Flexible Ticketing - Stagecoach Please Note

Our Chair, Jim, was on the Isle of Wight last week and came across this interesting advert for the local bus company's fares and tickets.

It wasn't so much the level of fares that impressed Jim, in fact he thought them rather high, although the Isle of Wight does have a comprehensive bus network that runs at frequent intervals well into the evening as well as on Sundays.

What did impress him was the flexibility of the tickets offered.  £10 gets you not just a "Day" Ticket but one valid for a full 24-hours. Buy one at eight o' clock at night and you can use it not just to go out for the evening but to get to work and back the next day and even perhaps to go out again the next night!

Of course, on the Isle of Wight  the tickets are more likely to be aimed at visitors rather than workers, which probably explains the 48-hour ticket (at a 25% saving over 2 x 24hrs).  Buy it on Friday afternoon when you arrive on the Island and that's all your bus travel taken care of until you leave on Sunday!  Compare that with a weekend visitor to Morecambe who would probably not bother with a day ticket on Friday afternoon, might get one for Saturday but would wonder whether it was worth it to get another one on Sunday and would therefore probably not travel by bus very much at all during their stay.

But note also the the item at the bottom of the notice:  "Buy single tickets to any destination - even if you have to change buses! This, of course, is standard practice on the railways. A rail ticket between any two stations costs the same whether the journey is made on a through train or whether you have to change.  Not so on the buses where unless you have a Day ticket you must pay again on each bus you board, a system which prevents passengers making the most efficient use of the network. There may well be special circumstances on the Isle of Wight that make this system workable there when it wouldn't be elsewhere, but it must be worth a look, surely?

555 Back to Normal

Lancaster's longest and most scenic bus route has returned to normal after six months of disruption caused by the storms of last winter.

Service 555, which links Lancaster with Kendal, Windermere, Grasmere and Keswick through the heart of the Lake District, was disrupted in early December when part of the A591 north of Grasmere was washed away by winter storms.

Changing buses in Grasmere Village.

Initially, the service terminated at Grasmere, with passengers for Keswick being required to change at Kendal for a shuttle service to Penrith, where they could join the existing X4 service to their destination.  Motorists have had to continue following a similar lengthy diversion, but from early February the installation of a temporary bridge and the surfacing of a forest track allowed buses and cyclists (only) to reach a minor road running along the west side of Thirlmere allowing Stagecoach to restore the service to Keswick. Through passengers were still required to change buses at Grasmere as the temporary route was not suitable for double-deckers. Initially small Optare Solo buses were used on the link, but these quickly had to be

The only passing place on the single-track road alongside Thirlmere
(c) Martin Tordoff

duplicated on many departures. Larger single-deckers were then used but even these were not big enough to cope with the loadings and, with clever scheduling, leading to the unusual sight of four single-deck buses passing each other at the only possible passing place on the single track road along the side of Thirlmere.

Work on the A591 was completed this week and from today through running between Lancaster and Keswick has been restored and the normal timetable re-introduced. 

Whilst this is good news for passengers it might be a mixed blessing for Stagecoach for whilst the extra running costs of the shuttle service will be saved they will no doubt lose passengers for whom the bus from Grasmere to Keswick will no longer be the fastest way of getting there, as well as the many who were attracted to the service "just for the ride".

Dales Bus Services Back for the Summer

Dales Bus service 832 from Morecambe to Ingleton via Lancaster, Hornby and Bentham restarts for the 2016 season this Sunday, 1st May and operates every Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday until 25th September.

At Ingleton, the bus becomes service 830 and continues to Ribblehead, Hawes and through Swaledale to  Richmond. Connections are available at Ingleton onto service 881 to Settle and Malham Tarn.

Other connections are available at Hawes onto the "Wensleydale Flyer" to Leyburn and Northallerton and you can change again at Leyburn onto service 859 to reach Richmond via a different route.  Why not go one way and come back the other? (Although please check timetables, especially on bank holidays when some times are different).

Dales Bus Summer 2016 Map

Drivers are instructed to be vigilant about connections and to make every effort to ensure they are kept, so there is no need to worry about missing your bus. 

Fares and Concessions

 A day's travel on the whole Dales Bus network (shown on the map above) costs just £10 for adults, £6 for students or concessionary bus pass holders and £2 for under 19s although up to two children can travel free with every Dales Rover ticket holder.  Fares for shorter journeys are also available, such as Lancaster to Ingleton at £8 return.

Unfortunately, English Concessionary Bus Passes (such as NoW Cards) are not valid on Dales Bus services from Morecambe this year. Lancashire County Council's decision to exclude them has been challenged by Lancaster District Bus Users' Group and the position may change during the season.

Even without a NoW Card the service is excellent value for money giving access to a wide area of spectacular scenery and numerous attractions for just £10  (or £6 if you do have a NoW Card). Please give it try as it receives no subsidy from the county council and its future relies on your support!

Timetables

Copies of the timetable leaflet are available in Morecambe and Lancaster libraries, The Visitor Information Centres in both towns and from the Stagecoach enquiry office in Lancaster Bus Station, or you can click this link for an online timetable.

There is more information on the Dales Bus network on their website here.

Stagecoach Freezes Fares and Extends Young Persons' Dayrider Offer.

Stagecoach has announced that there will be NO increase to its bus fares in Cumbria and North Lancashire during 2016. Fares that last rose in March 2015 will remain unchanged for the rest of the year at least.

Also, the Young Persons' Dayrider ticket, giving unlimited travel for a day in the Bay Dayrider Zone for just £2, which was introduced on a trail basis in January, has now been made a permanent feature of the company's fares offer. Young Persons' Dayriders are available to anyone under 19 years of age and can be bought on the bus.

From Sunday 24th April, holders of  Young Persons' Dayriders will be able to "upgrade" them to allow travel throughout the Lancashire Dayrider zone for an extra £2 (i.e. at a fare of £4 for a ticket that costs £7.40 full price and which has not previously had a reduction for children). This ticket is advertised as being valid on all Stagecoach services in "Lancashire" although it's a version of "Lancashire" that includes Southport, Liverpool, Wigan and Bolton but not Manchester.  Ingleton and Kirkby Lonsdale however appear to have been given honorary "Lancashire" status as far as this ticket is concerned.

There doesn't appear to be a definitive map of the Lancashire Dayrider zone anywhere on Stagecoach's website but we have tracked down this unbelievably complex and user-unfriendly document on the Merseyside and South Lancs site. The Lancashire Dayrider is said to be Zone 12 (although zone 12 on the map excludes Southport and Liverpool - and for that matter Lancaster!)

Service 80 Re-routed in Hornby

Lancaster District Bus Users' Group is happy to have been able to assist residents in Hornby who found themselves inconvenienced by the latest round of changes to the village's bus service.

Prior to 3rd April service 80 (Lancaster to Ingleton) ran directly from Lancaster along the A683 to the village centre, whereas service 81 (Lancaster to Kirkby Lonsdale) diverted via the B6480 and Station Road and served a number of residential properties on the way. 

With service 81 now reduced to a two-hourly frequency some residents who were inconvenienced by the change approached the Bus Users' Group for help.

As the section of the A683 that the 80 was using was largely unpopulated the Group was happy to support the residents and to ask Stagecoach to re-route the service.

Although we have yet to receive a formal response from Stagecoach we have now been told by the residents that the 80 is already following the 81 route, just as they had requested. Regular passengers had even been approached by an inspector in Lancaster bus station and told of the change of route personally!

There obviously won't have been time to change the service registration and a look at Stagecoach's new map on their website suggests that this was always the intention anyway. Perhaps the message just didn't get through to the local staff,  but for whatever reason the residents are happy - as is the Bus Users' Group - and a big "Thank You" to Stagecoach for responding so quickly.

County Council "Ban" on NoW Cards - The Beginning of the End?

The "Northern Dalesman", otherwise known as services 830 / 832 between Lancaster, Ingleton, Hawes and Richmond is set to return for the summer on 1st May as part of the popular "Dales Bus" network of services in, to  and from the Yorkshire Dales.

This year, however, holders of the English National Concession Bus Pass - or "NoW Card" will have to pay to use it as Lancashire County Council has decided to exclude the service from the bus pass scheme.

  

When asked by the Bus Users' Group to explain their action, a  "Transportation Officer" from the Council responded that :

"the service is of limited use to Lancashire residents apart from allowing them to enjoy a day out in the Yorkshire Dales"!

This is , of course, a very worrying development.  If the County Council feels that NoW Cards should not be used to allow Lancashire residents to "enjoy a day out in the Yorkshire Dales" what is to stop them taking the view that they shouldn't be used for a day trip to the Lake District, to Blackpool or to anywhere else that takes their fancy?

In fact, the Concessionary Travel Act 2007 that set up the scheme does not state any journey purpose for which concessions should or should not be available, merely that they must be available on all registered local bus services.

 Amendments introduced by Regulations, in 2009, did allow local authorities to exclude any services provided "primarily for the purposes of tourism" from the scope of the scheme. The Regulations themselves, however, did not provide a definition of "tourism" and Guidance subsequently made available by the Department for Transport made it quite clear that the purpose of the change was to exclude only premium-fare services that provided an amenity element such as a commentary or tour.

Specifically the Guidance says:

   Government Response 30. We believe this proposal will only affect services which are clearly tourist sightseeing services. By this we mean the type of services which charge premium fares and may provide a commentary or tour.. .   The Department’s view is that this exemption would not in any way exclude normal local bus services that charge standard fares but which happen to stop at tourist or historic destinations.

The Northern Dalesman does not "charge premium fares" nor "provide a commentary or tour". Neither is it operated by "historic" vehicles. It is, however, "a normal bus service" and even if it does "happen to stop at tourist or historic destinations" then clearly the Department does not expect it to be excluded from the bus pass scheme.

The Bus Users' Group has therefore formally asked Lancashire County Council to change its policy, to recognise that the Northern Dalesman service does meet the criteria, as expected by the Department for Transport, for inclusion in the NoW Card scheme and to make NoW Cards available on the service.

Let Us Know How the Cuts Affect You.

Service 5B: One of several to be withdrawn

With the new bus timetables being introduced on Sunday, 3rd April Lancaster District Bus Users' Group is seeking to learn the effects on local residents.

The new timetables include cuts to evening and Sunday services to the Ridge, Vale and Marsh areas of the city as well as to nearby towns and villages such as Glasson, Cockerham, Pilling, Caton, Brookhouse, Hornby, Wray, Wennington, Tunstall, Melling, Kirkby Lonsdale, Carnforth,Warton, Yealand and Silverdale. Evening services between Lancaster and Blackpool are also withdrawn and the villages of Gressingham, Arkholme and Whittington are left without any effective bus service.

The Group is already aware of many people who will find it difficult to continue to travel to and from work as well as to get to the theatres and cinemas in Lancaster and to visit friends and family. Also affected are people returning home from longer-distance trips by train who will be unable to reach Lancaster in time for their last bus home.

If you are affected by the cuts, or know someone who is, please let the Group know, either by leaving a comment below or emailing us on lancasterbususers@gmail.com.  This will help us to focus our efforts and see what can be done to alleviate the problem.  The Group is already in touch with residents of one Lancashire village and is working with them to design a proposal and secure funding for a replacement service. We would like to do more of this work and your experiences will help us in knowing where best to look.

The Group has had some success in getting Lancashire County Council to change its mind over services such as the 33, 51, 81 and 89 and we hope that much more can be achieved.

Please leave a comment below or on our Facebook page.