Details of bus services in North Lancashire over the Christmas and New Year period have now been announced.
Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve
All services are subject to an early finish, with buses stopping running after about 19.00hrs on most routes, although on 555 (Lancaster-Keswick) the service will continue up to and including the 20.40hrs journey to Kendal.
These early finishes, on two of the busiest nights of the year for "going out", have been going on for many years.The original reasons for them have been lost in the mists of time, but probably have more to do with not wanting to upset the drivers or the trade union than for any commercial reason. There's also a feeling that this happens everywhere (at least in the UK),although the BUG has evidence that that is not necessarily the case.
Christmas Day, and New Year's Day
There are no services on Christmas Day or New Year's Day. Here, Stagecoach is certainly in line with common UK practice (although passengers elsewhere in Europe would be surprised). But compare the lack of buses in Lancaster with what's happening on the Isle of Wight, where there are full services on Christmas Eve, extra late buses on New Year's Eve, a Sunday service on Boxing Day and New Year's Day and even a regular service on main routes on Christmas Day itself. Details via this link
Boxing Day
In recent years Stagecoach has redeemed itself by providing services on Boxing Day, which is still a bus-free day in many parts of England. This year's pattern is similar to last year, with special services on 1A, 2X, 6A, 40, 55 and100, a Sunday service on 555 and a normal service on 755 (Morecambe-Bowness) which wasn't mentioned at all in last year's Christmas leaflet.
The Days In-between
Between Friday 27th and Monday 30th December a normal (School and University Holidays) service will run on all routes, with normal services recommencing on Thursday, 2nd January 2020
Full details of Stagecoach services over the period, including full timetables, can be seen via this link and can also be found in a handy booklet available from the Travel Shop in Lancaster Bus Station and in Lancaster Library. The leaflet also details the opening hours of the Travel Shop and the availability of "customer services" from the Inspectors at the bus station.The BUG was surprised to see that there are apparently no inspectors on duty on Boxing Day, despite the extensive service operating, whilst on Christmas Eve they don't start work until 16.00 and are finished by 18.15 with a similar late start on New Year's Eve - although then they do at least remain on duty for a couple of hours longer!
Kirkby Lonsdale Coach Hire
The company does not appear to have published details of its Christmas services yet, although based on past experience we could expect a normal service to operate on all routes except on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day, when no service would operate.
