Government figures show that after recovering to 60% of pre-Covid levels in the summer, bus patronage is once again on the decline with steep falls recorded since the latest lockdown period began.
In the first two weeks of January bus patronage in England, outside London, was at only 25% of the January 2020 figures used by the Department for Transport as a reference. The requirement that people should stay at home and make only essential journeys has led to falls in transport use across all modes as the following figures show.
TRANSPORT USE IN ENGLAND IN JANUARY (1st-18th) as % of January 2020 level.
Cycling 65%
Cars 51%
Bus (London) 33%
BUS (Excl-London) 25%
London Tube 16%
Rail 14%
Whilst bus use has fallen further than car travel or cycling it has not declined as steeply as London Underground ("Tube") or National Rail. Nevertheless, the bus industry is still heavily-reliant on emergency funding from central and local government, which is increasingly calling the shots on which services can continue and at what level, with bus operators and local councils working closely together to determine appropriate timetables.
Unsurprisingly therefore Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancs. is to introduce some reductions to services in our area from Monday, 25th January that will apply "until further notice".
The purpose of continuing to operate a service at a time when so few people are travelling is to allow essential journeys to be made and, in particular, to allow key workers to get to and from their places of employment. The Bus Users' Group is pleased to see that the powers-that-be recognise that not all essential work takes place between the hours of 9 and 5 and that evening and Sunday services will continue to run.
Service Changes
Service 1/1A University - Lancaster - Heysham will run every 20 minutes daytime and every 30 minutes between Lancaster Bus Station and Heysham only in the evenings. Click for timetable
Service 2X Morecambe - Heysham - Link Road - Lancaster will run every 30 minutes Click for timetable
Service 4 Lancaster Railway Station - University will run every hour. Click for timetable.
Service 6 Morecambe - Westgate will be suspended. Service 6A provides an alternative.
Service 6A Lancaster - Westgate - Morecambe will run every 30 minutes in the daytime and every hour in the evenings. Click for timetable.
Service 7 Lancaster - Vale will run every hour. Click for timetable.
Service 10 Lancaster - Ridge will run every hour. Click for timetable.
Service 11 Lancaster - Marsh will run every hour. Click for timetable
Services 40 / 41 Morecambe - Preston will run every hour with most daytime journeys running as service 41 through Garstang and via the University. Evening and Sunday buses will operate as service 40. Click for timetable.
Service 100 University - Lancaster - Morecambe will run every 30 minutes. Click for timetable.
Service 755 Morecambe - Kendal - Bowness-on-Windermere is suspended.
Services not mentioned above will not change and will continue to operate a "School Holiday" service. Services 500/501/502/504/935 to Ripley School are combined under a temporary 500X service. Click for timetable.
