Trivia: Villages completely bypassed by buses

[PTR 444]

I am thinking of villages where a bus route passes nearby but does not actually serve it. Realistically the bus route could serve the village without incurring a significant time penalty, but the operators have decided not to do so for commercial reasons.

For example, Hatch Beauchamp and Ashill are skipped by Buses of Somerset route 30 which uses the A358 bypass of those villages.

Are there many similar examples where the villages in question have no alternative bus service, or a very infrequent one at the most?

 

[Trainguy34]

12/15/16/89 all skip Bridge, which is left with 1bph, the 17, which is all good if you want Folkestone, but not Dover, Aylesham, Deal or Whitfield. The 89 used to provide 2 more bph but it was reduced to hourly and now skips Bridge.

 

[Darandio]

63 Arriva, bypasses Lazenby near Redcar on the inbound from Middlesbrough. It used to drop in the village in the past.

 

[stevieinselby]

An example I know of is Paulerspury, a village of about 1000 people just off the A5 between Towcester and Milton Keynes.
A few years ago, it had a regular bus running up to hourly, then it dropped to one commuter journey and a couple of shopper journeys a week, and now there's nothing at all.
Stagecoach run the X91 five times a day along the A5, but won't spend an extra 5 minutes to divert through the village ... but nor does the bus stop even on the A5 at the lane end, the nearest stops are 2 miles along the A5 in one direction and 3 miles along it in the other. While a stop at the lane end wouldn't be ideal, it would be a lot better than nothing at all!

 

[lxfe_mxtterz]

Buses of Somerset route 54 skips the village of Kingsdon, bypassing it using Rocky Hill - which leaves only route 77 which diverts in to serve the village.

Although in my (awful) experiences of using the 77, in reality it's a case of whether the driver can or can't be bothered to serve Kingsdon, as I've been left stranded there when buses have refused to turn into the village.

 

[mikeg]

I believe Sadberge used to be served near Darlington by the Arriva North East x66 route with minimal time penalty but hasn't been for years. There was a minimal service from scarlet band for a few years after.
The bus does go quite close from memory but there's not a stop nearby.
It's a real shame as it's not the smallest or villages and as a result has no scheduled bus service

 

[Flange Squeal]

Runfold near Farnham in Surrey is bypassed by Stagecoach’s Guildford to Alton route 65. As it happens, the village was actually served by the route until July 2017, when Stagecoach made the decision for buses to remain on the A31 dual carriageway.

The village of Lasham, to the north west of the Hampshire market town of Alton, has the Tuesday & Friday only Cresta Coaches 208 council contracted shopper bus pass very close to it. In fact, the maps contained within the Hampshire Couty Council local bus timetable booklets imply the service does loop round the village but in reality the village has been busless for many many years, despite it only adding a few minutes to be served rather than buses from Blacknest turning right onto the A339 into Alton. The Alton Bus Rally does run there though, so one day a year it gets an hourly bus service (albeit Covid and other reasons left it busless 2020/2021/2023!).

 

[Hophead]

Dial Post, south of Horsham in West Sussex is no longer served by Metrobus 23. Memory's a bit hazy, but my recollection is that, initially southbound buses skipped the village to avoid firstly, the right turn into and, probably more critically, the requirement to stop a 12-metre Scania in the central reservation of the A24 at the south end of Dial Post awaiting a gap in the traffic to continue on to Worthing. Subsequently, northbound buses also missed the village. There is now no nearby stop in either direction.

 

[73001]

Arriva Merseyside's 300 service used to turn off the main A565 to serve the village of Haskayne (going back right through to Ribble days, then the 300/302). There is now a stop on the main road, a short walk from one end of the village but a reasonable walk from the furthest houses and too far to walk to the village school. This has saved possibly 10 minutes off the route (approx 1 1/2 hrs long).

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

I believe Sadberge used to be served near Darlington by the Arriva North East x66 route with minimal time penalty but hasn't been for years. There was a minimal service from scarlet band for a few years after.
The bus does go quite close from memory but there's not a stop nearby.
It's a real shame as it's not the smallest or villages and as a result has no scheduled bus service

Sadberge, Long Newton and Elton were all served by the 98/99 (formerly 268/269) Darlington to Stockton services. Those services were replaced by the X66 and I think all three dropped off the route at that time.

Apparently, there were "penny numbers" using the services so it was more cost effective to speed up the service and so it has proved. None of the villages have a service other than a TeesFlex DRT now.

 

[PTR 444]

Where a bus bypasses a village, would it be a big ask for operators to work with councils to install bus stops on the bypass so that the village is still served in some way? It wouldn’t be as convenient* as the bus actually serving the village, but would still be better than nothing.

You could still provide a dial-a-ride or DRT style service for people with limited mobility, but everyone else would be expected to walk to the bus stops located on the bypass (which would be connected by a bridge).

*Convenient for the residents of the village in question. For passengers already on the bus (of which at likely to be the majority), they will find bypassing the village to speed up the journey more convenient.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Where a bus bypasses a village, would it be a big ask for operators to work with councils to install bus stops on the bypass so that the village is still served in some way? It wouldn’t be as convenient* as the bus actually serving the village, but would still be better than nothing.

You could still provide a dial-a-ride or DRT style service for people with limited mobility, but everyone else would be expected to walk to the bus stops located on the bypass (which would be connected by a bridge).

*Convenient for the residents of the village in question. For passengers already on the bus (of which at likely to be the majority), they will find bypassing the village to speed up the journey more convenient.

Some do but with certainly the ones I mentioned on the A66, and I suspect the A24 and A31 examples, safety considerations preclude it. You have a fast dual carriageway and are asking buses to slow down, and then pull out into traffic. Also, you are asking pedestrians to cross busy roads.

 

[lachlan]

Some do but with certainly the ones I mentioned on the A66, and I suspect the A24 and A31 examples, safety considerations preclude it. You have a fast dual carriageway and are asking buses to slow down, and then pull out into traffic. Also, you are asking pedestrians to cross busy roads.

Muchalls in Scotland has no buses running through it (not sure when buses last served it) but the stops on the dual carriageway have a half-hourly service. There's no safe crossing point over the 70mph road though a path through the central reservation is provided.

If a road was built between Muchalls and Newtonhill then potentially buses could turn off the road, serve Muchalls, then continue into Newtonhill.

Alternatively were Newtonhill station reopened to the south of the village, this would be within walking distance of Muchalls.

Or even a bridge/underpass could be built over the bypass to allow people to reach the bus stops safely.

 

[PTR 444]

Some do but with certainly the ones I mentioned on the A66, and I suspect the A24 and A31 examples, safety considerations preclude it. You have a fast dual carriageway and are asking buses to slow down, and then pull out into traffic. Also, you are asking pedestrians to cross busy roads.

If you provided proper acceleration/deceleration lanes and pedestrian footbridges, it wouldn’t be much different from catching a train at your local station.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Where a bus bypasses a village, would it be a big ask for operators to work with councils to install bus stops on the bypass so that the village is still served in some way? It wouldn’t be as convenient* as the bus actually serving the village, but would still be better than nothing.

Paulerspury is an interesting example - it seems strange that such stops don't exist. Often very little thought goes into stop positioning and it's such an easy thing to fix. (I don't agree that running through the village on an express service makes sense - and I think looking at the roads it would add a lot more than five minutes).

 

[Gloster]

A few months ago I tried to work out for a friend how she could get to Knepp Wildland, which is near the village of Dial Post in Sussex. Despite Metrobus 23 from Crawley to Worthing running along the A24 that bypasses the village, no journeys pass through it and there are no stops on the main road for a considerable distance either side of the bypass.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

If you provided proper acceleration/deceleration lanes and pedestrian footbridges, it wouldn’t be much different from catching a train at your local station.

Have you thought of how much that would cost compared to the usage? Just not cost effective.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Have you thought of how much that would cost compared to the usage? Just not cost effective.

If you applied railway cost-benefit analysis you'd do loads of them. Different standards for buses (which is rather unfair and un-inclusive).

How many such bus mini-stations could one have provided on Scotland's main roads for the cost of Reston station, for example?

FWIW it's often possible to use existing infrastructure e.g. where a minor road passes under the main road. There are loads of these on e.g. the A34.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Arriva Yorkshire's 229 used to serve Roberttown, but now stays on the A62 via Liversedge.
It also now skips Batley, but that's a town not a village.

 

[Ianigsy]

A couple within a few miles of me-

Hawksworth, West Yorkshire used to be served by the Bradford-Menston 649 but lost all public transport when this was cut back to run Esholt-Basildon-Shipley.

Several journeys on First Bradford’s 653 to Harrogate used to divert to serve North Rigton on a loop off the A658, but I have a feeling this stopped before First pulled out and it became Connexions’ X52. A shame as it took some of the height off a walk to Almscliff Crag!

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

If you applied railway cost-benefit analysis you'd do loads of them. Different standards for buses (which is rather unfair and un-inclusive).

How many such bus mini-stations could one have provided on Scotland's main roads for the cost of Reston station, for example?

FWIW it's often possible to use existing infrastructure e.g. where a minor road passes under the main road. There are loads of these on e.g. the A34.

Well, indeed. The £20m spent on Reston could've funded quite a few other schemes but hey ho!

And yes, there are locations where buses can and do dive off to use grade separated junctions from A roads (and were often used to provide a stopping point for the non-application of EU drivers rules). There were a few examples on the A1 (e.g. Scotch Corner) that have since been removed as the A1 was upgraded to motorway and so the slip roads are now under motorway regs.

On the A19, there are places like Elwick and Sheraton that do have bus stops right by the carriageway as some historic hangover. With Elwick, I think that the Peterlee to Middlesbrough service served those whilst the Hartlepool bus served the village proper. However, both routes are long gone - more TeesFlex

 

[roadierway77]

Langbank in Renfrewshire is a good example. McGills' 901 and 906 pass very close by on the A8 bypass but do not serve the village; Langbank is not served by any bus services. This is almost certainly because the village instead has a railway station served by trains between Wemyss Bay and Glasgow Central, which means any major demand (to Port Glasgow, Bishopton, Paisley and Glasgow) is already met by the train service.

 

[Clydeflyer]

Langbank in Renfrewshire is a good example. McGills' 901 and 906 pass very close by on the A8 bypass but do not serve the village; Langbank is not served by any bus services. This is almost certainly because the village instead has a railway station served by trains between Wemyss Bay and Glasgow Central, which means any major demand (to Port Glasgow, Bishopton, Paisley and Glasgow) is already met by the train service.

The configuration of the road network at Langbank is a factor too I imagine. Largs-bound, services could easily get into the village at the roundabout at the east end of the village and re-join the A8 via the slip road at the west end of the village. But there is no equivalents Glasgow-bound... Glasgow-bound would have to enter at the east end roundabout, drive thru the village, turn at a turning circle (that presently doesn't exist) and double back to get back to the roundabout to re-join.

 

[Stan Drews]

The configuration of the road network at Langbank is a factor too I imagine. Largs-bound, services could easily get into the village at the roundabout at the east end of the village and re-join the A8 via the slip road at the west end of the village. But there is no equivalents Glasgow-bound... Glasgow-bound would have to enter at the east end roundabout, drive thru the village, turn at a turning circle (that presently doesn't exist) and double back to get back to the roundabout to re-join.

It is indeed one of the key factors. Even the SPT tendered X22 service completely bypasses the village too.

 

[Smethwickian]

Dorchester in Oxfordshire is served by Oxford-Reading service X40 at a stop on the bypass only. There are lay-bys with a shelter each side and a footbridge, if memory serves me right.

 

[gc4946]

Marchwood, near Hythe, Hampshire.
Bluestar 8 serves the village hourly (2 hourly Sundays) but with late evening buses on Bluestar 9.
During the day the half hourly 9 bus to Calshot/Langley Farm bypass the village using the A326 with no stops on the bypass.

 

[Deerfold]

Several journeys on First Bradford’s 653 to Harrogate used to divert to serve North Rigton on a loop off the A658, but I have a feeling this stopped before First pulled out and it became Connexions’ X52. A shame as it took some of the height off a walk to Almscliff Crag!

There used to be 3 journeys a day on the 653 that went via North Rigton. Oddly, when there was a subsidised evening service (R7 - no idea who came up with that number) between Otley and Harrogate around 1999/2000, every hourly journey diverted (presumably as it could be done with 1 bus anyway) though I only once saw someone get on or off there.

There was a gap of several years between the 653 stopping serving Harrogate and the X52/X53 starting, when the only route along much of that corridor was what is now the A2 (and was then the 747). I'm not sure if there was a brief time with none of them running.

 

[stevieinselby]

There used to be 3 journeys a day on the 653 that went via North Rigton. Oddly, when there was a subsidised evening service (R7 - no idea who came up with that number) between Otley and Harrogate around 1999/2000, every hourly journey diverted (presumably as it could be done with 1 bus anyway) though I only once saw someone get on or off there.

There was a gap of several years between the 653 stopping serving Harrogate and the X52/X53 starting, when the only route along much of that corridor was what is now the A2 (and was then the 747). I'm not sure if there was a brief time with none of them running.

That's not completely right for the history...

The 653 was still running to Harrogate at the start of 2009, albeit on a reduced service running only 5 journeys each way right through and nothing north of Otley after 4pm – but at some point between 2005 and 2008 it stopped serving North Rigton.

653 - Buses from Harrogate to Bradford

First Yorkshire bus service 653 runs every 1-2 hours from Harrogate to Bradford via Pannal, Huby, Pool, Otley, Guiseley, Menston and Shipley

web.archive.org

The X52/X53 started in July 2009, when the 653 was withdrawn, restoring the hourly service between Harrogate and Otley, but the service has never returned to North Rigton.

X52 - Buses from Harrogate to Otley, Ilkley and Guiseley

Harrogate Coach Travel bus services X52 and X53 run every 1?2 hours from Harrogate to Guiseley and Ilkley via Pannal, Huby, Pool, Otley and Burley-in-Wharfedale

web.archive.org

I don't know about the R7, but by 2005 the evening and Sunday journeys between Harrogate and Otley were numbered 904 and were run by Aztecbird.

653 - Buses from Harrogate to Otley and Bradford

The airport bus started as the 767 in 2006, run by Harrogate & District, between Harrogate and LBIA only, then in 2010 it was taken over by Dales & District. In 2011 it became the 737 running through to Bradford, run by Centrebus, then in 2014 it became the 747 with a different route through Bradford (and now run by Tiger) before eventually becoming the Transdev Flyer A2 in 2020 ... but none of these incarnations have served North Rigton.

 

[MedwayValiant]

Beeston, near Sandy in Bedfordshire, has two pairs of stops on the A1 served by the Grant Palmer 73. The village lies entirely west of the A1, and while it would in theory be possible for buses to turn off and serve the village proper, I don't think it's ever been done. One of the pairs of stops is adjacent to a footbridge, but anyone getting off a southbound bus at the other stop would have to cross the A1 to reach the village.

A few miles away the other side of Sandy is Wyboston, another village which lies entirely west of the A1, and is served by the Stagecoach 905. Again there is a pair of stops on the A1, and they are adjacent to a footbridge. In this instance, there is no feasible route by which buses could serve the village proper - the village is basically one road, and there's nowhere to turn round.

It's more than twenty years since I've been that way, but there are quite a few stops on the A1 on the Arriva X15 between Alnwick and Berwick. I'm not sure what it's actually called, but "Lindisfarne Turn" is one of them. That section of the A1 is nothing like as busy as the Bedfordshire section, but there will be small villages that you'd have to cross the A1 to get to.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

It's more than twenty years since I've been that way, but there are quite a few stops on the A1 on the Arriva X15 between Alnwick and Berwick. I'm not sure what it's actually called, but "Lindisfarne Turn" is one of them. That section of the A1 is nothing like as busy as the Bedfordshire section, but there will be small villages that you'd have to cross the A1 to get to.

That’s Beal Filling Station and was advertised as the interchange point for people heading North from Alnwick to get to Holy Islsnd.