Railway Improvements That Have Led to Major Cuts In Bus Services

[Llandudno]

Just wondering which rail improvements in recent years have most likely led to major cuts in ‘competing’ bus services.

Rail improvements could be:
New or reopened lines
New Stations
Frequency Uplifts
Journey time improvements
New rolling stock

Bus Cuts could be:
Route withdrawal or curtailment
Frequency reductions

I guess there must be examples of bus service cuts when new tram lines have opened as well?

 

[DunsBus]

Borders Buses X95. The frequency between Edinburgh and Galashiels was reduced from every half-hour to hourly when the Borders Railway opened in 2015. This happened under First and was a key factor in their decision to quit the Borders in March 2017.

 

[reb0118]

I believe direct bus journeys from Livingston and Bathgate towards Airdrie and Glasgow were shortly curtailed after the introduction of the through Edinburgh to Helensburgh/Milngavie services.

 

[Taunton]

I believe direct bus journeys from Livingston and Bathgate towards Airdrie and Glasgow were shortly curtailed after the introduction of the through Edinburgh to Helensburgh/Milngavie services.

Those buses had a longstanding history, even back before WW2, they ran right through from Edinburgh to Glasgow on a regular frequency across multiple parallel routes, taking a considerable time, and usage of the seats must have changed over three or more times in the journey, as nobody did the throughout journey. They must have been a considerable nuisance to manage, taking a lot of resources of crew and vehicles, and various points of road congestion along the way.

Significantly within London there has been a general emphasis to reduce bus routes which parallel journeys that can be made by Underground/rail/DLR (particularly the latter) as these develop over the years, which nowadays is counter to the weekend works/disorganisation approach of not doing replacement bus operations, instead just saying "use alternative bus routes". But there aren't any such left, the remaining bus provision being only in different directions.

 

[Statto]

Borders Buses X95. The frequency between Edinburgh and Galashiels was reduced from every half-hour to hourly when the Borders Railway opened in 2015. This happened under First and was a key factor in their decision to quit the Borders in March 2017.

Not only that the X95 operates in 2 sections now Edinburgh - Hawick & Galashiels - Carlisle, it's only one Sunday journey each way that operates through.

Stagecoach South Wales X4 (formerly T4) Merthyr Tydfil - Cardiff has had a frequency reduction to hourly with Evening & Sunday service withdrawn, since the improvement to the Valleys line timetable.

 

[stuu]

Bude used to have a much better service direct to Exeter, the reopening to Okehampton seems to have reduced the viability of the service so it's less frequent now and only runs to Okehampton. Also the service from Okehampton into Exeter is much worse, which isn't great for anyone living between the two towns

 

[Bantamzen]

Electrification of the Airedale / Wharfedale, and the subsequent increase in frequencies on those routes saw a lot of buses slowly being lost. Most notable perhaps is the complete loss of any Bradford - Ilkley buses, and even Bradford - Guiseley services are down to just 1ph from between 4 & 6, and even that was under threat for a while.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Not happened yet, but I suspect the opening of East West Rail will seriously damage the economics of Stagecoach's X5 Oxford-Bedford service, at least between Oxford and Milton Keynes. This could leave Buckingham with a significantly reduced service as the railway doesn't serve it directly, though obviously Bicester won't lose out and Buckingham's loss will be Winslow's gain. The X5 does pass Tingewick but doesn't serve a stop for it.

 

[JonathanH]

Over time it is probably true that almost any interurban bus / coach service is diminished today because of the railway. All around London people used to have Green Line coaches into London which simply don't exist now. The Stagecoach Interurban services of the 1990s don't exist in that form now.

 

[jadmor]

I was reading in another forum about changes to Stagecoach East services in Fife, with some reductions in service being linked to the reintroduction of the Leven to Edinburgh service.

 

[JamesT]

Oxford used to have two coach services to London, run by the two bus companies. The Chiltern service to Marylebone was the final straw for Oxford Bus Company who withdrew the X90.

 

[frankmoh]

Light rail, but the 54 bus in London stopped going to Croydon after the London Tramlink was built. Maybe not a major cut though.

 

[Magdalia]

Just wondering which rail improvements in recent years have most likely led to major cuts in ‘competing’ bus services.

In the Cambridge area the following bus services have been cut back severely in recent years:

Royston-Cambridge
Littleport/Ely-Cambridge
Bury St Edmunds/Newmarket-Cambridge

In the first two the main railway development was platform lengthening to allow longer trains to run. In the third it was introduction of new rolling stock.

 

[rower40]

As I understand it, the opening of the Tyne & Wear Metro was coupled with far fewer buses going into the centre of Newcastle, but instead being used to transport passengers to railheads, so they could continue their journey on the Metro. This plan was then scuppered by central-government-imposed bus deregulation.

Can someone who knows more about this provide chapter and verse please?

 

[DarloRich]

Not happened yet, but I suspect the opening of East West Rail will seriously damage the economics of Stagecoach's X5 Oxford-Bedford service, at least between Oxford and Milton Keynes. This could leave Buckingham with a significantly reduced service as the railway doesn't serve it directly, though obviously Bicester won't lose out and Buckingham's loss will be Winslow's gain. The X5 does pass Tingewick but doesn't serve a stop for it.

Repurpose the X5 to a Buckingham > Winslow shuttle

 

[Bletchleyite]

Repurpose the X5 to a Buckingham > Winslow shuttle

It'll be interesting to see what the demand pans out like in the end particularly given that Winslow won't have a direct London service (so people wanting that will no doubt continue to drive to MKC, Bletchley or to a lesser extent Bicester North/Aylesbury Vale Parkway). Buckingham is certainly not short of railheading options even pre East West Rail.

 

[DarloRich]

It'll be interesting to see what the demand pans out like in the end particularly given that Winslow won't have a direct London service (so people wanting that will no doubt continue to drive to MKC, Bletchley or to a lesser extent Bicester North/Aylesbury Vale Parkway). Buckingham is certainly not short of railheading options even pre East West Rail.

Actually I can see the X5 still running but as a price competitor to E-W. If Stagecoach can fiddle the route bit and make it a bit more "X" they might hold passengers.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Actually I can see the X5 still running but as a price competitor to E-W. If Stagecoach can fiddle the route bit and make it a bit more "X" they might hold passengers.

They might have to consider upgrading the vehicles back to coach style or perhaps to fancied-up buses as Transdev Yorkshire quite like - I've completely stopped using it not because it's slow (as by the time you've parked it's not wildly slower than driving, though the diversion added about 10 years back into Buckingham town centre does add time on the rest of it pretty much takes the quickest route) but because doing a journey of that length in a cast-off ex-urban double decker (they don't even have upgraded seats) is just plain grim.

 

[mike57]

Shortly after our local line went from 90 - 120min interval service ((Sheffield mostly) - Hull - Scarborough to hourly at Bempton the local 504 bus from Bridlington was reduced from multiple to 2 return journeys most days. Although the service reduction wasn't directly attributed to the improved rail service, the reason given, lack of use and cost, and pre covid, coupled with broadly similar fares it was fairly obvious that the improved rail service did have an impact. Bridlington rail station is not as central as the bus station, but a 30 minute bus journey is replaced by a 9 minute rail journey, so unless you have mobility issues train is going to be as quick or quicker.

 

[Strathclyder]

I believe direct bus journeys from Livingston and Bathgate towards Airdrie and Glasgow were shortly curtailed after the introduction of the through Edinburgh to Helensburgh/Milngavie services.

The X14 was the last remnant of this I think. Managed to linger until early 2015 if Flickr is any indication (linked image copyright of MSE062).

First Scotland East - SN05 HWF (36020)

36020 is seen here arriving into Glasgow on the soon to be withdrawn service X14 from Livingston and Bathgate.

www.flickr.com

Stagecoach East Scotland later attempted to revive a direct bus link between Glasgow & Livingston by extending the X51 westwards in the spring of 2018. It didn't last too long though and had been cut back to start/finish at Livingston by 2021 (linked image is my own).

The Oxford Exile (X51) (18130)

The other Stagecoach Trident to appear on Glasgow/Fife express duties was ex-Oxford 18130. Caught leaving Buchanan Bus Station bound for Livingston on the recently extended X51 to Dunfermline (via Livingston). Photo Date: 19th May 2018

www.flickr.com

 

[LowLevel]

Light rail - Nottingham trams had a big impact on local buses in places like Bulwell and Beeston.

 

[Ellwill]

Though not immediate, the introduction of Southeastern's highspeed service on HS1 effectively heralded the end of commuter coaches running from North Kent into London.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

The start of the hourly Bridgend - Llantwit Major - Cardiff passenger service more or less killed off the bus service in that part of the Vale of Glamorgan. (certainly as far as commuting was concerned)

 

[30907]

Electrification of the Airedale / Wharfedale, and the subsequent increase in frequencies on those routes saw a lot of buses slowly being lost. Most notable perhaps is the complete loss of any Bradford - Ilkley buses, and even Bradford - Guiseley services are down to just 1ph from between 4 & 6, and even that was under threat for a while.

You can add Cononley, which lost most of its 666 (sic! - now 66) services as the main flow to Skipton was heavily undercut by the train. 2bph is now 5bpd (though Kildwick has gained as a result!). The route was awkward anyway with a steep hill and narrow roads as well as the level crossing.

 

[JKP]

As I understand it, the opening of the Tyne & Wear Metro was coupled with far fewer buses going into the centre of Newcastle, but instead being used to transport passengers to railheads, so they could continue their journey on the Metro. This plan was then scuppered by central-government-imposed bus deregulation.

Can someone who knows more about this provide chapter and verse please?

The Metro opened prior to bus deregulation by 5 or 6 years. The Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive who oversaw bus services in their area, determined that buses should terminate at Gateshead. There was a great deal of complaint from passengers. The Government was looking at bus licensing reform. Coaches were deregulated in 1980. A local operator, Low Fell Coaches applied to the Traffic Commissioner to operate a route across the Tyne from Low Fell to Newcastle city centre with a terminus at St Thomas Street. This was granted though think it only ran hourly. This undermined the PTE policy and eventually led to cross Tyne bus routes being restored. I cannot recall whether this was before or after deregulation in October 1986.

 

[Djgr]

The Metro opened prior to bus deregulation by 5 or 6 years. The Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive who oversaw bus services in their area, determined that buses should terminate at Gateshead.

Presumably to reduce city centre traffic and pollution? Does sound sensible

 

[JD2168]

The improvements to the Sheffield - Barnsley - Leeds service indirectly led to the withdrawal of the X32 Sheffield to Leeds service & the X33 Sheffield to Bradford service

 

[gc4946]

The improvements to the Sheffield - Barnsley - Leeds service indirectly led to the withdrawal of the X32 Sheffield to Leeds service & the X33 Sheffield to Bradford service

There was a Stagecoach X10 Leeds-Barnsley, initially hourly daytimes with later buses on Fridays and Saturdays, but in later years became peak hour operation only and was scrapped in late 2022

 

[Mattplans]

When the Elizabeth Line opened, TfL shortened the bus that now runs between City Thameslink and Ilford. It used to run further into Central London (ie Tott Ct Rd, Oxford Circus) but no longer does, TfL assuming that the Lizzy will take the bulk of patronage, since they have many stops in common on the entire journey. This is the 25 which essentially (used to) mirror the Liz line

I think there is a similar route that ran to Whitehall / Horse Guards from Plumstead via Woolwich. This is actually one of the busiest routes in London, and was curtailed to just Lambeth North. I think this was less to do with the Elizabeth Line, and more reducing congestion in Central London (but one should think if there is to be a route congesting Central London, surely it should be one of the more patronised?). This is the 53, but they did open the 453 as a sister route which runs further in Central London.

Both of the night versions of these buses still go/beyond their original destinations in Central London.

What’s interesting is both of these routes are still respectively some of the busiest operated in London. The stop at Woolwich on the 53 is actually one of the busiest bus stops in Europe. And the 25 is also extremely busy.

 

[tbtc]

Before Sheffield Supertram:

Middlewood had a better than ten minute frequency into the city centre via Hillsborough (double deckers on the SYT 81-84, 88, plus competition from the likes of sut), downgraded to a ten minute minibus, which was then cut to just a Middlewood - Hillsborough shuttle. There were frequent buses on the SYT 79/89 (779/789) from nearby Leppings Lane via Hillsborough to the city centre, there was the competing SYT 17 and Sheffield Omnibus 18 on that corridor too.

Now there's just the 57, running every sixty five or so minutes from Middlewood to Hillsborough and the city centre, plus the tendered 31 every hour from Leppings Lane (which runs via the back roads into the city centre)

Malin Bridge had something like a five minute service to Hillsborough and the city centre (85-87, later replaced by the diverted 81-84). Now there's just three or four buses an hour on the 81/82, thanks to First's AI timetabling

(Other routes from Hillsborough direct into the city centre have been similarly cut, Widewood and Loxley had a six minute minibus on the 13/14 into town, now replaced by a half hourly 52A that takes a long diversion)

Norfolk Park had about fourteen buses an hour (SYT 70/71/771, Terrier 10/11), now there are no buses

City - Birley - Crystal Peaks had competition, the SYT 146 vs the South Riding 46 (plus the SYT 63 on the city side). Now there's just one bus an hour from town to Birley on the 8, which connects with the tendered half hourly minibuses on the M45/46

Halfway had a ten minute express service to Sheffield on the X55, plus other fast services via Mosbrough (X51, X52 etc). Now there's only the all-stops 120 every fifteen minutes

----------

Elsewhere, Alloa used to have a fairly frequent service into Stirling, the 60 and the 62/63 circular were every ten minutes along the main road. Plus the hourly 14 from Dunfermline that ran this way too. And did the 15 run this way (Falkirk - Alloa - Stirling), plus the X18? Now, there's just the half hourly 52 (and the relatively recently introduced Stagecoach X22 every hour)

Bathgate used to have a good service into Edinburgh, including the twenty minute 16/17/16. Cuts made by Eastern Scottish/ First once the rail line was reopened saw no buses along the main road (services diverted via central Livingston instead, with a hefty time penalty). One positive of the recent bus was was that Lothian rebuilt that market with a half hourly X18

One other feature of the Borders line was the scrapping of the long established direct bus from Gorebridge - Dalkeith - Edinburgh. Now there's just the 29, which avoids Dalkeith