Trivia: Largest settlements with no evening bus services

[Martin1988]

I seem to recall a similar thread before dedicated to the largest settlements with no Sunday services so I thought it would be interesting to have a similar thread dedicated to evening bus services.

Are there any notable examples of large settlements which don't have an evening bus service?

 

[Simon75]

I seem to recall a similar thread before dedicated to the largest settlements with no Sunday services so I thought it would be interesting to have a similar thread dedicated to evening bus services.

Are there any notable examples of large settlements which don't have an evening bus service?

As evening service do you mean all journeys after 6pm, or just a few after 6pm ?

 

[Martin1988]

Sorry I didn't make that clear. I am referring to areas where bus services finish around 6PM with no services operating throughout the evening and late at night.

 

[A0]

Royston in Herts? Population of about 16,000. The last buses towards Buntingford or Cambridge are before 6pm, last town service before 7pm, and the last bus from the Letchworth direction arrives about 6.20pm.

 

[Man of Kent]

Sittingbourne in Kent (population circa 54,000). Last buses to anywhere have left by just after 7pm. (And no buses at all on Sundays). However, regular trains run until after midnight.

 

[Flange Squeal]

Fleet in Hampshire has a population of just under 43,000 in its built-up area. The latest weekday/Saturday departures (there are no Sunday services) from the town centre on the two Stagecoach South routes through the town are:

• 1746 route 7 to the northern residential area
• 1757/1652 route 10 to Farnborough
• 1807 route 7 to Aldershot
• 1857/1752 route 10 from the railway station into the southern residential area

I expect we could see a lot of similarity between places with no evening and no Sunday services.

 

[JD2168]

I believe both Gainsborough & Retford both qualify for this, none leaving after 6pm as far as I am aware.

 

[ChrisC]

Grantham with a population of around 45,000 has no evening services.

 

[lxfe_mxtterz]

If I recall correctly, I'm pretty sure Yeovil doesn't receive any (or very few) evening services - which only complements the awful train service provision in the town.

 

[NorthernSpirit]

The towns and large villages (the latter by area size) that I know of which don't see anything after 6pm are...

- Louth, Lincolnshire. The capital of the Lincolnshire Wolds and there's nowt after 6pm or at all on Sunday's.

- Hayfield, Derbyshire. Last buses are around 6pm to either Buxton or Glossop. The village is temporarily without a Sunday service until Hulley's reintroduces the 61 in the coming weeks.

- Petworth, West Sussex. Last bus on service 1 departs at 1941 Monday to Saturday, 1844 on Sunday's.

- Henfield, West Sussex. Last buses finish in the town at 1956, 2018 and 2046.

- Tewksbury, Gloucestershire. Last 71 to Gloucester is around 6pm, I'm not sure about the 42/43 (Cheltenham to Tewksbury) but I am guessing its around the same time.

- Westbury, Wiltshire. Last buses are around 6pm / 7pm but the town does have a better rail service that runs until around midnight.

 

[danm14]

Armagh City in Northern Ireland (15,000) has no bus services (apart from a couple of set-down only arrivals from Belfast and Dublin) after the last departure to Belfast at 6:35pm - except on Sundays during university terms when there is a student service at 7:30pm to Ulster University in Coleraine and the nearby villages of Portstewart and Portrush where many of its students live.

 

[station_road]

- Tewksbury, Gloucestershire. Last 71 to Gloucester is around 6pm, I'm not sure about the 42/43 (Cheltenham to Tewksbury) but I am guessing its around the same time.

Last bus on the 42 is 8pm, and Tewkesbury has services until after 11pm to/from Cheltenham on route 41

 

[Mcr Warrior]

The towns and large villages (the latter by area size) that I know of which don't see anything after 6pm are...

- Hayfield, Derbyshire. Last buses are around 6pm to either Buxton or Glossop. The village is temporarily without a Sunday service until Hulley's reintroduces the 61 in the coming weeks.

That's as may be, but I'm fairly sure that the Stagecoach 358 Hayfield -> Stockport bus service operates hourly in both directions until around midnight (Mon-Sat) via New Mills and Marple, and until 2315 on Sundays.

 

[Typhoon]

That's as may be, but I'm fairly sure that the Stagecoach 358 Hayfield -> Stockport bus service operates hourly in both directions until around midnight (Mon-Sat) via New Mills and Marple, and until 2315 on Sundays.

Stagecoach Manchester agrees with you. For a village of less than 5,000 it appears to have an excellent bus service.

On the other hand, Minster, on Sheppey, has a population of over 17,000, nothing after 19:00 and the other three are all 'last buses' - and no station. Anyone commuting had better have alternatives in mind. Nothing on a Sunday.

It's not the worst by any means but it does indicate how bad things are getting.

 

[Man of Kent]

Grantham with a population of around 45,000 has no evening services.

1945 Stagecoach 1 to Lincoln, leaving just before the arrival of Centrebus 8 from Melton Mowbray at 1952....

 

[Llandudno]

Bakewell in Derbyshire is, from today having an evening bus service 7 days a week.

Hulley’s Route 170a
Chesterfield Station-Bakewell-Matlock

Every 2 hours
Last bus from Chesterfield 2300
Last bus from Matlock midnight! (to Bakewell and Baslow Depot)

 

[etr221]

I was surprised a year or two back to find no visible evening bus service in Kidderminster.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I was surprised a year or two back to find no visible evening bus service in Kidderminster.

Last bus departure from Kidderminster bus station seems to be at or around 9.00 p.m. on a weekday.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

If I recall correctly, I'm pretty sure Yeovil doesn't receive any (or very few) evening services - which only complements the awful train service provision in the town.

There are very few services after 6pm in Yeovil, although there is a 1930 departure to Chard surprisingly. Quite something for a town of nearly 50k people

Petworth, West Sussex. Last bus on service 1 departs at 1941 Monday to Saturday, 1844 on Sunday's.

The thread is largest settlements.... Petworth is tiny, barely more than a village.

Louth, Lincolnshire. The capital of the Lincolnshire Wolds and there's nowt after 6pm or at all on Sunday's.

There's two departures to Grimsby (1830 and 1930) and to Lincoln (1845), if only to get vehicles back to their home depots.


Northallerton, county town of North Yorkshire, manages to have 3 departures after 1800. 1810 to Darlington, 1835 to Bedale are the last proper journeys before the 1915 to Leeming Bar that is, in truth, nothing more than a placement journey to Abbotts' depot.

 

[Bristol LHS]

Northallerton, county town of North Yorkshire, manages to have 3 departures after 1800. 1810 to Darlington, 1835 to Bedale are the last proper journeys before the 1915 to Leeming Bar that is, in truth, nothing more than a placement journey to Abbotts' depot.

It’ll lose the late Abbots service in a few weeks when Coatham take over the Stokesley runs and operate them from the other end.

I‘m sure a few late 73s to Bedale would do okay - you see lots of people getting off the trains and straight into taxis between 6pm and 9pm, and Northallerton has cinema opening soon which you’d think would create a little more potential evening leisure traffic.

 

[WM Bus]

I was surprised a year or two back to find no visible evening bus service in Kidderminster.

Doesn't appear Worcester has an evening service these days.
Seems main services 30, 35, 44, 144 all stop at 7PM approx.

Few years ago i'm sure the 144 at least would have ran all the way to Birmingham until quite late, but the evening service and run into Birmingham are both no more.

 

[satisnek]

I was surprised a year or two back to find no visible evening bus service in Kidderminster.

I'm not!

Last bus departure from Kidderminster bus station seems to be at or around 9.00 p.m. on a weekday.

That would be the 3 to Stourport + estates on the other side of the river (return departs Stourport High Street at 2130, but apparently dumps you at the Worcester Road island, where the depot is, rather than running into Kidder bus station). Other services wrap up much earlier than this.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

I‘m sure a few late 73s to Bedale would do okay - you see lots of people getting off the trains and straight into taxis between 6pm and 9pm, and Northallerton has cinema opening soon which you’d think would create a little more potential evening leisure traffic.

I'm not certain that the 73 has had an evening service since 1981 and even with a cinema, you're talking about Bedale (population barely 5000) and a few villages; I'd use Stokesley as a good comparator.

Wasn't aware that Abbotts had lost the Stokesley service and now reverting to the old days when Arriva's Stokesley depot ran it. In fact, when that happens, then the last bus out of Stokesley (a town of 5000 people and with no train station) will be 1701 on a weekday! How the service in that area has declined is incredible.

 

[Sussexwatch]

Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill have no Saturday evening services. On other evenings there are a few journeys on Metrobus 271/272 (Crawley - Haywards Heath - Brighton, Royal Sussex County Hospital) which are subsidised by the local NHS Trust to provide links between the hospitals in Haywards Heath and Brighton. There are of course frequent train services on the Brighton main line.

 

[LUYMun]

If counting after 19:00 as evenings, Deepcut, Paddock Hill and Chobham in Surrey can be qualified for this.

 

[stuart81]

Bury St Edmunds? Population is c40,000 I think

 

[Birkonian]

The area including Cartmel, Cark, Flookburgh and Allithwaite only has a permanent population of a few thousand, perhaps doubling at holidays periods. The final bus runs at approximately 3:00 p.m. on weekdays. There is no evening or weekend service. Shocking for locals and tourists alike. Taxis can be booked up a long time ahead at busy times.

 

[Man of Kent]

The area including Cartmel, Cark, Flookburgh and Allithwaite only has a permanent population of a few thousand, perhaps doubling at holidays periods. The final bus runs at approximately 3:00 p.m. on weekdays. There is no evening or weekend service. Shocking for locals and tourists alike. Taxis can be booked up a long time ahead at busy times.

The two parishes covering this area have a combined population of 3700, which is an absolute tiddler against many of the others place listed in this thread. And there's a railway station which offers an almost hourly service between 0615 and midnight.

 

[Birkonian]

The two parishes covering this area have a combined population of 3700, which is an absolute tiddler against many of the others place listed in this thread. And there's a railway station which offers an almost hourly service between 0615 and midnight.

3,700 seems a lot to me with no evening or weekend buses without factoring in tourists. Walking to Cark station from Cartmel or Allithwaite isn't a realistic option on a dry day, never mind in the dark or rain. It is young people and pensiners I particularly feel sorry for. Taxis are expensive. I realise the problem is not unique to this part of the country.

 

[DunsBus]

In the Scottish Borders, other than the X62 there are no buses after 7pm. Whilst a rural area it does comprise two towns, Galashiels and Hawick, with a combined population of 34,000.