Councils Co-operate to Save Lune Valley Buses

Service 81 at Kirkby Lonsdale Market Place

Lancashire and North Yorkshire County Councils have been holding talks to see what can be done following notification from Stagecoach that it is to withdraw services from the Lune Valley.

Coming just days before the County Council published its Bus Service Improvement Plan, which sets out its ideas for improving the county's bus network, Stagecoach says it intends to close its outstation at Ingleton and de-register services 80  Lancaster - Ingleton and 81 Lancaster - Kirkby Lonsdale - Ingleton from the end of December.

Rob Jones, Managing Director for Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancs told the Bus Users Group

"We advised staff this week that we will be closing our Ingleton outstation at the end of this year, and are working with Lancashire County Council on how this affects customers on those routes.

"Sadly the 80/81 has not made money for some time, and before the pandemic struck the world, so with lower passenger numbers and significantly lower concessionary travellers (across the country not just Ingleton), we have had to take this decision."

Service 80 leaving Ingleton for Lancaster

Cross-Boundary Services

The services were being provided without any financial assistance from either authority.  Whereas Kirkby Lonsdale, (where the 81 terminates) is just within Cumbria County Council's administrative area, responsibility for the service lies almost entirely with Lancashire.  Service 80, however, has a substantial proportion of its route within the area covered by North Yorkshire County Council

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said:

"We have been in discussion with colleagues at NYCC and we are keen to ensure the cross boundary services are able to continue for residents of both counties.  Ingleton and High Bentham are bigger communities than most of those either side of the river combined and it is likely going to be key to maintain these cross boundary links with them potentially contributing towards to greater sustainability of the network.  Of course LCC would expect that NYCC fund their share of any future service provision through their area."

 The Bus Users Group has been invited to put forward suggestions as to what any replacement services should look like and we have put forward a number of ideas on matters such as regular headways, alteration to departure times, service numbers, fares and ticketing.

Lancashire County Council is keen to secure the replacement services as soon as possible and has undertaken to inform the Bus Users' Group and other interested parties when this has been achieved.

As this post was being written unofficial reports were received that Stagecoach would continue to operate the existing services until April, "to give the councils more time to organise a replacement", something that a council spokesman was unable to confirm or deny.