. The post didn’t go down well at County Hall, but it did lead to a promise to review the way the information was displayed and to try and make it clearer. That promise has now been fulfilled.
Where did we start
The problems concerned the way the times of services 1/1A and 100 were displayed and particularly the variations between University Terms and University Holidays timetables. You can read what we said at the time on this link: Confusing Times 8th August 2025 but the display below will give you an indication of how confusing the displays were.
The Council promised to review the content and presentation of the displays, a promise that has now been fulfilled.
Service 1A
The new displays divide the times into two periods: University terms and University holidays and make it clear that there are more buses between the city centre and the University in term time than in the holidays without using the plethora of codes on the old version (compare with the image above). Service 1, which also runs between th city and University in term time is shown in a similar way.
Service 100
The same solution was adopted for service 100, with the timings again being split into term times and holidays and the timings themselves reviewed to eliminate the duplicates or near duplicates on the old version.
Here is one of the new displays:
One step forward….
Unfortunately, when the first versions of the new displays were put up a problem quickly became apparent. The Bus Users’ Group was alerted by a passenger from Bowerham, who complained that the journeys her daughter used to get to and from college had been withdrawn and the there were lengthy gaps in the timetable. Our own checks showed that this appeared to be an error and also that, strangely, Sunday times that were correct on the old displays were wrong on the new ones,with many journeys missing!
Our report to the county council enabled it to identify and swiftly resolve an issue with the data in its system and to correct and re-post the displays. We are pleased to be able to say (as far as we are aware) that the roadside displays concerned are now both clearer and correct.
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Bus Users organise “launch” for new service
Local bus users in Halton are to organise an unofficial “launch” for Lonsdale Buses’ new service 83 from Brookhouse to Morecambe, which they describe as a potential “life changer” for many people.
The new service, which starts on Monday 27th October, will link Brookhouse, Caton, Halton, Beaumont, Skerton and Torrisholme with Morecambe once an hour on Monday to Saturday. It reinstates a number of links lost following cutbacks by the county council in 2016 and Stagecoach a few years later, but is being operated as a commercial venture by the company.
The campaigners plan to join the bus due at Halton Community Centre at 10.38 on Monday for a celebratory ride to Morecambe. Members of Lancaster Bus Users’ Group are expected to join at other stops along the way.
The organisers would like to see as many people as possible join them to get the new service off to a good start. As well as Halton, passengers can join at Brookhouse, Black Bull at 1031, Caton, Station Hotel at 1033, Halton Camp at 1041, Beaumont Green (Whalley Road) at 1044, Skerton (Torrisholme Road) at 1046 and then all stops to Torrisholme, The Shrimp, Euston Road and Central Drive to Morecambe bus station.
Buses return from Morecambe every hour at one minute past the hour until 1931. The maximum £3 fare cap applies and concessionary passes (NoW Cards) are accepted.
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Service Changes by Stagecoach and Lonsdale Buses
The next two weekends will see a number of changes to bus services operated by both our local operators, Stagecoach and Lonsdale Buses.
From Sunday, 26th October, Services 88 and 89 between Lancaster and Knott End-on-Sea will be operated by Stagecoach, replacing Lonsdale Buses. The only change to the timetable will be the last journey from Lancaster (all week) will extend to Knott End-on-Sea.
From Monday, 27th October, The Monday to Saturday journeys on service 18 Lancaster East City Circular will be operated by Lonsdale Buses. There will be no change to the timetable and Stagecoach tickets and passes will be accepted on Lonsdale Buses vehicles. The Sunday service will continue to be operated by Stagecoach.
The acceptance of one bus company’s tickets on another company’s buses is unusual in Lancashire and has been arranged by the county council following comments by the Bus Users’ Group that passengers visiting Williamson Park or Lancaster Leisure Park from other parts of the city would no longer be able to use Stagecoach Day Riders to complete their journeys.
Also from 27th October Lonsdale Buses will start running two new services, each running hourly on Monday to Saturday.
Service 83 will run from Brookhouse and Caton via Halton, Halton Road, Whalley Road, Slyne Road, Owen Road, Torrisholme Road, Torrisholme, The Shrimp, Lancaster Road, Euston Road and Central Drive to Morecambe Bus Station.
Service 85 will run from Morecambe Bus Station via Marine Drive Central, Bare, Hest Bank and Bolton-le-Sands to Carnforth Railway Station.
In practice, it is expected that buses will run through from Brookhouse to Carnforth and vice-versa and through passengers should, in most cases, be able to remain on the bus at Morecambe, although separate fares will be payable.
Service 85 closely follows the route of Stagecoach service 5 between Morecambe and Carnforth, but neither bus company will accept tickets issued by the other.
Timetables for both services are on our “Latest Changes to Bus Services” page
November
From Monday, 3rd November Stagecoach will introduce new winter timetables on services 555 Lancaster – Keswick and 755 Morecambe – Bowness-on-Windermere. Full details and links to the new times are on our “Latest Changes to Bus Services” page
Finally, Lonsdale Buses will withdraw service 550 Levens-Milnthorpe-Arnside-Morecambe after operation on 11th November. No replacement service will be provided.
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Lonsdale Buses to withdraw Milnthorpe-Morecambe service
A Service 550 bus in Morecambe. Loadings have not always been this good. Following the good news about Lonsdale Buses’ new services in Morecambe, here is the bad news!
The company has announced that it plans to withdraw service 550 between Milnthorpe and Morecambe after operation on Tuesday, 11th November 2025. The once-weekly “market day” service has been linking a large area of North Lancashire and south Westmorland with Morecambe since 2020.
The company is running what it calls a “consultation process” over the next 28 days and invites passengers to share their views about the change via the company through its website (details on this link).
The service has always been a commercial operation and originally used a vehicle that on four days a week provided an Arnside to Kendal service. It is thought that the enhancement of the Kendal service to a six-days-a-week and its extension to Carnforth and other villages served by the 550 has reduced patronage and hence viability.
In Lancashire, the withdrawal means that the Crag Bank area of Carnforth will once again be without a bus service, although other places on the route will still have buses to Lancaster and – by connection – to Morecambe.
Lancashire County Council and Westmorland & Furness Council have been made aware of the proposed withdrawal and passengers affected by the change can contact them on the following links:
Lancashire County Council Bus Services Team: email to: busservices@lancashire.gov.uk
Westmorland & Furness Council Public Transport Team (Web contact form)
Otherwise passengers can contact their local county councillor (Lancashire) or District Councillor (Westmorland & Furness)
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Lonsdale Buses announces new services and new buses!
Three of the new Volvo buses that have joined the fleet. Photo (c) Lonsdale Buses Lonsdale Buses has announced two new bus services that will start on 27th October.
Service 83 will link Brookhouse, Caton, Halton, Skerton, Torrisholme and Morecambe every hour, six-days-a-week. The new service restores the link between Brookhouse and Morecambe that disappeared during the County Council’s cutbacks in 2016. It also brings back the longstanding and much-missed link between Skerton and Morecambe, which Stagecoach broke when it diverted service 2 via Scale Hall Lane to avoid the railway bridge following its conversion to double-deck operation in 2019.
Service 83 will restore a service along Torrisholme Road withdrawn when service 2 was diverted after being converted to double-deck operation and renumbered to “100” in 2019. Between Halton and Skerton the new service will run via Whalley Road, thus restoring a bus service to yet another stretch of road abandoned in recent years by Stagecoach. The Bus Users’ Group was pleased to have been invited to submit ideas as to how the service could best benefit local residents.
Service 85, which we understand will be linked operationally to the 83, will run from Morecambe Bus Station to Carnforth and will also have an hourly frequency on Monday to Saturday. This service will complement – or compete with – Stagecoach service 5, which runs from Overton to Carnforth via Morecambe.
The Bus Users’ Group has not been involved in the development of this service and its’ utility wil very much depend on how the timings of individual journeys relate to those provided by Stagecoach.
No Subsidy Involved
Both services are commercial operations and receive no subsidy from the county council or anyone else. Their success therefore very much depends on how much use local people make of them. Lonsdale Buses says on its website that the new services have been made possible by the arrival of four new buses in its fleet, although the Bus Users’ Group feels that the loss of the contract to operate services 88 and 89 between Lancaster and Knott End from the same date may also have been a factor.
New Vehicles
The four new buses, three of which were put on the road at the beginning of September, are all Volvo B8RLE’s equipped with the latest low-emission diesel engines and fitted with the “Next Stop” audio-visual announcement systems that are now required on all new buses. They join seven similar buses to have been delivered in the last couple of years that have given the company’s fleet a modern image.
The company is promising “new ticketing options” and more information about times and routes of the new services, which will be posted on its website (and on ours) as soon as they are available.
You can read what Lonsdale Buses has to say about the new buses and services here.
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“Confusing Times”: The Council’s Response
Earlier this month we published a post criticising the style, content and accuracy of some of Lancashire County Council’s roadside information displays. (Read again here).
The Council was offered the right to reply, which we are happy to publish here.
There are currently around 8,000 bus stops within the Lancashire County Council area, approximately 40% of which have timetable information though the council is expanding this facility.
The basis of the printed displays are the registrations that are received from the operators, in this case, the network serving Lancaster University is significant. As such, the levels of service do change significantly, and the destination of services are impacted. This is not a unique case across the county council, but the volume of journeys impacted in Lancaster is more substantial. Unfortunately, in this case, when using the registration provided by the operator, a higher number of codes for impacted journeys are being generated. As a result, the displays produced have a considerable number of departure times with notes.
Once the stop displays are produced, they are sent to print internally. The team of inspectors then take them out to the site with a 6-day window to try and complete the posting of the information. It is important to note, that when there are a significant number of changes being made, this can take longer and therefore not all stops will be update within the window.
We understand that the current arrangement doesn’t always produce the best possible outcome for passengers. We have reviewed the data, as a result of LDBUG raising the issue, and have produced some test displays. It has required a reworking of the registered journeys; we have split the journeys by university term time and holidays so that they are treated as separate services by the system. This has greatly reduced the number of departure times with codes. We will look to introduce these to the roadside as and when resources permit.
There are several impacts in doing this, one is the amount of time taken to rework the registration. The second one is the size of the cases on the route and the increased size of the displays with some now requiring two or even three pages. We will only be able to assess the impact once the revised displays are produced and inserted in the cases. We can assure LDBUG, going forward, we will mark the registrations for services 1/1A and 100 as requiring the extra work, to make sure we make the displays as clear as possible. In the longer term we are looking to update the software used to be able to create a more bespoke display for those stops that require them.
Additionally, Lancashire County Council has committed funding from the Bus Grant from HM Government to introduce brand-new Real Time Information displays throughout Lancashire. The initial tranche of signage is scheduled to commence in September 2025. Within Lancaster district this includes Carnforth town centre; key stops in Heysham and Morecambe and the Lancaster Infirmary stops.
Lancashire County Council
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Contract tendering brings changes of operator to two local services
The results of the tendering process for local bus contracts to start on 26th October, recently published by Lancashire Council Council, reveal some changes to Lancaster area services. The council is required by law to seek fresh tenders for contracted bus services from time to time and as a result two local routes will see a change of operator later this year.
Service 18, the “East City Circular”, currently operated by Stagecoach, will be run by Lonsdale Buses on Monday to Saturday, although the Sunday service will remain with Stagecoach. The Bus Users’ Group has a particular interest in this service dating back to 2015, when Lonsdale, then trading as “Kirkby Lonsdale Coach Hire” reduced its commercial service over the route to just five journeys a day. The County Council at the time claimed that it had no money to pay for the full service to be continued, but the Bus Users’ Group, working with local city councillors, uncovered a fund of over £500,000 in “developer contributions” paid by the developers of new housing in the area that was intended to not only support the bus service, but actually to enhance it.
Members of the Group, together with Stagecoach managers and local councillors at the launch of the revived service 18 at Williamson Park in 2017 Mich of the funding had been diverted to other projects and it was only after a lengthy campaign, involving Lancaster City Councillor Tim Hamilton-Cox and County Councillors, Gina Dowding and Lizzi Collinge and with the help of Cat Smith MP that the County Council could be persuaded to put what money was left to the purpose for which it was intended. The contract for the revived service, which began in 2017, was awarded to Stagecoach, which has operated it successfully ever since.
Services 88 and 89 Lancaster to Knott End
Stagecoach buses will return to Glasson Dock when the new contract starts in October These services change hands in the opposite direction, with operation passing from Lonsdale Buses to Stagecoach. Co-incidentally, Lonsdale Buses (then Kirkby Lonsdale Coach Hire) took over the route from Stagecoach at about the same time as service 18 changed hands, although the “Stagecoach” involved was actually Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancs, which ran the service from its Fleetwood depot. This time round the service will be run by Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancs from its Morecambe depot.
Service 89 is the long-standing route between Lancaster and Knott End, with service 88 being added in 2023 using Bus Service Improvement Plan funding to provide a link to Garstang from the villages served.
Other services
The tendering exercise included new contracts for service 8 and 9 in Lancaster, service 51 between Carnforth and Silverdale, the evening service on the 81, and the Sunday services on the 7, 10, 11, 18, 81, and 82 although none of these contracts has changed hands.
Two services will be split between operators. Service 18 will be run by Stagecoach on Sunday and Lonsdale Buses the rest of the week, and Stagecoach will continue to provide the evening service on the 81 to supplement the daytime journeys run by Lonsdale Buses.
What does it all cost?
The county council is required to publish the results of the tendering process from which it is possible to gain an idea of how much money is required to sustain non-commercial bus routes in the county.
The annual value of the six contracts comes to just over £1,000,000, ranging from £37,000 for the Sunday service on the 7,10,11 and 18 to £588,000 for the Lancaster to Knott End service. The actual cost to the county council is lower than this, as in most cases all income accruing to the services from passengers’ fares and concessionary pass reimbursement is deducted. The Council also receives Bus Operators’ Support Grant for contract services from central government, which in 2025/6 totalled £1.87m for the whole county.
The document “Tender Results for Local Bus Services 2025” is available on this link.
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LONSDALE BUSES REMOVES THROUGH FARES
Buses will continue to run through to Skipton, but passengers must re-book Some passengers using bus services between Lancaster, Settle and Skipton will see an increase in their fares from 1st September. Here’s why.
Complicated.
The cross-country bus service between Lancaster and Skipton, run by Lonsdale Buses, is operated in a curious way. Legally, it is three separate services: Lancaster-Kirkby Lonsdale / Kirkby Lonsdale – Settle / and Settle – Skipton, with each section having a different service number, either 81/82, 581 or 580. One reason for this is that by keeping the services separate in this way they can be operated under the less-restrictive rules on the hours that bus drivers can work that apply to bus routes less than 50km in length. It also means that the buses themselves do not need to be fitted with tachographs. This is a common practice throughout the country with longer bus routes, although in most cases the same service number is used on each section.
The financial arrangements are complicated too. Lancashire County Council provides support for the 81/82 north of Hornby, the Kirkby Lonsdale – Settle service is supported by North Yorkshire Council, whilst the remaining sections are run commercially by the bus company.
Through Fares
Despite these complications, the buses have continued to run a through service between Lancaster and Skipton and to all intents and purposes it has been regarded as a through route. Lancashire’s timetable and the Dales Bus website market the route as the “Craven Connection” and at one time this branding was carried by at least one bus used on the service.
The “Craven Connection” at Settle in 2016 Fares
From its inception as a through service there were through fares. In 2018, for example, a single ticket from Lancaster to Skipton cost £9.90, with a return just 10p more at £10. However, in recognition of the fact that it is legally three separate routes, holders of concessionary bus passes were required to re-present their cards to the driver at Kirkby Lonsdale and Settle on every journey.
When the government’s English National Fares Cap was introduced in January 2023 it reduced the fare to £2, which was increased to £3 in January this year. A journey from Lancaster to Skipton then cost just 30% of what it did in 2018.
Everyone to re-book
The £3 fare cap means that bus companies cannot increase most of their fares to meet rising costs and must rely on compensation payments from the government for participating in what is a voluntary scheme.
Lonsdale Buses has now decided that the economics of operating these services means it must now treat them as separate as far as the fares cap is concerned, just as it does with concessionary passes. From 1st September, passengers making through journeys will have to re-book at Kirkby Lonsdale and/or Settle and pay a maximum of £3 each time. A journey from Lancaster to Settle will cost a total of £6 and to Skipton £9.
In a statement on it’s website the company explained that it is developing a “Day Saver” ticket that will reduce the cost for passengers making longer journeys, although it is unclear whether this will be launched before the changes take effect.
JOIN US
Membership is open everyone and the subscription is £5 per annum (£2 for Bus Pass holders and students).
You can join either by
- Sending a cheque made payable to Lancaster Bus Users Group to Steve Clarke, 75 Spruce Avenue, Lancaster LA1 5UB together with your full name and contact details
- E-mailing office@lancasterbususers.com and asking for details of how to pay us directly by bank transfer
- Coming along to one of our meetings and paying there by cash or cheque.
- Meeting dates are shown on the left hand sidebar of this site.
Lancaster Bus Users' Group 