Stagecoach South & South East

[Man of Kent]

Two more cancellations.

PK0000098/389 EAST KENT ROAD CAR COMPANY LIMITED, THE BUS STATION, ST. GEORGES LANE, CANTERBURY, CT1 2SY Operating between Whitstable and Faversham given service number 638 effective from 06 April 2025.

PK0000098/386 EAST KENT ROAD CAR COMPANY LIMITED, THE BUS STATION, ST. GEORGES LANE, CANTERBURY, CT1 2SY Operating between Brymore Road and Fisher Road or Hollowmede given service number 649 effective from 04 April 2025.

As these are Kent County Council tendered routes presumably the end of the contract. It will be interesting to see who (if anyone) takes them over.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67bc585198ea2db44faddd5d/np_2799_24_February_2025.pdf

Both revert to Regent Coaches. No timetable changes.

 

[alex397]

Two more cancellations.

PK0000098/389 EAST KENT ROAD CAR COMPANY LIMITED, THE BUS STATION, ST. GEORGES LANE, CANTERBURY, CT1 2SY Operating between Whitstable and Faversham given service number 638 effective from 06 April 2025.

PK0000098/386 EAST KENT ROAD CAR COMPANY LIMITED, THE BUS STATION, ST. GEORGES LANE, CANTERBURY, CT1 2SY Operating between Brymore Road and Fisher Road or Hollowmede given service number 649 effective from 04 April 2025.

As these are Kent County Council tendered routes presumably the end of the contract. It will be interesting to see who (if anyone) takes them over.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67bc585198ea2db44faddd5d/np_2799_24_February_2025.pdf

Yes they are full KCC contracts, both of which have been won by Regent Coaches, who have operated both routes previously.

 

[TrainBoy98]

Link to confirmed changes from April 6th in the Worthing area to be found here:

Changes to bus services in Littlehampton and Worthing

From 6th April 2025

www.stagecoachbus.com

 

[RDP]

Changes in the Eastbourne area from 30th March.

Changes to bus services in and around Eastbourne

www.stagecoachbus.com

 

[Flange Squeal]

The Hants & Surrey Bus Blog is reporting that the relatively recent hourly Mon-Sat route 75 between Winchester and Andover (which last year replaced the withdrawn daytime Winchester to Whitchurch route 86 journeys between Winchester and Sutton Scotney) is to gain a Sunday service from 20 April.

The blog reports that it’ll be two-hourly, but Stagecoach haven’t yet published a timetable for it. It’ll also be free for the first month or so on Sundays and the three April/May bank holidays.

I recently added to the Service Changes page that some Stagecoach route registration changes suggested the Winchester - Sutton Scotney - Andover route 75 was to gain a new two-hourly Sunday & Public Holiday service from 20th April, alongside some timing adjustments to improve reliability on the existing service, the 76 between Basingstoke and Andover, Winchester college routes 74/86, and Andover local route 4.

While timetables are not yet available, Stagecoach have now added some information to their website. This includes confirmation that the 75’s Sunday service is being funded through Hampshire County Council’s Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) and that, like when local routes 64/65 and the 32 between Basingstoke and Newbury all gained new or enhanced Sunday provision, the Sunday service will have an introductory free period. In this case passengers will be able to use the Winchester to Andover route 75 for free on all Sundays plus the three Bank Holiday Mondays between Sunday 20th April and Monday 26th May inclusive.

I will of course post an update on this and other anticipated service changes as and when more information is made available.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/share/1GtmmBHepj/

Stagecoach South Improvements to Andover and Winchester Bus Network​

19 Mar 2025
Stagecoach South is excited to introduce a brand-new Sunday timetable for Service 75, launching on Sunday, 20th April. This new service will provide improved travel links between Andover, Sutton Scotney, and South Wonston to Winchester, making it easier than ever for city shoppers, workers, and visitors to get around.
Even better, all Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday journeys will be completely free from Easter Sunday, 20th April, until Monday, 26th May. On weekdays and Saturdays, normal fares will apply, with single tickets capped at just £3.
This exciting development is made possible with funding from Hampshire County Council’s Bus Service Improvement Plan, supporting enhanced public transport options and more sustainable travel.
Timetable Improvements for Services 4 and 76
In addition to the new Sunday service on Route 75, minor timetable adjustments will be introduced on Services 4 and 76 from 20th April to further improve reliability and punctuality.
What Stagecoach South Says
Mark Jackson, Operations Manager at Stagecoach South, said:
"We are delighted to introduce this new Sunday service, making travel more convenient and accessible for local communities. With free travel on Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays, we hope more people will take advantage of this fantastic opportunity to explore Winchester and beyond."
Find Out More
Full timetable details will be available later this month, stay tuned for updates!

Source: https://www.stagecoachbus.com/news/...vements-to-andover-and-winchester-bus-network

 

[RDP]

Interesting development. Makes one wonder how long before all buses become cashless.

ServiceUpdatesArticle

www.stagecoachbus.com

 

[Edvid]

5000 free single tickets are available on the app (South East routes only).

5000 Free Bus Rides

www.stagecoachbus.com

It's really simple to claim your free ride - here's how.

1. Get the Stagecoach Bus App.
2. Register a user account if you don't already have one.
3. Go to 'Buy tickets' and search for a single ticket for the journey you want to make (type where you want to travel from and to).
4. Go to buy ticket and proceed to secure checkout.
5. Before you make payment, select 'Add a discount code' and type in the code 5000FREE
6. That's it! You won't have to pay a penny.

Your ticket will be available in the app for you to activate whenever you are ready to travel. Simply show the ticket to the driver as you board the bus.

Hurry - this offer is limited to the first 5,000 uses. Only one use is permitted per customer. Offer ends 30th April 2025.

For some reason the app doesn't offer single tickets on the Ashford-Canterbury corridor, so those passengers won't benefit unless Stagecoach fix that issue.

 

[RDP]

Looks like Thanet's open top Tridents are to see another season as 17528 was on the 69 yesterday and today the first weekend of the 2025 season.

 

[Edvid]

Phase 4 of Surrey's BSIP (approved on 24 March - see item 3 of the relevant cabinet member's decisions) includes £1.254m to subsidise 15 electric deckers for Stagecoach South route 1. In addition, it is noted that "some EVs will operate on route 20 in Aldershot and Guildford, with improved specifications" (per Stagecoach, at Hampshire's Enhanced Partnership Forum Meeting on 5 November 2024).

 

[Flange Squeal]

A tweet by Simon Rowland, a Rowgate Group director, has confirmed that their White Bus operation has won the Surrey County Council tender for the Farnborough to Camberley via Deepcut route 11 from Sunday 31st August.

This is currently operated by Stagecoach South’s Aldershot depot with a requirement of three vehicles. It received a re-route last year and increased from hourly to half-hourly, with the former section to Frimley Park Hospital and Paddock Hill now a separate tendered route 12 (one assumes this may also have been part of this year’s retendering).

Simon Rowland
@SimonCKRowland1

White Bus has been awarded route 11 Farnborough- Camberley via Mytchett, Frimley, Deepcut by Surrey County Council. Service will start Sunday 31st August.

 

[Kite159]

A tweet by Simon Rowland, a Rowgate Group director, has confirmed that their White Bus operation has won the Surrey County Council tender for the Farnborough to Camberley via Deepcut route 11 from Sunday 31st August.

This is currently operated by Stagecoach South’s Aldershot depot with a requirement of three vehicles. It received a re-route last year and increased from hourly to half-hourly, with the former section to Frimley Park Hospital and Paddock Hill now a separate tendered route 12 (one assumes this may also have been part of this year’s retendering).



View attachment 178217

Unless White Buses have joined the £3 fare cap scheme it will likely mean a price hike for those bus users.

 

[Mollman]

Unless White Buses have joined the £3 fare cap scheme it will likely mean a price hike for those bus users.

If it is a tendered service then Surrey County Council are likely to set the fares.

 

[Flange Squeal]

If it is a tendered service then Surrey County Council are likely to set the fares.

According to Surrey County Council’s website, even on most contracted services the operator sets the fares and keeps the revenue. There is a maximum fare scale set by the council though.

Bus fares​

We have no control over fares charged on commercial services or those operated by London Buses. On most contracted services, fares are set by the operator at a level they feel is commercially-justifiable.

Fares have to be within a maximum fare scale depending on the length of journey, as laid down by us.

The issue and acceptance of multi-journey or multi-operator tickets is at the discretion of the operator. In the case of most of our contracted services, the bus operator retains the fare money collected.

Source: https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/roads-a...formation-about-your-local-bus-services#fares

 

[Bill Badger]

Unless White Buses have joined the £3 fare cap scheme it will likely mean a price hike for those bus users.

That's a real pain, I use the service frequently in conjunction with other Stagecoach services in the Blackwater Valley using their Day Rider, so a substantive price increase for no benefit.

 

[LUYMun]

That's a real pain, I use the service frequently in conjunction with other Stagecoach services in the Blackwater Valley using their Day Rider, so a substantive price increase for no benefit.

Then again the Discovery Day ticket is valid in the east Hampshire area of the Blackwater Valley so a £2.50 increase to cover an operator that may charge more than £3 for a return you’re still getting a bargain out of it.

 

[Flange Squeal]

According to Facebook posts by Hants and Surrey Bus Blog, the 13 between Basingstoke and Bordon is to get a Sunday service from 1 June. The source is a change to the route registration and associated info.

The 16/17/18/19 routes between Aldershot and Farnham (then on to Rowledge, Shortheath, Bordon and Haslemere respectively) are being amended from an unspecified date this Summer. The 16 is to be increased to hourly, the 18 to half-hourly Mon to Sat and hourly Sundays, and 19 get a Sunday service. No word on the 17. Source is a Facebook comment by Surrey County Council in reply to someone asking if Farnham was to get any improvements.

Another forthcoming enhancement, which has not yet been formally announced but was spotted as a variation to the route registration, effective 1st June, looks set to see Stagecoach’s Basingstoke - Hook - Odiham - Alton - Kingsley - Bordon & Whitehill route 13 gain a Sunday service.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Fd7ezcttS/

Surrey County Council have posted a reply to a comment on their Facebook post about electric buses, which asked if there were any plans for service improvements to Farnham area bus services. This had escaped my notice, but the council’s reply is that plans for Stagecoach services from an unspecified date this summer include:-

- 16 (Aldershot - Badshot Lea - Farnham - Wrecclesham - Shortheath - Rowledge): Increased frequency from current 1hr 40min intervals to hourly.

- 18 (Aldershot - Weybourne - Farnham - Wrecclesham - Bordon & Whitehill): Doubling of current frequencies to half-hourly Mon-Sat daytime and hourly on Sundays.

- 19 (Aldershot - Weybourne - Farnham - Churt - Hindhead - Haslemere): New Sunday provision at an unspecified frequency introduced.

The 17/18/19 are each currently hourly, providing a combined 20 min frequency over the common Aldershot - Weybourne - Farnham - Farnham Station section. Assuming the unmentioned 17 remains as-is rather than merged with the 16 (given their crisscrossing of one another around Bourne and Shortheath plus the 18’s doubling through Weydon Estate and Wrecclesham, the latter also currently served by the 16), then these enhancements will see the Aldershot - Weybourne - Farnham section increased to quarter-hourly. Places like Wrecclesham, Shortheath and Bourne would gain an extra bus each hour (or potentially two per hour at times in Wrecclesham, given the 16’s current 1h40 interval means some hours are skipped).

Source: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BRh4goQES/

 

[Flange Squeal]

The Farnham area changes have now been confirmed, along with some Guildford ones. Some are quite significant, with the 63 no longer serving Slinfold and 72 being taken out of Catteshall.

Source: https://handsbusblog.wordpress.com/...arnham-guildford-june-2025-changes-confirmed/

Stagecoach Farnham & Guildford June 2025 Changes Confirmed​

April 29, 2025/ Hants & Surrey Bus Blog
Two weekends ago I published a blog post following word of some forthcoming changes to Stagecoach services in the Farnham area. Details were initially fairly sketchy and that post was updated again yesterday with slightly more – but still fairly limited – information that had come to light in new/varied/cancelled route registrations, which also included some around Guildford. This afternoon, Stagecoach posted a news item on their website giving us more information about what we can expect from Sunday 8th June.
My ponderings on the 17 and 200 being withdrawn and effectively absorbed into routes 16 and 70/71/72 respectively have turned out to be fairly accurate, but some other notable bits weren’t known. These include re-routings of the 63 (Guildford to Horsham) and 72 (Guildford to Eashing Lane Estates), which will see Slinfold and Catteshall removed respectively, and the village of Shackleford on the 46 (Guildford to Farnham) seeing fewer buses. The re-routings of the 4/5 and 46 to avoid the chaos being caused by the Farnham town centre remodelling (as if Farnham traffic wasn’t notorious enough!) also make interesting reading.
Timetables haven’t been officially released yet, so as more information is put out I shall amend this post accordingly. So, do check back nearer the time, but I shall also put a note on the Facebook page to give readers a heads-up whenever that happens. In the meantime…

4: Aldershot – Heath End – Folly Hill – Farnham
5: Aldershot – Heath End – Upper Hale – Farnham
Operated by: Stagecoach South
The routing around Farnham town centre is being revised to improve reliability as a result of the Farnham town centre redevelopment works. Instead of navigating the Farnham one-way system along Union Road and Downing Street, buses will instead continue to the bottom of South Street, head west along the A31 Farnham Bypass, then right at Coxbridge Roundabout back into Farnham along West Street, rejoining the current route at The Borough. Any waiting time between journeys (buses generally swap between the two route numbers in Farnham) will in future be undertaken at The Chantrys lay-by style bus stop on West Street, as the current location for this, at Union Road (Stop L), will no longer be served. However, The Chantrys bus stop is currently closed for drainage work which is not expected to be completed until mid-July. The early/late journeys to/from Farnham railway station will continue to serve the station.

13: Basingstoke – Hook – Odiham – Alton – Bordon & Whitehill
Operated by: Stagecoach South
A new broadly two-hourly Sunday & Public Holiday service will be introduced with funding from Hampshire County Council. Departures from Whitehill will be at 0803, 0903, 1103, 1303, 1503 & 1703, returning from Basingstoke at 0950, 1150, 1350, 1550, 1650 & 1830. Timing points on the Bordon & Whitehill loop are also redistributed. See route 18 below for information about forthcoming clockwise journey opportunities around the 13’s current anticlockwise Bordon & Whitehill loop. It has not yet been announced whether there will be an introductory free travel period like we have seen on other recent new/enhanced Sunday services.

16: Aldershot – Badshot Lea – Farnham – Wrecclesham – Shortheath – Rowledge
Operated by: Stagecoach South
The current 1 hour 40 minute frequency will be enhanced to hourly with funding from Surrey County Council. Additionally, school day trips will replace journeys to/from Weydon School that are currently part of to-be-withdrawn routes 17 (Shortfield Common via Dockenfield and Rowledge) and 74 (Folly Hill via Badshot Lea and Hale). The enhancement will also see the current weekday morning journey on route 46 (Farnham to Guildford via Elstead) that starts from Aldershot at 0700 no longer run over that section.

**WITHDRAWN** 17: Aldershot – Weybourne – Farnham – Weydon Estate – Shortheath – Wrecclesham
Operated by: Stagecoach South
As I pondered in my last blog post after initial word on the 16’s enhancement was revealed, this generally hourly Mon-Sat route is being withdrawn. The enhanced 16 (see above) will maintain an hourly bus through Shortheath to/from Farnham and Aldershot, as well as a school day link to/from Weydon School for Rowledge, Dockenfield and Shortfield Common. The enhanced 18 (see below) will maintain two buses per hour through Weydon Estate to/from Farnham and Aldershot. I believe only one bus stop will lose its regular bus service as a result, this being the Firfield Road stop on Shortheath Road.

18: Aldershot – Weybourne – Farnham – Weydon Estate – Wrecclesham – Bordon & Whitehill
418: Farnborough Colleges – Weybourne – Weydon Estate – Wrecclesham – Sleaford (- Bordon & Whitehill (AM))
Operated by: Stagecoach South
The current frequencies of hourly Mon-Sat and two-hourly Sunday/Public Holidays will be doubled with funding from both Hampshire and Surrey County Councils, meaning the route will now run half-hourly Mon-Sat daytime and hourly on Sunday. The routing in Bordon will also be revised and reversed to run a clockwise version of the 13’s anticlockwise loop, giving residents in the east of Bordon a bus link to facilities such as The Shed. The 18 currently runs in an anticlockwise direction similar to the 13. The 18’s new route around Bordon will therefore be: Camp Road > High Street > Chalet Hill > Hollybrook Park > Conde Way > Petersfield Road > Templars Way > Havannah Way > Budds Lane > Camp Road. This change will see the 18 removed from Forest Road, Pinehill Road and Apollo Drive, instead running the length of Conde Road. Those three roads will instead be served by diverted Mon-Sat route 23 (see below), which itself currently runs along Conde Road. The morning route 418 college day service will also be redirected around Bordon & Whitehill to match the main 18 service’s direction as described above, and will also have some minor timing adjustments over the Wrecclesham to Farnborough leg.

19: Aldershot – Weybourne – Farnham – Churt – Hindhead – Shottermill – Haslemere
Operated by: Stagecoach South
A new broadly two-hourly Sunday & Public Holiday service will be introduced with funding from Surrey County Council. The Mon-Sat timetable will also be revised to improve reliability and offer earlier departures from Aldershot at 0525/0615 (Mon-Fri/Sat) “in response to requests from passengers travelling to work in care homes in Beacon Hill & Hindhead”. Current first trips are 0612/0742 respectively, with weekdays also having a 0602 Beacon Hill to Haslemere short journey which currently becomes route 70 at Shottermill before continuing to Guildford (the weekday journey is perhaps this short trip projected back to Aldershot). The first journey from High Lane Estate on weekdays will now be nearly an hour later at 0946 though, currently 0853. It has not yet been announced whether there will be an introductory free travel period like we have seen on other recent new/enhanced Sunday services.

23: Haslemere – Hindhead – Grayshott – Bordon – Whitehill – Liphook
113: Liphook – Whitehill – Bordon – Kingsley – Alton College
123: Haslemere – Hindhead – Grayshott – Lindford – Kingsley – Alton College
Operated by: Stagecoach South
The 23 is re-routed in Bordon along Apollo Drive, Pinehill Road and Forest Road instead of running the full length of Conde Road, in order to maintain a bus service to these roads due to the 18 being diverted along Conde Road instead (see above). The college day 113/123 journeys will have minor timing adjustments.

34: Guildford – Woking – Knaphill – Bisley – Lightwater – Bagshot – Camberley
Operated by: Stagecoach South
An enhanced Sunday & Public Holiday service will be introduced with funding from Surrey County Council, with first/last journeys being around an hour earlier/later than at present.

46: Guildford – Compton – Godalming – Shackleford – Elstead – Farnham
Operated by: Stagecoach South
The route in Farnham town centre is being revised to improve reliability as a result of the Farnham town centre redevelopment works. Instead of navigating the Farnham one-way system, buses from Guildford will terminate at Union Road (Stop L), which will become the sole stop for route 46 within Farnham town centre. Buses towards Guildford will leave town along Long Bridge, Firgrove Hill, Old Farnham Lane and Great Austins, rejoining the current route at Menin Way. This will see Farnham railway station now served by buses heading towards Farnham only. Further east, all journeys will now perform the double-run in Elstead to/from Woolfords Lane, however “due to very low usage” Shackleford will be reduced to a single Guildford-bound journey at 1005 and a pair of returns from there at 1205/1305 (times at Godalming 1235/1335). The enhancement to route 16 (see above) will also see the current weekday morning journey that starts from Aldershot at 0700 no longer run over that section.

53: Guildford – Cranleigh – Ewhurst
63: Guildford – Cranleigh – Horsham
**WITHDRAWN** 63X: Horsham – Cranleigh – Guildford
Operated by: Stagecoach South
Funding from Surrey County Council will introduce additional 53s to provide a combined 20 minute frequency during weekday peak hours between Guildford and Cranleigh, as well as earlier morning and more mid-evening journeys at weekends. Apparent simplification of the routes will also see the weekday commuter deviations to/from Guildford and Horsham railway stations no longer made, all route 63 journeys now serve Sherrydon (Cranleigh) and Bucks Green, and journeys to/from Ewhurst no longer deviating along Parsonage Road to serve Glebelands School. The most major change though comes in order to improve reliability over the southern half of the 63, which will see the route withdrawn from Slinfold, with buses running direct along the A281 between Bucks Green and Broadbridge Heath (Horsham). Compass Travel route 100 (Horsham to Burgess Hill) will maintain a broadly hourly Mon-Sat link between Slinfold and Horsham town centre. As a result of all route 63 journeys now serving Sherrydon and Bucks Green, and avoiding Slinfold, the 63X number currently used on a single weekday morning Horsham to Guildford journey avoiding all these locations will be dropped.

70: Guildford – Godalming – Grayswood – Haslemere – Midhurst
71: Guildford – Godalming – Chiddingfold – Haslemere – Woolmer Hill
72: Guildford – Godalming – Ockford Ridge – Aarons Hill
**NEW** 471: Woolmer Hill School – High Lane Estate – Chiddingfold
Each of these routes will still typically run hourly offering a combined 20 min Mon-Sat frequency between Guildford and Godalming, but there are a number of changes – particularly on the 72. Following the earlier diversion of many Mon-Sat journeys into the Artington (Guildford) Park & Ride site, all journeys will now do this following the withdrawal of dedicated P&R route 200 (see below), with additional route 71 trips on weekday mornings offering a combined 15 minute frequency from there into Guildford. Route 71 also gains additional weekday late afternoon journeys Guildford to Godalming, later Mon-Sat evening 2130/2245 Guildford to Chiddingfold trips, and extensions of northbound Godalming terminating trips to Guildford, but it does lose the 0649 High Lane Estate to Woolmer Hill journey. The school day Woolmer Hill School to/from Chiddingfold duplicate short trips of the 71 will be renumbered 471 and additionally serve the High Lane Estate in Haslemere. The 72 will no longer serve Catteshall Road or Catteshall Lane to instead go back to mirror the 70/71 between Farncombe and Godalming along Meadrow, like it did prior to its 2016 re-route to serve Catteshall. Compass Travel route 42 (Guildford – Dunsfold – Cranleigh) will continue to offer a 1.5 to 3 hourly Mon-Sat frequency between Guildford and Godalming via Catteshall. The 72 will gain a later Mon-Sat Guildford to Aarons Hill journey at 1810, as well as the two-hourly route 71 Sunday short trips between Guildford and Eashing Lane Green becoming route 72 to give Ockford Ridge and Aarons Hill a Sunday service.

**WITHDRAWN** 74: Weydon School – Farnham – Badshot Lea – Heath End – Folly Hill
Operated by: Stagecoach South
This school day route is withdrawn, replaced by school journeys on the enhanced route 16 (see above).

91: Woking – Goldsworth Park – Knaphill
Operated by: Stagecoach South
Funding from Surrey County Council will provide earlier and later journeys on Sundays & Public Holidays, with the later journeys being 2125 and 2225 from Woking. The Mon-Sat evening trips between Woking and Pirbright will now perform a loop at the southern end to improve timekeeping, running Knaphill – along Cemetery Pales to Pirbright – Brookwood – Knaphill. One consequence of this is that any Pirbright residents returning home from somewhere on the train, and who don’t fancy the walk home, will need to change from train to bus at Woking rather than Brookwood.

**WITHDRAWN** 200: Guildford – Artington Park & Ride
Operated by: Stagecoach South
Another one I pondered in yesterday’s update to my previous blog post, this dedicated park and ride service is withdrawn with routes 70/71/72 continuing to serve the site and offering a combined 20 minute frequency during the 200’s current Mon-Sat hours of operation. Extra route 71 journeys will boost this to a 15 minute frequency on weekday mornings. The 200 currently runs every 20 mins during peak hours and half-hourly during the day, from around 0735-1935 Monday to Saturday.

300: Guildford – Merrow Park & Ride
Operated by: Stagecoach South
With the 200 withdrawn (see above), and both Spectrum and Onslow services no longer in existence, this will be the last surviving dedicated park and ride service in Guildford. A revised timetable aims to improve reliability and extend the duration of the weekday 20 minute peak shoulders of the daytime half-hourly service. The weekday 20 min frequency will continue until 1030 from Merrow and between 1515-1815 from Guildford, however Saturdays will now be half-hourly throughout the day. The overall operating day will be extended slightly though, from the current 0745-1930 to 0730-1945.

 

[stadler]

The Farnham area changes have now been confirmed, along with some Guildford ones. Some are quite significant, with the 63 no longer serving Slinfold and 72 being taken out of Catteshall.

Source: https://handsbusblog.wordpress.com/...arnham-guildford-june-2025-changes-confirmed/

Overall quite poor changes. Guildford seems to no longer care about P&R these days. It just keeps getting cut back more and more. Before covid we had four dedicated P&R routes (100 Spectrum / 200 Artington / 300 Merrow / 400 Onslow) and now we are down to only one left. I suppose at least the Artington site will still exist (unlike Spectrum and Onslow which now have no buses) but it is a bit of a downgrade that it will no longer get a dedicated P&R bus route.

I would not be surprised if the next plan will be to get rid of the 300 and just get the 479 to serve the P&R site. The 479 already goes past the site and operates every thirty minutes just like the 300 does and has slightly earlier start times and slightly later finish times. I would say this is quite a likely possibility as it would allow Surrey County Council to scrap the final remaining dedicated P&R route and save some money.

The 63 keeps cutting out more and more parts of the route. A couple of years ago the 63 stopped serving Broadbridge Heath village and instead used the bypass road. Broadbridge Heath as a result went from 5bph to 4bph and apso lost its direct Cranleigh and Guildford services unless you walked to the stop at Tesco or on the edge of the village.

Now we have Slinfold being cut out. This means the village of Slinfold goes from 2bph to 1bph and loses its direct Cranleigh and Guildford services. This will slightly speed up the 63 journey time slightly but overall seems like a negative change especially for Slinfold residents who make use of this bus.

 

[DelW]

The Farnham area changes have now been confirmed, along with some Guildford ones. Some are quite significant, with the 63 no longer serving Slinfold and 72 being taken out of Catteshall.

Source: https://handsbusblog.wordpress.com/...arnham-guildford-june-2025-changes-confirmed/

Thank you for highlighting all those changes. The 72 is my local route and I use it frequently, but I've seen no publicity locally about the rerouting away from Catteshall Lane. I assume it's because parked vehicles can make that section slow, but it means that there'll be no service to Sainsbury's or the medical centre at Catteshall Mill, both of which are useful to passengers with poor mobility. The remaining irregular 42 service won't help for most of them.

On the positive side the later 71 & 72 services out of Guildford will be useful, and changing the Sunday short workings from 71s to 72s implies that they will do the full loops around the estates instead of just serving Eashing Lane Green.

I wonder if/when these changes will be published locally. I'd have expected notices to be up on the stops by now, but there weren't any at my local stop a couple of days ago.

 

[Dwarfer1979]

I wonder if/when these changes will be published locally. I'd have expected notices to be up on the stops by now, but there weren't any at my local stop a couple of days ago.

We are still over a month away from the changes, normally detailed information like notices tends to go out a couple of weeks before the change. Far enough out to give people notice so they can plan around the changes but not so far as to induce confusion over the start date (more than a month and there is the risk of the passenger reading the number but not month and think it is happening sooner than it is) or be so far out people forget about it by the time it happens.

 

[markymark2000]

Guildford seems to no longer care about P&R these days. It just keeps getting cut back more and more. Before covid we had four dedicated P&R routes (100 Spectrum / 200 Artington / 300 Merrow / 400 Onslow) and now we are down to only one left. I suppose at least the Artington site will still exist (unlike Spectrum and Onslow which now have no buses) but it is a bit of a downgrade that it will no longer get a dedicated P&R bus route.

I would not be surprised if the next plan will be to get rid of the 300 and just get the 479 to serve the P&R site. The 479 already goes past the site and operates every thirty minutes just like the 300 does and has slightly earlier start times and slightly later finish times. I would say this is quite a likely possibility as it would allow Surrey County Council to scrap the final remaining dedicated P&R route and save some money.

Dedicated Park and Ride seems to be dead at the moment in the UK. All of the most successful P&R routes, are those which combine P&R and local bus service. York, Cambridge, Oxford, Salisbury all examples of this. Dedicated P&R services seem to struggle the most (Chester, Shrewsbury)

While yes Artington will no longer have a dedicated service, it will benefit from an improved service with frequency growing from every 20 minutes to every 15 in the peak, and every 30 up to every 20 minutes off peak. That's a good thing for users of the site.

 

[Flange Squeal]

While yes Artington will no longer have a dedicated service, it will benefit from an improved service with frequency growing from every 20 minutes to every 15 in the peak, and every 30 up to every 20 minutes off peak. That's a good thing for users of the site.

The 70/71/72 already call in at Artington during more-or-less the same hours as the Park & Ride 200 runs (70/71/72 journeys departing or arriving Guildford between 0740 and 1900), since the dedicated service was cut to half-hourly, so it is actually a drop in frequency from five buses per hour off-peak to three. Definitely not an improvement! But, with typical loadings the 200 gets these days from my observations, I don't see the reduction as being too much of a problem in capacity terms.

Source: https://tiscon-maps-stagecoachbus.s...ildford/Guildford Route 707172_03_09_2023.pdf

Buses for Artington Park & Ride

Monday to Saturday daytime journeys on services 70, 71 & 72 to and from Guildford call at Artington Park & Ride, to supplement the dedicated Park & Ride service (route 200

The journeys which do not call at the Park & Ride site are:
• Journeys arriving Guildford before 0740 & after 1900
• Journeys departing Guildford before 0740 & after 1900
• All Sunday/Bank Holiday journeys

 

[markymark2000]

I misunderstood the announcements. Apologies.

The rest of the comment remains though.

 

[DelW]

The 70/71/72 already call in at Artington during more-or-less the same hours as the Park & Ride 200 runs (70/71/72 journeys departing or arriving Guildford between 0740 and 1900), since the dedicated service was cut to half-hourly, so it is actually a drop in frequency from five buses per hour off-peak to three. Definitely not an improvement! But, with typical loadings the 200 gets these days from my observations, I don't see the reduction as being too much of a problem in capacity terms.

Source: https://tiscon-maps-stagecoachbus.s3.amazonaws.com/Timetables/South/Guildford/Guildford Route 707172_03_09_2023.pdf

I think that one problem was that the 2bph dedicated 200 times couldn't be integrated well with the 3bph 70/71/72, meaning that sometimes each hour two buses (a 200 and a 7x) ran to or from Artington almost simultaneously.

One aim of the 72 rerouting may be to get a more even time interval on the northbound service now the 7x routes are the only P&R service.

I think there might be some capacity issues though. A couple of days ago I was on a mid afternoon 71 departure that left Guildford very full (though not standing) and about half the passengers got off at Artington.

 

[philjo]

Unless White Buses have joined the £3 fare cap scheme it will likely mean a price hike for those bus users.

I used the White Buses 462 service from RHS Wisley to Woking station on Saturday, the single fare was £3.50

 

[Big Jumby 74]

I used the White Buses 462 service from RHS Wisley to Woking station on Saturday, the single fare was £3.50

The 462/3 are not subject to the same £3 price cap that Stagecoach (in the same area) are running to. I presume same applies to all White bus services, but don't know? The Wisley extension of the 462/3 and the addition of a Sunday service, has hopefully gone a small way to helping RHS with revenue, as they have been hit hard revenue wise, to a large degree by the major road widening scheme around the A3/M25 interchange. Like railway engineering works, it puts people off visiting.

 

[Flange Squeal]

The 462/3 are not subject to the same £3 price cap that Stagecoach (in the same area) are running to. I presume same applies to all White bus services, but don't know? The Wisley extension of the 462/3 and the addition of a Sunday service, has hopefully gone a small way to helping RHS with revenue, as they have been hit hard revenue wise, to a large degree by the major road widening scheme around the A3/M25 interchange. Like railway engineering works, it puts people off visiting.

White Bus have not joined the fare cap scheme, along with other local operators Carlone and Safeguard. Rotala’s Diamond also chose not to originally, but have since joined it.

Surrey County Council have now published this year’s tender results, effective 31 August. It confirms Stagecoach South have lost the 11 to White Bus and 12 to Falcon Buses, but were the only bidders for the 694 school route currently operated by Carlone.

The Woking area 39A/B/C, 40, 81 and 690, which were formerly awarded and operated by Stagecoach but passed to Safeguard mid-contract, have been won by Falcon Buses.

2025 SURREY TENDER RESULTS

The results of this year's round of Surrey County Council tendering have now been published publicly, with the new contracts effective from Sunday 31st August. Below is a summary of the routes involved, including any known changes of operator and service pattern. As more information is made available, such as timetables, then I will of course share that as and when. Some of these have already been reported or bits known/hinted at, such as the 11/12 changing hands and Safeguard losses, but now we have the full picture.

11: Farnborough - Deepcut - Heatherside - Camberley
[CHANGE] Stagecoach > White Bus
Notes: 5 bids.

12: Heatherside - Camberley - Frimley - Paddock Hill
[CHANGE] Stagecoach > Falcon
Notes: 4 bids.

39A: Woking - Chobham (M/W/F)
39B: Woking - Hermitage (Thu)
39C: Woking - Horsell (Tue/Thu)
40: Woking - Ripley (Tue)
[CHANGE] Safeguard > Falcon
Notes: 5 bids. Package bid with 81/690 routes.

81: Woking - Barnsbury Estate
[CHANGE] Safeguard > Falcon
Notes: 5 bids. Package bid with 39&40/690 routes, plus enhancements to 437 (Woking to West Byfleet) and extending the route beyond Woking town centre to the community hospital. One assumes this will be by buses offering through journeys between the 81 and 437.

456: Woking - Addlestone (Sun)
[CHANGE] White Bus > Falcon
Notes: 3 bids. Alternative award extending the Sunday provision from Addlestone to Staines, matching Falcon’s own Mon-Sat provision.

514: Kingston - Molesey - Hersham - Brooklands
515: Kingston - Esher - Hersham - Brooklands
[RETAINED] Falcon
Notes: 4 bids.

564: Hersham - Xcel Leisure Centre
[RETAINED] Falcon
Notes: 3 bids. Enhanced to provide hourly frequency including journeys serving Heathside School.

690: Woking College - Worplesdon
[CHANGE] Safeguard > Falcon
Notes: 4 bids. Package bid with 39&40/81 routes.

694: Broadwater School - Ash
[CHANGE] Carlone > Stagecoach
Notes: 1 bid.

Source: Hants & Surrey Bus News https://www.facebook.com/share/1AaTqkk5Gz/

Link to Surrey County Council results table: https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/__data/...for-August-September-2025-30052025_112642.pdf

 

[MasterSpenny]

A small but surprising development in the latest Stagecoach fleet card includes 3 of the recently transferred E400s from Manchester as down from reserve to disposal.

They include:
19352 - MX08UCZ
19353 - MX08UDB
19360 - MX08UDM

19357 looks to be going the same way, as it has had its logos and legals sprayed over in black, and part of the front of the bus have been removed, suggesting that it will be getting disposed of for scrap soon. Image link (not my photo): https://imgur.com/a/iaY0fTp

 

[Blindtraveler]

It's been said multiple times and in multiple places both here and elsewhere that a lot of the former Manchester stock that was cascaded out elsewhere has had it and so the fact these are now going is not overly a surprise. I would have said, that said they're going to have to find vehicles from somewhere if they end up finding more work or moving into new areas as seems to be happening in some locations again mentioned on this and other sites and social media

 

[fgwrich]

19357 looks to be going the same way, as it has had its logos and legals sprayed over in black, and part of the front of the bus have been removed, suggesting that it will be getting disposed of for scrap soon. Image link (not my photo): https://imgur.com/a/iaY0fTp

I did wonder when I had a job near to Aldershot bus depot last week. Even some of those sent to Basingstoke doesn’t seem to see daily use or have spent some time in the yards, even one of the GX06 Tridents has recently made a comeback from storage.

On another side note, the care and attention of Stagecoach of old seems to have disappeared. I passed a rather dirty SN66WHD earlier, still complete with Stagecoach Oxfordshire branding and adverts all over it, just shy of 7 months away from Oxford. Another seems to have an advert for a long closed camper business too.