Saturday 1 May 2021

DalesBus is Back!

 

DalesBus services from Lancaster last ran in 2019, when Preston Bus was the operator.
This year's service will be run by Kirkby Lonsdale Coach Hire

Summer Sunday buses from Lancaster to the Yorkshire Dales return for the 2021 season on 16th May. Having been unable to operate last year due to Covid-19, this year's services follow a similar pattern to the 2019 operation.

Two services run from Lancaster.
Service 830 Northern DalesBus starts in Preston, picks up at Lancaster then travels via Hornby, Wray, Bentham and Ingleton to Hawes, then continuing over the Buttertubs Pass into Swaledale and on to Richmond.

Service 881 Malham DalesBus starts in Lancaster and runs via the Trough of Bowland to Settle, Malham Tarn and Malham village.

Both services consist of one journey in each direction over the full route, although the 881 has extra trips between Settle and Malham connecting with trains.  They will run every Sunday from 16th May until 17th October 2021 with service 881 also running on Bank Holiday Mondays. Kirkby Lonsdale Coach Hire will operate both routes on behalf of Dales & Bowland CIC.

Timetables can be seen and downloaded from the following links
830 Northern DalesBus                         881 Malham DalesBus

Paper timetable leaflets will also be available on the bus and, later in the year from Libraries and Visitor Information Centres.

From the same date, Kirkby Lonsdale Coach Hire will reintroduce Sunday journeys on services 580 and 581 between Kirkby Lonsdale and Skipton, connecting with service 81A/B to provide a link to and from Lancaster.

DALES ROVERS

The services are part of the DalesBus network, which allows a number of different circular trips to be made. Dales Rover Tickets can be used on all DalesBus services and cost £10 for adults, £18 from Groups (of up to 2 adults and 3 children). Due to the passenger-unfriendly policies of North Yorkshire and Lancashire County Councils, NoW Cards can't be used on the 830 and 881, but passholders can buy a Dales Rover ticket at the discounted price of £5.

For full details of all DalesBus services please follow this link to the DalesBus website.

Wednesday 14 April 2021

Road Repairs Programmed on Services 5 and 2X

 

Service 2X approaching Combermere Road

Back in February we reported on the diversion of services 2X and 5 away from Heathfoot Avenue in Heysham due to the state of the road, which Stagecoach claimed was so bad that it was damaging their buses. These services were re-routed to run between Heysham Towers and Combermere Road direct via Heysham Road, leaving the stops at Middleton Road, Heathfoot Avenue and Peel Avenue unserved.

At the time, Stagecoach advised passengers who were inconvenienced to complain to their local county councillor. But many people don't know who their county councillor is or how to contact them, so we did so on their behalf.

It took a while, six weeks in fact, to get a response but it came with a promise that the matter would be taken up with the Council's Cabinet Member with Transport Responsibility.

This was followed a fortnight later by the news that the repair of the road had been included in highway works to be funded by something called the "Local Deterioration Fund", which is a sum of  £3 million for "small schemes" within the Highways Maintenance budget of £38 million.  

The expenditure was subject to approval by the Council cabinet, but this was passed at the meeting on 1st April (no, really!)



The work is budgeted to cost £119,160 (see above) and with £38 million to spend - and £3 million of that on "small schemes" - it isn't clear just when the county council will get around to Heathfoot Avenue, but the Bus Users' Group has expressed the hope that it will be soon to allow the buses to get back to their normal routes.