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UPDATE: We have heard unofficially that buses will continue to observe the stops at the Holiday Inn and Lancaster Business Park, but this has not been officially confirmed.

Lonsdale Buses has announced that with effect from Monday, 2nd December use of Lancaster’s Park & Ride service will be restricted to passengers travelling between the Caton Road Park & Ride Site and Lancaster City Centre and Infirmary.

When introduced, in 2016, the service was always intended as a non-stop link between the parking site just off junction 34 of the M6 and the city centre. In 2019 it was extended to run to and from Lancaster Royal Infirmary and doubled in frequency to cater for staff and visitors at the hospital.

Despite requests from the Bus Users’ Group and potential passengers, including employers of factories and workplaces along Caton Road, the County Council, which sponsors the service, always insisted that it was not for local use.

The buses have never been particularly well-used. Provision of the Park & Ride car park was a planning condition of construction of the then-controversial Heysham Link Road (now known as the Bay Gateway), although that requirement did not extend to funding a bus service! Eventually, no doubt embarrassed by the existence of an underused car park, the powers-that-be managed to come up with some funding to provide a bus service into the city.

The initial service was not very attractive, with buses running just once every 30 minutes into town and with no bus priority to give passengers any advantage over using their car. Unsurprisingly, despite dropping plans to charge for car parking as well as for the bus and allowing concessionary pass holders to ride for nothing, passenger use remained low.

In 2019, the NHS, struggling with a shortage of car parking space for staff at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary, provided extra funding that allowed the service to be extended to the Infirmary and doubled in frequency. Ridership rose, although there were still plenty of empty seats.

Local passengers carried

At some stage, the service was altered so that buses observed all stops, which resulted in more passengers using the service, especially to reach various workplaces along Caton Road.

This was good news for passengers, but the public record of the service’s registration with the Traffic Commissioner was never altered and this states that only the following stops should be observed.

Lonsdale Buses doesn’t produce a timetable for the service, but the county council’s version, both in print and online, also appears to confirm it as a non-stop service.

Now, for reasons that are not entirely clear, County Council has instructed Lonsdale Buses to stick to the registered bus stops only.

Unsurprisingly, the move has not gone down well with passengers or with employers at businesses on Caton Road. A spokesperson for one of these said:

 “This decision has disrupted the daily routines of many working professionals. Several of my colleagues are now unable to arrive at work on time, as the added walking time from the park and ride stop is incompatible with their start times. This adjustment has caused unnecessary stress and forced changes to work patterns and is causing significant stress.“

“This decision severely impacts individuals with limited mobility, who now face an unreasonable expectation to walk from the Park and Ride to their offices. Caton Road is not fit for safe pedestrian use—its poor maintenance and lack of gritting during icy weather render it treacherous, particularly in winter conditions. Additionally, the pedestrian pathways along Caton Road are unsafe during and after rainfall due to poor drainage and maintenance. The road frequently floods, leaving pedestrians no choice but to navigate puddles or risk being soaked by passing vehicles splashing water onto the path. This issue exacerbates the already dangerous conditions on Caton Road and further demonstrates why expecting Park and Ride users to walk from the main stop is impractical, unfair and hazardous.“

Jim Davies, Chair of the Bus Users’ Group said:

“The Park & Ride service requires significant funding from the county council to operate and it appears illogical and unfair that this public money is not being used fully to benefit the travelling public”.

The alternative services to the area, the 81 and 82, are infrequent and have a shorter operating day than the Park & Ride. They also do not serve the hospital, which is an important destination for people living near Caton Road.

The Bus Users’ Group has therefore joined employers and passengers in calling for the County Council and Lonsdale Buses to allow the full use of the service to all passengers at the earliest opportunity.

Lancashire County Council is set to receive over £25m in funding for bus service improvements in 2025/6.

The sum was revealed today by the Department for Transport press along with details of grants totalling £955m across England. £243m of that sum will be paid to bus operators as part of a long-standing grant that was originally designed to compensate them for the duty paid on bus fuel, with the remaining £712m being paid to local authorities to improve services.

Lancashire’s allocation the largest of all non-metropolitan or combined authority areas and it follows £34m received to implement the Bus Service Improvement Plan for the three year period ending in March next year. As the £25m is intended just for one financial year it represents a considerable uplift. The funding is split almost 50/50 between “capital” (for things such as bus lanes, bus stop improvements, real time information etc) and “revenue” (to support non-profitable bus services).

The investment has been designated to enhance popular routes, protect rural services and increase bus use for shopping, socialising and commuting. It will prevent service reductions on at-risk routes and the Department for Transport claims it will improve punctuality across England, to bring an end to the current postcode lottery of unreliable services.   

Change to basis of funding

In recent years, said a spokesperson, services have consistently suffered from complicated and inconsistent funding, which has ultimately impacted the passenger. Today’s reformed funding settlement marks a departure from that approach with a simplified commitment from the government, giving bus providers the certainty they have long been calling for.  

As part of this investment, the way funding is allocated has been reformed, meaning it will be allocated based on place need, levels of deprivation and population. This will stop areas competing for funding as in previous years, which in turn wastes resources and delays decisions.  

Jim Davies, Chair of the Bus Users’ Group said:

“Although the change away from competitive bidding to a systematic analysis of needs approach is welcome, the grant is only for one year. Therefore the “certainty” offered to bus providers is limited. Assuming the government intends to continue funding these improvements we would like to see that certainty extended for several years ahead in any future announcements”

£3 Fare Cap

Alongside the £955 million, £150 million has already been committed to step in and cap fares at a maximum of £3, with an inflationary limit also set to ensure that other fares are not automatically increased to £3. The cap is designed to help people with the cost of living and everyday travel costs and will now run until 31 December 2025, enabling savings of up to 80% on some routes.   

What will it mean for Lancaster?

Because the funding has been allocated without the need for a bid from local authorities, it is unclear how they intend to spend it at this stage, but council officer, Matthew Moll, who manages the Enhanced Partnership between Lancashire County Council and the area’s bus companies will be speaking at the next meeting of the Bus Users’ Group on Thursday, 21st November (13.30hrs at Lancaster library) when it is hoped he can give us an update on plans.

Stagecoach’s new Winter edition of the Lakes Guide, valid from 4th November, sees a number of changes to timetables, including the 555 and 755 that link Lancaster and Morecambe to the Central Lakes.

Service 555 Lancaster-Keswick

As usual, the additional journeys that operate via the M6 between Lancaster and Kendal are withdrawn for the winter period. This includes the Sunday morning and afternoon journeys that ran for the first time this summer. Again as is usual, the winter Sunday timetable sees extra buses at 08.20 from Kendal to Lancaster and 18.45 return, both running via the motorway.

On Monday to Saturday, the 05.40 Kendal to Lancaster bus runs five minutes earlier and arrives Lancaster at 06.56. The 07.05 Lancaster to Keswick bus leaves Lancaster runs five minutes earlier at 07.00 but has extra running time so that arrival times at Kendal (08.27) and Keswick (10.08) are unchanged.

There are also new evening journeys funded by Westmorland & Furness Council. The 18.30 bus from Keswick to Kendal is extended to Lancaster, leaving Kendal at 2015 and arriving at 21.26. There is also a new bus at 21.30 from Lancaster that arrives in Kendal at 2241.

The new 555 timetable is on this link

Service 755 (Heysham (Ocean Edge) – Bowness-on-Windermere

The changes to the 755 are more radical. In recent years this service has been almost unique in having a seven-day-a-week timetable, with very little variation between Mondays to Fridays and weekends. It has also remained largely unchanged since being extended at the Heysham end to Ocean Edge in 2021.

Now there are separate Monday to Friday and Saturday & Sunday timetables with buses running at different times.

On Monday to Friday there is an extra journey at 11.05 from Ocean Edge to Euston Road and the 13.50 from Ocean Edge to Euston Road is extended to Bowness in school holidays. Also in school holidays, the 16.15 Morecambe to Bowness bus will start back from Ocean Edge at 15.50. The journeys at 16.50 and 19.05 from Ocean Edge are withdrawn and replaced by a journey to Euston Road at 18.05

The 09.45 Kendal to Morecambe bus is extended to Ocean Edge, arriving at 11.03.

The 16.27 Euston Road to Ocean Edge is withdrawn.

In Lancashire school holidays there is a new journey at 16.05 from Bowness to Ocean Edge. On schooldays this will start from Euston Road at 17.37.

The Saturday and Sunday timetables are completely different and the full

755 service is shown on this link.

Full details of all Stagecoach services in the central Lakes area are shown in the new guide and a copy can be seen at this link: Lakes Guide Winter 2024-5

Copies are also available at Lancaster bus station and on board the 555 bus.

Lancashire County Council has announced its intention to change the terms and conditions under which Disabled Persons’ Concessionary Bus Passes (NoW Cards) can be used.

At present, holders of cards issued on grounds of disability can be used before 09.30 on Monday to Friday on payment of a flat fare of £1. This concession is not available to holders of NoW cards issued on grounds of age. The council intends of remove the additional concession so that all pass holders would have to pay the full adult fare if travelling before 09.30.

The £1 fare was increased from 50p in 2018 and at the time the council said that the biggest use of the concession was by people travelling to medical appointments, followed by leisure, education, shopping and then work. A consultation exercise at the time claimed that only 4% of respondents said the increase would make their journey unaffordable. However, the consultation also showed that for some users the ability to pay with a single coin was important. This was maintained in 2018 but will not necessarily be so this time, depending on what happens to the £2 cap on adult bus fares in the budget. This is what we said in 2018: https://lancsbus.blogspot.com/2018/11/fare-increase-for-disabled-passholders.html

You can read the council’s statement here: https://news.lancashire.gov.uk/news/have-your-say-on-proposed-changes-to-nowcard-trans-scheme

New Consultation

The council is running a consultation on the move, which will be open until 18th November. It takes the form on an online question-and-answer form that asks about the effect the change would have on individuals. The Bus Users’ Group will be responding to the consultation via other means, but if you or anyone you know is likely to be affected here is the direct link to the consultation questionnaire. https://online1.snapsurveys.com/interview/5d962249-3fe0-48f7-8d31-e640eb813d67

If you need the questionnaire in a different format please telephone 0300 123 6734 or visit www.lancashire.gov.uk/haveyoursay  

What do we think?

The Bus Users’ Group understands the financial position that all councils are in after ten years of austerity during which their funding from central government has been severely cut. However, it seems odd that at a time when a county council initiative has seen a £1 fare offered to all passengers in the evenings and on Sundays throughout the county, a very similar offer should be withdrawn from one disadvantaged sector of society.

We also wonder how much the council will save as a result of this move. Any passholders travelling for leisure or shopping will be able to rearrange their journeys so as to travel after 09.30 and the same will apply to those who are able to arrange medical appointments to later in the day, as senior passholders already do. The council will still have to reimburse bus companies for these journeys but will lose the £1 contribution that passholders currently make.

The shelter at Sainsbury’s before the seat was provided.

Some things in the bus passengers’ world can be expected to take a long time to bring to fruition: establishing the case for a new bus route, or convincing the powers-that-be to change the timetable or relocate a bus stop; but other things that ought to be easy just aren’t!

Take the simple matter of installing seating in a bus shelter. The Bus Users’ Group has been involved in two such requests in recent times. One, for a seat that would be made and donated by a local craftsman to be installed in a parish council-owned bus shelter in a village near Lancaster, was turned down out-of-hand by the Parish Council in what appeared to us to be a case of parish-pump politics that we felt unable to get involved in.

In the second case, at the “Sainsbury’s” bus stop in Lancaster, we were successful – but it seems to have taken much longer than we think it should. The stop is equipped with a shelter, provided by advertising contractors Clear Channel, and is well used by passengers travelling north and west from the city. Despite there being no obvious reason for the omission, unlike most Clear Channel shelters, it had never been provided with a seat. There is a public bench on the pavement nearby, but anyone using this would be unable to see the oncoming buses and might not get to the stop in time to stop them if there were no other passengers waiting.

Timeline

It seemed therefore a perfectly reasonable request for a seat to be provided, and we were ultimately successful. Here’s the timeline of how we went about it.

21st March – Our member, Mary, a regular user of the stop, raised the matter at a Group meeting at which members agreed to pursue it with the city council.

7th April – Following production and approval of the minutes of the meeting a request was made to the council for a seat. Initially, things moved very quickly.

8th April – The council agreed to approach Clear Channel and said it had already identified a suitable seat that was due to be removed from a shelter in Morecambe when that was replaced with one of the council’s new “Living Roof” shelters.

9th April – The council reported that Clear Channel had agreed to the request – but no timescale was offered.

Bus passengers are generally very patient people – some might say that we have to be – so nothing happened until

5th June – Mary reminded the BUG executive that the matter was still outstanding. A reminder was sent to the city council the same day, asking if there was now a date for installation. This prompted the response that the shelter in Morecambe had not yet been replaced and that there was still no date for that to happen.

10th July – It was noticed that the Morecambe shelter had been removed, so a further reminder was sent to the council. This brought the response that although the old shelter had been taken down, its replacement hadn’t been installed due to bad weather. It wasn’t explained why this should cause a delay in relocating the seat! There was now a new date for erecting the replacement shelter in Morecambe of 19th July, but this did not necessarily include moving the seat either.

22nd July – Word came from the council that the seat was to be installed on 31st July

31st July – The seat was not installed

13th August – Following an enquiry from the ever-patient Mary, another reminder went to the council. This brought forth apologies and an explanation that the installation date was put back to 5th August without the council being informed, but then nothing happened! There was no new date for installation.

30th August – It came to our attention – by observation – that the seat was now in place and being used by grateful passengers just six months after our request was accepted.

The situation was complicated due to the involvement of not just the council, but also the advertising contractor and the timeline above shows that communication between them could have been better. From the passengers’ point of view it goes to show that successful campaigning requires both patience and persistence. Luckily, we have plenty of both.

The Lancaster Festival of Road Works and Bus Disruption that began in Heysham in July and spread to Morecambe and Lancaster city centre in August will have its finale in September at the University!

From Monday 26 August until Sunday 22 September there will be significant changes to the bus services on campus to enable the replacement of an electricity cable to University House, ground works for the new Photovoltaic Solar Farm connections and two major sports events.

26 Aug – British Cycling Northwest Youth Tour – North perimeter Road and Underpass – closed from 09.00.

Bus rerouting

• 1/,1A, 4/4X & 100 will operate via Bigforth Drive & South West Campus calling at bus stops at the Sports Centre, Management School and all of South West Campus stops with an added temporary bus stop at the Hitching Point on the West roundabout.
• 41 & 42 will operate via the A6 (in both directions) during the closure. Buses to remain using these routes for remainder of day on 26 Aug until bus services cease overnight, then switch to arrangements via chaplaincy on 27 (below). NOTE: 41 & 42 Southbound services to Garstang, Preston & Blackpool will be operating from University Main entrance bus stop on A6 only.

27 Aug – 1 Sept – Underpass closed

Bus rerouting

• All services will operate to/from the Chaplaincy only, except services 41 (Lancaster-Preston) and 42 (Lancaster Blackpool) which will operate direct via the A6 in both directions using the bus stops on the A6 near the junction with Bigforth Drive. Buses will NOT go around South Drive or South West Campus – Management School, InfoLab 21, Furness College, Lonsdale College, Cartmel College and Graduate College bus stops will NOT be in use.

02 Sept – 12 Sept – Underpass closed, Alex Park Drive & Green Lane closed at top (adjacent to South Drive).

Bus rerouting

• All services will operate to/from the Chaplaincy only. Buses will NOT go around South Drive or South West Campus and so Management School, InfoLab 21, Furness College, Lonsdale College, Cartmel College and Graduate College bus stops will NOT be in use.

13 September – Underpass reopens

13 Sept – 22 Sept – Alex Park Drive & Green Lane closed at top (adjacent to South Drive).

Bus rerouting

• All services will serve the Underpass only, except the 41 & 42 (Lancaster to Garstang, Preston & Blackpool) which will operate via the A6 (in both directions). Southbound bus passengers going to Garstang, Preston will need to catch the bus from the University Main entrance (A6) stop. Buses will NOT go around South Drive or South West Campus therefore Management School, InfoLab 21, Furness College, Lonsdale College, Cartmel College and Graduate College bus stops will NOT be in use.

8 Sept – Triathlon – Bigforth Drive and Perimeter Road closed 08:00-14:00.

Bus rerouting

• All services will operate along the A6 (turning round at the first roundabout on Hazelrigg and direct via the A6).

More information on bus services is available on the Lancaster Bus Users website.

Service 100 will have an improved Sunday timetable

Stagecoach will make a number of changes to bus services in and around Lancaster from 1st September. There are a number of improvements: The services to Ridge, Marsh and the Lower Lune Valley gain additional journeys on Monday to Saturday evenings and there will be more buses between Lancaster and Morecambe via Bare on service 100 on Sunday. There are also extra journeys between Lancaster and Blackpool on service 42. all thanks to the government’s funding for the Bus Service Improvement Plan.

There are also changes to early morning timetables on certain services with some journeys withdrawn at this time of day and most services have “minor changes to improve service reliability” as Stagecoach puts it. Service 5 will no longer serve Heysham Village on Sunday.

For more details please click on the links below.

1/1A University – Lancaster – Heysham

2X Lancaster – Heysham – Morecambe (via Bay Gateway)

4 / X4 Lancaster Railway Station – Lancaster University

5 Overton – Morecambe – Carnforth

7 Lancaster – Vale

10 Lancaster – Ridge

11 Lancaster – Marsh

18 Lancaster – East City Circular

40 / 41 Morecambe – Lancaster – Preston

42 Lancaster – Blackpool

55 Lancaster – Carnforth

81 Lancaster – Hornby – Kirkby Lonsdale

100 University – Lancaster – Morecambe

One of the hazards facing the unwary bus passenger is the diversion of buses due to planned (or unplanned) roadworks that necessitate a road closure, especially when the bit of road closed isn’t near the bus stop and may not be not obvious.

Full marks to Lancashire County Council therefore for providing this information at the Station Hotel stop in Caton during the closure of the road between Caton and Brookhouse currently in place.

Buses could have just remained on the A683, but that would mean missing the main bus stop – and timing point – in the village, so a diversionary route has been put in place. This means that buses towards Lancaster will use the stop on the side of the road that buses to Kirkby Lonsdale usually use and vice-versa – cue for much confusion that has hopefully been averted.

Full marks also to Caton-with-Littledale Parish Council, not only for their supplementary notice that includes a map that makes everything much clearer, but also for arranging with the contractors undertaking the works to provide free taxis on request for passengers to and from Brookhouse. They’ve even thought of providing tear-off strips with the number to ring to book one!

If only all road closures could be handled like this!

The Group’s profile hit a new high this week when our member, and the Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale, gave us a mention in parliament.

Lizzi Collinge MP and BUG member

In her maiden speech, Lizzi Collinge MP, referring to the King’s Speech at the state opening of parliament said:  “In His Majesty’s most gracious speech, we heard about the Government’s plan to reform our bus system, and as a proud member of the Lancaster District Bus Users Group, I welcome that warmly.” **

Read the rest of the speech on the Beyond Radio website here:

Lizzi first became involved with the Bus Users’ Group in 2016 when we approached her as a county councillor to help in the fight to restore a regular bus service to the east side of the City following cutbacks by the commercial operator. After the success of that campaign, Lizzi maintained her interest in buses and joined the Group, becoming a regular attendee at meetings.

Whilst the Group has become well-known in City and County Council circles, where we have several members as sitting councillors, Lizzi is the first to reach the dizzying heights of Parliament and we are sure she will use her interest in and knowledge of buses to stand up for the interests of bus passengers both in her constituency and throughout the country.

** Whilst Lizzi obviously welcomes the impending reform of the bus system, the Bus Users’ Group is a non-political organisation that has not taken a view on the regulatory system for buses. Both franchising and the current deregulated model have their advantages and disadvantages and we will continue to stand up for the interests of passengers whichever system is adopted locally in future.