Tag: buses

Park & Ride: Service cut and fares up

by Jim

Lancaster’s Park & Ride service, which links the Infirmary and the City Centre with the car park at Jc 34 of the M6 via Caton Road, will be cut back from Monday 6th July.

The service will be reduced from every 15 minutes to every half hour. Ironically, for a service provided for the purpose of reducing traffic, the frequency is further reduced to one bus every 45 minutes at peak times due to the extra traffic at these times delaying the bus!

The cuts will follow the ending of funding from the NHS, which since 2021 has allowed a second bus to be provided to run the 15 minute frequency and extend the service to the Infirmary from its previous terminus in the city centre. Despite the end of this funding, the Infirmary will still be served.

At the time the funding was provided it was said to be temporary until such time as the NHS could improve staff car parking provision at the Infirmary, although now that it is ending there has been no statement to the effect that the extra parking is in place.

The new timetable inevitably leads to a less attractive service. For example, a car driver arriving at the Car Park and just missing the 0740 bus into the city is expected to wait until 0820 for a bus with the following departure not until 0900.

Heavily subsidised

At the same time as the service quality is reduced, the cost is increased – with a return fare rising to £2.50 – although for a journey of just over 4km each way the fare remains far lower than every other bus fare in the city (and parking is, of course, free).

The motorist is still therefore heavily subsidised and the Bus Users’ Group can’t help but wonder if the money couldn’t be better spent providing better bus services that everyone could use, rather than just those who already have an alternative means of transport.

New Links to ASDA and Morecambe Prom.

by Jim
Lonsdale Buses service 83 is being re-routed to serve Salt Ayre / ASDA and Bare (c) Darren Hunt

Lonsdale Buses service 83, linking Brookhouse and Morecambe, will have a new route and timetable from Tuesday, 5th May.

The route is being changed to take in the ASDA superstore at Salt Ayre, Bare Lane station and Morecambe Promenade. From Torrisholme Road, buses will run down Scale Hall Lane to Morecambe Road and then via Ovangle Road to ASDA. Returning to Morecambe Road, the service will continue to The Shrimp roundabout and Bare Lane, Bare Crescent and along the Promenade to Central Drive, calling at Festival Market before terminating at Morecambe Bus Station. Buses will return to Brookhouse via the reverse of the inward route.

New Links

The new route provides new links to ASDA and Salt Ayre Leisure Centre from Brookhouse, Caton, Halton, Beaumont, Skerton and Bare as well as a direct service to Morecambe Promenade. It also meets requests from passengers for the service to stop outside the Festival Market and Morrison’s in Morecambe.

Because of the extra distance to be covered and the additional time this will take, the service will operate every 90 minutes with the first bus from Brookhouse at 07.30 and the last return from Morecambe at 18.45 every day except Sunday and public holidays.

The new timetable is on this link 83 – Morecambe – Brookhouse – Kirkby Lonsdale Coaches – Bus Times which leads to a timetable showing the main stops. Ticking the “All Stops” box on the left hand side brings up a timetable showing the estimated times at every stop on the route.

Use it or lose it

Service 83 already fills a number of gaps in the local bus network identified to Lonsdale Buses by the Bus Users’ Group and the revised route follows up on our suggestions for further improvements. The service is operated on a fullt commercial basis and receives no outside financial support, so its continuation depends on how well it is used. The £3 maximum fare cap applies and Concessionary Passes (NoW Cards) are valid subject to the usual rules.