Local travel reintroduced on NX coaches

[Smethwickian]

Previous threads have mulled over the restrictions, in recent years, on short-distance travel on National Express coach routes.
Services had relevant sections de-registered as local bus routes and fares were not available. It enabled stops to be skipped if there were no bookings, particularly at the ends of a route which was, for example, setting down only.
Some commented that they had previously found such links useful in the absence of local buses, for example in the early morning or late night or on Sundays - though personally I would doubt the potential for fares taken outweighed the operational complications of having to operate a registered stretch of route if there were otherwise no through passengers.
Now, for whatever reason, the policy is being reversed on the following sections of route in either direction. Local fares have been set and bookings opened for relatively short trips.

As at 5 January 2024:
007 Dover – Whitstable
008 Canterbury – Whitstable
022 Ramsgate - Whitstable
025 Worthing - Gatwick Airport
210 Wolverhampton – Dudley - Bearwood - Birmingham - Birmingham Airport
210 Oxford – Sandhills
400 Wolverhampton - Dudley - Bearwood - Birmingham
444 Gloucester – Swindon
445 Corse/Newent – Cheltenham
502 Bideford – South Molton
502 Tiverton – Bridgwater
707 Birmingham – Coventry
707 Northampton – Queen Eleanor Interchange

From 11 January:
401 Gloucester – Chalford

From 12 January:
465 Huddersfield – Nottingham
560 Sheffield – Chesterfield
564 Sheffield – Chesterfield
564 Halifax – Wakefield

From 19 January:
404 Totnes – Exeter
501 Totnes – Exeter

From 26 January:
727 Thetford – Trumpington P&R, Cambridge
728 Thetford – Trumpington P&R, Cambridge
777 Birmingham – Coventry

From 9 February:
551 Nantwich – Stoke-on-Trent

 

[tram21]

Previous threads have mulled over the restrictions, in recent years, on short-distance travel on National Express coach routes.
Services had relevant sections de-registered as local bus routes and fares were not available. It enabled stops to be skipped if there were no bookings, particularly at the ends of a route which was, for example, setting down only.
Some commented that they had previously found such links useful in the absence of local buses, for example in the early morning or late night or on Sundays - though personally I would doubt the potential for fares taken outweighed the operational complications of having to operate a registered stretch of route if there were otherwise no through passengers.
Now, for whatever reason, the policy is being reversed on the following sections of route in either direction. Local fares have been set and bookings opened for relatively short trips.

As at 5 January 2024:
007 Dover – Whitstable
008 Canterbury – Whitstable
022 Ramsgate - Whitstable
025 Worthing - Gatwick Airport
210 Wolverhampton – Dudley - Bearwood - Birmingham - Birmingham Airport
210 Oxford – Sandhills
400 Wolverhampton - Dudley - Bearwood - Birmingham
444 Gloucester – Swindon
445 Corse/Newent – Cheltenham
502 Bideford – South Molton
502 Tiverton – Bridgwater
707 Birmingham – Coventry
707 Northampton – Queen Eleanor Interchange

From 11 January:
401 Gloucester – Chalford

From 12 January:
465 Huddersfield – Nottingham
560 Sheffield – Chesterfield
564 Sheffield – Chesterfield
564 Halifax – Wakefield

From 19 January:
404 Totnes – Exeter
501 Totnes – Exeter

From 26 January:
727 Thetford – Trumpington P&R, Cambridge
728 Thetford – Trumpington P&R, Cambridge
777 Birmingham – Coventry

From 9 February:
551 Nantwich – Stoke-on-Trent

Is there details on the nx website with exact info?

 

[Smethwickian]

Is there details on the nx website with exact info?

Services remain as per existing timetables on the timetables page, it's just that journeys which were previously not bookable and would not have given any results in the journey planner will now show up in a search for a relatively local trip on the relevant sections.

 

[markymark2000]

Some commented that they had previously found such links useful in the absence of local buses, for example in the early morning or late night or on Sundays - though personally I would doubt the potential for fares taken outweighed the operational complications of having to operate a registered stretch of route if there were otherwise no through passengers.

Could NatEx claim Bus Service Operators Grant or other such Govt grants for the registered parts of the service which could make it financially beneficial for them? I know there may be some who make use of this but I think the perception of National Express is that you must prebook and so for many journeys, especially the silly ones like Northampton to Queens Eleanor Interchange or Oxford Sandhills (stop outside Thornhill P&R) to Gloucester Green, who is going to pre book this kind of journey when there are turn up and go buses available? I'd be happy to use the coach if it was the first bus to come along but the onboard fares are silly. £3.60 single, £5.70 return for the Northampton or Oxford short hops. Cheaper to let NatEx go and get the local bus behind it.

Birmingham to Coventry, Sheffield to Chesterfield etc etc I guess is so that they can offer more destinations from these towns as now people in Chesterfield can travel up to Sheffield to connect onto the rest of the network to many other destinations. There are some good 'local journeys' now available but some are just plain daft from what I can see and I wonder will they even recoup the £60 they have spent registering the route? Time will tell but there are 100% some positives in here.

Something of note though, perhaps a nerdy thing to notice, the 502 is on two different registrations yet when NatEx used to register services pre Covid, they would register the full route. If the 502 timetable now changes, they have to put in a variation for 2 registration rather than just 1.

Now, for whatever reason, the policy is being reversed on the following sections of route in either direction.

I don't know the reason why and so someone can come in on this if I am wrong. I am thinking though during Covid, the traffic commissioners basically said not to bother about registering variations with everything that was going on and how quick everything was happening. The Traffic Commissioners then said to start registering stable timetable and during that time (and still up until recently), National Express was changing their services a lot in response to competition, driver shortages etc. Could it be that National Express didn't want to register the services while things were changing so much and as such decided it wasn't worth the money or paperwork to register the routes (which is of course needed for them to carry local passengers)

 

[Merle Haggard]

707 Northampton – Queen Eleanor Interchange

Interchange??? It's just a bus stop in a lay-by, one of a number on London Road.

Ploy used in the days when United Counties operated the MX5/X6 to obtain fuel subsidy, and later to get the Government (=taxpayers) to pay half the cost of new 'coaches' (RELHs with wide power doors).

Good luck with the driver stopping for you on the inward journey!

 

[tram21]

Services remain as per existing timetables on the timetables page, it's just that journeys which were previously not bookable and would not have given any results in the journey planner will now show up in a search for a relatively local trip on the relevant sections.

Aah okay, thanks!

 

[route101]

I seen quite a few people get off a 210 service at Digbeth from Dudley/Wolverhampton. I guess they are connecting.