Stagecoach have now started to publicise their new Plymouth Network:
In conjunction with our acquisition of First's depots in Plymouth and South Devon, we will be launching a new network under the Stagecoach brand to replace many of First's services. The changes include some new route numbers, more reliable timetables, improved frequencies and regrettably also some reductions to make the network more sustainable for the future.
The new network will be as follows:
- 1/X1 Plymouth - Derriford Hospital - Yelverton - Tavistock (currently routes 83/86)
- 2/2A Saltash - Plymouth - Mount Batten (currently routes 1/1A & 2/2A)
- 3 Plymouth - Kingsbridge; Kingsbridge - Dartmouth (currently route 93)
- 48 Plymouth - Plymstock - Wembury
- 89 Courtlands Road - Tavistock - Bishopsmead
- 90/90A/90B/90C Dartmouth - Townstall
- 91 Dartmouth Park & Ride
- 100 The George P&R - Milehouse P&R - Plymouth (currently route PR1)
- 101 The George P&R - Derriford Hospital - Milehouse P&R - Plymouth (currently route PR1A)
- 200 Coypool P&R - Plymouth (currently route PR2)
- 804-809 Schools Services
Plus our existing routes X38 to Buckfastleigh and Exeter and Stagecoach Gold to Ivybridge, Totnes and Torquay continue with minor amendments.
First are also withdrawing from the following routes which we will not be replacing:
- 3/3A Plymouth - St Budeaux circular
- 6 Plymouth - Efford
- 15 Plymouth - Woolwell (although Plymouth - Derriford is still served by our 1 and 101 up to every 10 minutes)
- 76 Plymouth - Launceston
- 81/81D Plymouth - Torpoint
Other local bus operators already provide services that match First's frequencies over most of these areas and, in conjunction with the City Council, are arranging alternatives for the areas that they don't. Please visit www.travelinesw.com for more information.
In more detail…
1/X1 Plymouth - Derriford Hospital - Yelverton - Tavistock (currently routes 83/86)
- Up to every 15 minutes Monday - Saturday and hourly Sunday
- The 1 replaces the 86 and part of route 15, running up to every 30 minutes throughout the day via Mutley and Derriford Hospital to Tavistock
- The stop at Marjon entrance will no longer be served to remove the need to reverse, but buses will stop a few metres away on Runway Road where we a hoping to locate a new more convenient stop
- The X1 replaces the 83, running up to every 30 minutes direct via Milehouse to Tavistock
- A direct route 101 between Plymouth and Derriford Hospital via Milehouse will run every 10 minutes Monday - Friday peak periods (see below).
- 1 Plymouth City Centre - Tavistock . X1 Plymouth City Centre – Tavistock
2/2A Saltash - Plymouth - Mount Batten (currently routes 1/1A & 2/2A)
- Existing first route 2 is extended to form a cross-City link to Saltash, incorporating route 1/1A
- The start date for the extention to Saltash may be delayed until 20 September subject to a decision by the Traffic Commissioner, but the service to Mount Batten will commence from 6 September
- Additional early morning and later evening journeys to Mount Batten introduced
- Oreston will no longer be served. Route 2 will serve Pomphlett Close as now, whilst new route 2A will serve Pomphlett Road and Dene Cross Road.
Revised Timetable Saltash - Mount Batten 2 2A
3 Plymouth - Kingsbridge; Kingsbridge - Dartmouth (currently route 93)
- Existing route 93 is renumbered with minor timetable changes
- In partnership with Devon County Council an all year Sunday service between Dartmouth and Kingsbridge is introduced in place of the current Summer-only service which was due to finish on 20 September.
Timetable: Plymouth City Centre - Kingsbridge – Dartmouth
48 Plymouth - Plymstock – Wembury
- There are no changes to the route or timetable for this service, which is provided in partnership with Devon County Council.
- The summer Sunday service ends for this year after 13 September, and so is not included in our timetable. The service will run as advertised by First on 6th and 13th September 2015. An amended service will run from 26 March 2016 in partnership with Plymouth City Council.
- Timetable: Exeter - Princetown - Plymouth – Knighton
89 Courtlands Road - Tavistock – Bishopsmead
- There are no changes to the existing route or timetable.
- 89 Tavistock - Tavistock Timetable
90/90A/90B/90C Dartmouth – Townstall
- There are no changes to the existing 90, 90A or 90B routes or timetable
- The 90B via Archway Drive will be retained on a trial basis following the withdrawal of funding by Devon County Council from 20 September.
- Timetable 90A 90B 90C
91 Dartmouth Park & Ride
Dartmouth Park & Ride 91 Timetable
100 The George P&R - Milehouse P&R - Plymouth (currently route PR1)
101 The George P&R - Derriford Hospital - Milehouse P&R - Plymouth (currently route PR1A)
We will be running services from the George Junction (near Woolwell), Milehouse (at Plymouth Argyle football ground) and Coypool (near Marsh Mills roundabout) Park & Ride sites from 7 September 2015. Plymouth's Park & Ride services are the easiest way to get into the City Centre. Buses run up to every 10 minutes at peak times. Simply park, hop on and go. No expensive parking to worry about and our priority bus lanes will get you there quickly and easily.This replaces route PR1 with buses running up to every 10-12 minutes as now Buses returning from Plymouth in the morning, and back in the evening will be renumbered 101 serving Derriford Hospital and all stops along the route The existing First Park & Ride buses will continue to be used until early 2016.
- Buses from The George Junction and Milehouse run up to every 10-12 minutes between 0630 (from The George) and 1900 (from Royal Parade) Mondays to Fridays
- Buses from The George Junction and Milehouse run up to every 12 minutes between 0645 (from The George) and 1900 (from Royal Parade) Saturdays
- Buses stop on Saltash Road for those wanting to get to Plymouth Railway Station
- If you work at The Land Registry or the Plymouth City Council Windsor House offices the 100 also stops on Tavistock Road (Future Inn stop towards Plymouth and the Windsor House by B&Q/M&S towards The George)
- If you miss the last 100 Park & Ride bus to the George Junction just catch a Stagecoach route 1 or X1 bus which stops just across the road outside the George Pub. You can also catch Stagecoach route 2/2A to Milehouse Park and Ride. These buses will drop you a short walk away, just across the road on Alma Road (opposite the Life Centre carpark). Your Park & Ride ticket will be valid on these services.
100 101 George Park & Ride - Plymouth City Centre - George Park & Ride Timetable
200 Coypool P&R - Plymouth (currently route PR2)
- Coypool Park and Ride is less than 15 minutes from the City Centre by bus
- The 200 stops on Coburg Street right outside Drake Circus Mall so perfect if you're popping into the city for some shopping or to get to work
- Buses run up to every 12 minutes for most of the day Mondays to Saturdays except Public Holidays
- The first bus leaves Coypool at 0630 with the last bus back from the City Centre (Royal Parade) at 1900
The 200 was previously known as the PR2.
200 Coypool Park & Ride - Plymouth City Centre - Coypool Park & Ride Timetable
I have just noticed that the Traveline map shows a different route to the current PR2. Whilst this may be correct and indeed might be a good choice as possibly slightly quicker than the current PR 2 route at times I am not convinced! There is nothing anywhere to suggest a route change but then as there are no stops there is no reason why this couldn't be correct either!
804-809 Schools Services
These will be covered in a future post as there are a couple of changes made by First a week before Stagecoach take over!
The Herald adds a few extra snippets of information:
Five Plymouth bus routes are to be withdrawn as Stagecoach takes over services across the city from First. Stagecoach says the routes are already well covered by other services. The changes will come into effect from September 6. The network will also see new route numbers for some services.
Bob Dennison, Managing Director of Stagecoach South West, said: "We're really excited to be launching our Plymouth and South Devon network which is built on frequent services, good value fares, modern buses and easy to use timetables. We have a lot planned for the next few months so please bear with us whilst we get everything up to speed".
Stagecoach will offer a similar range of tickets as First, with unlimited weekly travel starting from £11.
All existing First season tickets will be accepted by Stagecoach until their expiry date.
Season ticket holders from areas that Stagecoach will not be serving should contact First for a refund on the remaining portion of their tickets.
A Plymouth City Council spokesperson said: “We welcome Stagecoach’s expansion within Plymouth and are pleased to hear about their plans for investment in the local bus network with a more modern fleet and particularly the purchase of new buses
Read more: http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/Plymouth-bus-routes-dropped-Stagecoach-unveils/story-27549859-detail/story.html#ixzz3hyoX7awD
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Note the comment about First still running the Sunday 48 for the last two weeks of the summer season on 6 and 13 Sept. From what I can tell on Traveline this also applies to the 187 which is not due to return next summer. I wonder how / from where First will run these Sunday routes on these two dates ?
ReplyDeleteThats not how I read it! They SC are running the service as previously advertised by First. ie SC are just using the old First timetable for these two Sundays. SC have just left the Sunday operation out of their published new timetable.
DeleteThe strange route of the 200 is due to the mapping software deciding its own quickest route between stops. The underlying mapping re references every week as part of the data process and can sometimes change routes that have long distances between stops if you haven't added some hidden tags to force it a certain way. It looks like it just needs a couple of tags to force the routeing. I'll make sure the relevant person who looks after the Devon data is told. Ken (Traveline - Dorset)
ReplyDeleteLooking at the map, the 200 Coypool P&R traces almost the exact route of the 'Purple 6'; with the exception of Efford and the slight extension from Marsh Mills roundabout on into Coypool. Routing the 200 through Laira and Lipson probably makes sense (if the map is correct), considering the 6 is ending. So that means SC will still be running a frequent service along that corridor, which I believe has proven quite lucrative for First. Only Efford looses out with this change, but that's still well served by PCB. This new 200 service could prove to be very convenient for the University if it takes in North Hill.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your suggestion but it looks more like a mapping error by the software. Its not stopping between the City and Coypool
DeleteHi Graham. As I mentioned above, I have confirmed with the person at Traveline who does Stagecoach Devon data that this route came in on the EBSR as a result of Stagecoach's mapping software finding a random route between the stops at Coypool and the City Centre stops. The route has been corrected for the next Traveline data build. Ken (Traveline - Dorset)
DeleteAs a user of the Stagecoach version of Trapeze (their computer based scheduling and mapping package), I can say categorically that it doesn't select the route for you. If the route was plotted incorrectly it would have been a simple human error or lack of local knowledge. Normally, if you use roads which have existing bus stops shown you can't go too far wrong, but in this case someone may have done . . .
DeleteWhy are Stagecoach using First buses on both P & R services until early 2016? Lack of quality buses within SC? Mind you, some of the buses used on the P & R services are pretty poor.
ReplyDeleteI guess its down to having to find so many buses from within the group in a very short timescale. As most of the buses involved are branded for the P&R it makes sense to keep them on until suitable replacements can be found, or more likely purchased new in the new year.
DeleteThey're branded for the p and r and were refurbished for it in partnership with the city council. Stagecoach sre buying new for it so that must be the lead time for new vehicles
DeleteSo what buses will they be using for the 1/x1 and the 3 for Dartmouth
DeleteSurely the Council hasn't contributed to the cost of doing up First's buses? It's a commercial service operated by a large PLC, so why is the Council throwing around cash like this when it doesn't need to?
DeleteTorbay Tridents are going to be on the PnR i believe
Delete(to Anon. 17.34) I believe Devon County Council contributed to painting buses for the 93 in 'Mayflower Link' livery and also to the purple 'Tavy Lynx' for Tavistock. I believe Cornwall Council may have contributed to the cost of the mauve livery for the Torpoint buses, too. In my view this was not money well spent as First have a long history of inability to put route-branded buses where they belong. They will say that this was to cover breakdowns - but there was too much of it for that. The excuse wore particularly thin when I saw the ferry-liveried buses in Plymouth on a private hire and old step-entrance vehicles providing the service to Torpoint.
DeleteKeith - you appear to be a bit confused. IIRC both the Torpoint and Tavistock examples were part of Kickstart. Basically, a partnership between councils and operator to improve the sustainability of bus services with central government funding (administered by the local authority) to help pump priming. The operator also makes a financial contribution as part of the bid.
DeleteThere were covenants to ensure that the fleet remained allocated to those routes though those expired some time ago. The livery was a conscious decision to improve the profile. Elsewhere, where Stagecoach won Kickstart for Culm Valley Connect, standard livery was the choice.
I am not very happy about stage coach come in Plymouth I used to catch first bus to city centre then use first bus 86 couse had see family
ReplyDeleteno that means I have to get citybus to town then get stage coach that to lots of bus fare,s
means it coast me 3.00 more for same trip when it was was coast me 7.00 day ticket
bleedy joke this is and coucail not doing any thing at tall about first route being dead
There are already joint day tickets between Citybus and Stagecoach, which may be revised and/or clarified and there are new fares promised.
DeleteCitybus issue a Devon Explorer for £8.50 including Stagecoach in south Devon (?)
Stagecoach (Tickets to Go leaflet (3/5/15, but not on website)
Explorer £7.50 valid on Go Cornwall in Cornwall (replaced Western Greyhound validity)
Explorer + Citybus and Go Cornwall £8.50 (matches Citybus Devon ticket)
Dartmouth - already in Torbay fare zone and there are day and weekly tickets for Torbay + Dart Ferry.
In any major upheaval of bus services there will always be a small minority who will be worse off.
DeleteThere will also be those who benefit. I am personally looking forward to using the 3 from Dartmouth to Plymouth with my £7.50 Stagecoach Explorer ticket, as part of a scenic alternative route to the Gold from Torquay.
I don't know what you expect the Council to do, as usually they do not get involved in the fares and ticketing policies of privately-owned bus companies operating commercial services.
having looked at the upcoming timetables it appears Plymouth city is losing about 20%off its services between 30 august and 21 September so there may be more than a small minority that will be worse off,and if there is next to no compertion fares will increase for all, I suspect before xmas.
DeleteIf Stagecoach do not go for joint ticketing with Citybus, there is the Skipper ticket allows travel on any operator's service.
DeleteCitybus are bound to put up fares. Their annual increase is due September. Stagecoach I don't think will increase for a while at least whilst they get established. They can't charge that much with such a small network. £4.50 plus ticket to tavi,south Brent and modbury Is excellent tho. Plus SC are cheap I'm areas without competition. Even Exeter Is a lot cheaper than citybus charge in Plymouth for example! SC CHEAP GO AHEAD EXPENSIVE
DeleteAnon 19:54 - Stagecoach charge £3.60 for a day ticket in Exeter, a much smaller network than Plymouth for just 10p more you can travel in zone 1 and 2 in Plymouth for £3.70. SC are keeping the £3.00 First day ticket for Plymouth, with an even smaller network than First used to run. Get your facts straight, PCB will have a bigger network for proportionally less money. I would hope that a version of the Skipper ticket could be introduced as a weekly and monthly ticket to allow unlimited travel in Plymouth on any service.
DeleteI suppose now is a good time to post what vehicles we know will be used for Plymouth, former Carlisle 37113-20, former Exeter 47084-90 plus I believe several Tridents from the Cheltenham area are expected (although at least 7 are coming up here to Liverpool as well, two arrived already...off topic for here though), can anyone add any more?
ReplyDeleteOf course Citybus will put there fares up!!
ReplyDeleteThey are a business that need to make money?!?! They're hardly going to keep the £1:10 fare on the 8/9's are they?
Blame thatcher for privatising the national bus network for that! In my opinion first knew they going to close and wanted to dent city uses cash flow
A daily user of psrk and ride. Comparison, First bus timekeeping poor, buses went missing, staff disinterested poorly managed. Stagecoach new buses, mostly run to timetable, same staff more professional. Enough said, goodbye Furst don't come hack.
ReplyDelete