Thursday, 3 January 2019

The Good, The Bad...and the Beautiful!

Bus shelters are often overlooked but are, in fact, an important part of any public transport network and Lancaster Bus Users' Group has always considered the provision and improvement of them very much part of what we do.

They come in all shapes and sizes, are made out of different materials, offer very different standards of comfort and are provided and looked after by many different public bodies.

A "good" bus shelter will offer protection from wind and rain, allow clear visibility for the waiting passenger to see the oncoming bus - and for the bus driver to see the waiting passengers - and will have seating, lighting and a timetable display. (A very good one would have real time information as well).

"Bad" shelters will be missing some or all of the above and may be in a state of neglect and disrepair. Thankfully there are not too many of these in and around Lancaster.

Given the job they do you could argue that there are no "ugly" shelters but beauty is, of course, in the eye of the beholder so to start the new year off, how about a little competition to discover the most beautiful bus shelter that can be reached by bus from Lancaster?

Here's one for starters - thanks to blog reader Paul, from Wray

Paul's choice is at Bentham, on service 80 from Lancaster and shows how a very basic old-fashioned shelter, which lacks most of the attrributes of a "good" one (see above) can nevertheless be seen as "beautiful".

Now over to you. Use the contact form below or send an email to lancasterbususers@gmail.com to tell us of best, worst or most beautiful shelter reachable by bus from Lancaster.

Thursday, 20 December 2018

Christmas and New Year Buses



Here are the details of bus services operating over Christmas and the New Year in the Lancaster, Morecambe and Carnforth areas.

CHRISTMAS EVE:  Monday, 24th December:
Normal Monday services with the following exceptions

Service 1 Lancaster University – Bus Station – Morecambe – Heysham
No evening service.  Last buses as follows

Heysham Towers           1750    1800    1820    1840    1900
Lancaster Bus Station    1837    1842    1900    1920    1940
University Underpass     1855       -           -          -           -

University Underpass     1838    1858
Lancaster Bus Station    1900    1915
Heysham Towers            1938       -

Service 2  University (Alexandra Park) - Bus Station - Bare - Morecambe - Heysham
No evening service. Last buses as follows:

Alexandra Park                            1753   1815   1835   1855   1915     
Lancaster Bus Station                  1826   1851   1906   1926   1946   
Morecambe Bus Station               1858   1918       -          -         -
continuing as 2X                             |       |           -          -         -
Battery                                       1904   1924       -          -        - 
Heysham, Combermere Rd           1917      -           -          -        - 
  Service 2X
Heysham, Combermere Rd      1755   1825
Battery                                   1806  1836
Service 2                                   |        |
Morecambe Bus Station           1812   1842
Lancaster Bus Station              1847      -
Alexandra Park                        1914      -


Service 2X  Lancaster - Bay Gateway - Heysham - Morecambe
The following journeys will not operate:
1905  Lancaster - Heysham, Combermere Road
1920, 2020, 2120, 2220, 2320  Battery - Morecambe Bus Station
2011, 2111, 2211, 2311, 0011  Morecambe Bus Station - Battery.

Service 4  Railway Station - University
Normal service

Service 5  Carnforth - Morecambe - Overton
The following journeys will not operate:
1940 Carnforth - Morecambe Battery
1940 Overton - Morecambe, Euston Road

Service 6/6A  Lancaster - Westgate - Morecambe
The 1905 Lancaster - Morecambe journey will terminate at Morecambe Bus Station and will not serve Arndale Centre or Clock Tower.
The following journeys will not operate:
2005, 2105, 2205, 2305  Lancaster - Morecambe
1932, 2032, 2132, 2232, 2332  Morecambe - Lancaster

Service 7  Lancaster - Vale
Normal service

Service 8  Lancaster - Ryelands - St. Chad's
Normal Service

Service 9  Lancaster - Primrose - Bowerham
Normal service

Service 10  Lancaster - Ridge
The 1928 Lancaster - Ridge and 1940   Ridge - Lancaster journeys will not operate.

Service 11  Lancaster - Marsh 
Normal Service

Service 18  East Lancaster Circular
Normal Service

Service 33  Morecambe - Bare Circular
Normal service

Service 40/41  Morecambe - Lancaster - Preston
No late evening service. The last buses will be as follows:

Morecambe Bus Station    1810              Preston Bus Station       1815   1845   1915   1945
Lancaster Bus Station       1830              Garstang                      1846   1914   1944   2016
Garstang                          1908              Lancaster Bus Station   1929   1944   2014   2045
Preston Bus Station          1940               Morecambe, Bus Stn.   1949      -         -          -

Service 42  Lancaster - Garstang - Blackpool
Normal service

Service 49  Lancaster - Halton - Over Kellet - Carnforth - Warton
Normal service

Service 51  Carnforth - Silverdale
Normal service

Service 55  Lancaster - Hest Bank - Carnforth
No late evening service. The last buses will be as follows:

Lancaster    1900          Carnforth  1923
Carnforth    1923          Lancaster  1952

Service 80  Lancaster - Ingleton 
Normal service

Service 81  Lancaster - Kirkby Lonsdale
Normal service

Service 89  Lancaster - Knott End-on-Sea
Normal service

Service 555  Lancaster - Keswick
Normal service 

Service 582  Lancaster - Kirkby Lonsdale (for Settle and Skipton)
Normal service

CHRISTMAS DAY  Tuesday, 25th December
No service

BOXING DAY  Wednesday, 26th December
Services will operate on the following routes.  Click the link for timetables.

1 University - Lancaster - Morecambe - Heysham

2 University - Lancaster - Bare - Morecambe

2X Lancaster - Heysham - Morecambe

6A Lancaster - Westgate - Morecambe

40  Morecambe - Lancaster - Preston

55  Lancaster - Hest Bank - Carnforth

555 Lancaster - Keswick (See Sunday & Boxing Day service) 

THURSDAY 27 December and FRIDAY 28 December
Normal service

SATURDAY 29 December
Saturday service

SUNDAY 30 December
Sunday service

NEW YEAR'S EVE  Monday 31st December
Services operate as on CHRISTMAS EVE (see above)

NEW YEAR'S DAY  Tuesday 1st January
No service

Normal services resume on Wednesday, 2nd January 2019

Tuesday, 11 December 2018

University Holiday Services start next week.


Lancaster University takes its Christmas holidays from 16 December 2018 until 13 January 2019 during which time bus services to the University are reduced.

This year the changes are a little different, following the network revision last October, with all the reductions affecting services along Greaves Road and through Scotforth. 
Bowerham services are not affected and will not change.

Services affected are the 1 and the 4X.

Service 1
Frequency between Lancaster Bus Station and the University is reduced from every 10 minutes to every 20. Buses will leave the Bus Station at 17, 37 and 57 minutes past the hour and the University at 18, 38 and 58 minutes past.  The evening and Sunday service between these points is withdrawn with the last bus from the Bus Station at 1837 and from the University at 1858.

There is no change to the service between the Bus Station and Heysham except that the 0000 and 0020 to Euston Road will not run. The last bus to Morecambe and Heysham will be at 2340 (Mondays to Saturdays).  Sunday services on this part of the route continue as normal.

Alternative buses to the University, including evenings and Sundays, are available on services 2 and 4 via Bowerham.

Greaves Road and Scotforth are also served by services 40 41 and 42, with 41 and 42 operating via the University.  Together with service 1 this will give six buses an hour along the A6, five of which will run via the University, although this does not result in a regular headway as shown below:

Buses will leave the Bus Station for the University via Greaves Road at the following minutes past each hour during the greater part of the day:
17 mins. past (Service1)
30 mins. past (Service 40 - not via University)
37 mins.past (Service 1)
46 mins past (Service 42) (Note after 1346 buses run at 1455, 1605, 1652 and 1742.
55 mins. past (Service 41)
57 mins. past (Service 1)


From The University to the Bus Station via Greaves Road buses will leave each hour at:
04 mins. past (Service 40 from University Gates, not Underpass or Campus)
18 mins. past (Service 1)
38 mins.past (Service 1)
41 mins.past (Service 41, but times are different after 1441
58 mins. past (Service 1)
Also service 42 at 0813, 1056, 1156, 1303, 1403, 1503, 1603, 1703, 1806, 1911, 1949 and 2038*

* Monday to Friday times. Saturday times are different.

Service 4X
This service, which runs from the Railway Station to the University via the city centre and Greaves Road at peak travel times and on Sunday evenings is suspended during the holidays.

"Term Time" service resumes on 13th January when new timetables will be introduced on services 1, 2 and 4. Details of these will be posted on our website as soon as we receive them.