Westmorland and Furness Council, working with Lonsdale Buses, has introduced three new services from Monday (1 December), to replace services lost when the popular Cumbria Classic Coaches routes ceased at the end of September. There will also be extra journeys provided between Kendal and Kirkby Stephen.
The 571 service will operate from Brough to Kendal via Kirkby Stephen; Ravenstonedale; Tebay and Grayrigg, leaving Brough at 10:40 and returning from Kendal at 14:55.
There will additionally be an early service from Kendal to Brough departing at 09:30 with a return from Brough at 16:28 and Kirkby Stephen at 16:40
On a Wednesday the popular Barnard Castle 572 service will be reintroduced, now starting in Kendal at 09:13 and running via Tebay and Ravenstondale. Leaving Kirkby Stephen at 10:16, and returning from Barnard Castle at 14:30. The service will additionally provide an afternoon return service from Kirkby Stephen to Kendal at 15:17.
The Thursday 570 service from Shap to Kendal will be replaced by an additional 106 service to Penrith in the morning and Kendal in the afternoon, running to the same times as the existing Tuesday and Friday service.
The Tuesday and Friday 106 service journeys, supported by the 106 Partnership, which was also previously operated by Cumbria Classic Coaches, had already been replaced by Lonsdale Buses from the start of October.
Councillor John Murray, Cabinet Member for Transport and Regulatory Services said: "Westmorland and Furness Council is committed to supporting the provision of bus services that offer a high-quality experience for users and I am delighted we have been able to reintroduce these important bus services. The delivery of commercial bus services, across our large, predominantly rural, and sparsely populated geography is challenging but by working closely with partners, including commercial and community-based service operators, we continue to collaborate to deliver against our commitment.
"Significant investment of Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus (BSIP+) and bus grant funding from the Department for Transport is delivering vital connections for residents and visitors, addressing key priorities identified by our communities. These significant changes will make a real difference to the lives of residents here, many of which rely on buses to access key services and employment."
Damion Edwards, Lonsdale Buses operations director, said: "We at Lonsdale Buses are delighted to take on these vital services, funded by Westmorland and Furness Council, to provide a lifeline for the residents of Brough, Kirkby Stephen and the surrounding villages."
The new services are being provided with the help of funding from the UK Government Bus Service Improvement Plan.
Full timetables can be found on the council’s website.
Meanwhile, as part of a review after six months of operation, the council, working with the 105 Bus User Group and Stagecoach, are making changes to the 105 service between Greystoke, Motherby, Newbiggin and Penrith,
Following lower than hoped for usage, and discussions took place with the bus user group about the reasons, the following changes have come into place from 17 November:
- The route is being simplified with all journeys picking up on the same side of the road in Greystoke; Motherby and Newbiggin;
- The timetable is being simplified with all journeys run six days a week throughout the year (rather than variations at school times);
- The second journey of the day is being retimed just after 09:30 to allow holders of English National Concessionary Travel Scheme passes (NoWcards) to earlier travel free into Penrith;
- The first journey will run later to allow an arrival in Penrith close to 09:00, better suited for those working in the town, with the return bus running at 17:25;
- Journeys will run into / out of Penrith via the B5288 Clickham road, rather than the A66.
The early morning and late afternoon journeys on the Penrith town service, which have been very poorly used, are being discontinued, and there will instead be an extra service from Shap to Penrith via Hackthorpe; Lowther and Clifton, in the morning and return in the evening, leaving Shap at 07:30 and returning from Penrith at 16:10. The existing mid-morning journey is also running 15 minute later, which will extend the gap between it and the new Lonsdale Buses 106 service on a Tuesday and Thursday.
646 service journeys in Penrith operated by NBM are unchanged.
Further improvements planned to the 106 route will be announced shortly.
The full timetable details can be found on the Council’s website:
105 : Greystoke – Motherby – Newbiggin – Clickham - Penrith
106 : Shap – Hackthorpe – Lowther – Clifton – Eamont Bridge - Penrith.