28 February 2023

Stagecoach Sherford

Someone at Stagecoach likes Sherford!

The vast new Sherford ‘town’ is slowly getting better connected by bus, but things really seem to ramp up from April.

Stagecoach have re-routed both the X38 and the Gold service through Sherford from 2nd April.

This is quite a difference to the current route out of Plymouth via March Mills and Plympton (X38 shown below Gold goes through Plympton itself joining the A38 at Deep Lane

Gold & X38 Current Route until April 2023

the new route now heads off over Laira Bridge, and goes through Sherford joining the A38 at Deep Lane as shown below.

Gold & X38 New route from 2nd April 2023

Of course the new routes no longer serve Plympton. I do wonder if Sherford will attract more passengers than Plympton currently does. It seems brave to move both services through Sherford but time will tell!

As if this wasnt enough there is another service change from Stagecoach on the same weekend which is even more intriguing:

Web capture_28-2-2023_201445_www.vehicle-operator-licensing.service.gov.uk

The new variant 1A stands out, as does the new terminus “Plymouth / Sherford”

Quite how the current service will be extended to serve Sherford remains to be seen as timetables have yet to appear. I can understand there would be a demand for a Sherford direct link to Derriford Hospital.

Full details will appear over the coming days hopefully.

What do people think? Is this a brave move by Stagecoach into a developing area? (Maybe its partially funded by the developers of Sherford which would help! ) Will you be disadvantaged by the new routes not serving Plympton. Its certainly less convenient for me as on the rare occasion I catch the Gold it would be from Marsh Mills as it saves me going all the way into town. My trips are so rare it wont make much difference to Stagecoach though!


YN14OWP

Photos like this one wont be available for much longer.. Stagecoach 15962 heading into town through Marsh Mills

29 comments:

  1. Intriguing! As it's half-hourly, I wonder if there'll be a knock-on effect to the 2A. Does Sherford merit a combined 15 minute service, or will the 2A be re-routed, or cut back? We shall see .....

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  2. Off topic but maybe 1 to publish. First have published there plans for 2023 tourist routes on adventures by bus site

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  3. Going to be awful at rush hour when going to Plymstock all the traffic on the bridge next to Morley arms pub all jams up so the gold and X38 is always going to be late going to be a nightmare I am going to start using the train

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  4. The X38 and Gold don't stop in Plympton as they run non stop Marsh Mills to Ivybridge. This new route only adds 5 to 10 mins for potentially lots more passengers. Also whst happens to the PCB route that way from Ivybridge who knows. My guess is it was stealing passengers from Gold and so stagecoach agreed to divert via Sherford to get rid of it.

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    1. Gold is already tightly timed though, with short layovers at each end on most journeys. Unless another vehicle is added to the schedule, adding an extra 5-10 minutes to each journey could seriously affect reliability.

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    2. Julian, no extra Gold bus will be added.

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  5. ...and what about the 20?

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  6. 2a will no longer go Sherford. I think 1a will replace 2a via Elburton and the Broadway then continue to Mutley and Derriford etc from the city. Gold and x38 will provide quick route along billacombe road to city from Sherford. 1 and 1a will maintain 10 min frequency on George to city corridor via Derriford an Mutley

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  7. With the 20, that’s also quite a significant increase in frequency for Sherford and Ivybridge too!

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    1. No increase for Ivybridge as supported 20 is an existing route!

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    2. I would think DCC would nit be able to find PCC 20 going forward as commercial services operate on that route. 20a via Plympton etc should be fine though

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    3. Yes in theory support for Citybus 20 should be withdrawn.

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  8. Well, it’ll basically be going the same way the 3 currently goes leaving Plymouth for Kingsbridge. Just means now I’ll have to get the 200 or a CityBus whenever I (rarely) go to Sainsburys over there. Hopefully they’ll run a bit more smoothly and on time - I don’t think! I personally think they’d have been better off reverting it to serve Torquay again as who in Torbay needs Sherford?? Same with Exeter. Next they’ll be having the 2, 7 and 39 go some ridiculous way like they did with the X7 lol

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  9. So now we loose the late evening 22:10 departure from Plymouth to Ivybridge on a Friday night aswell, only remains on a Saturday night and nothing later on either night. Missing a trick here as taxis are extortionate.
    Also Sunday, last bus from Plymouth at 18:00.... not very helpful. Can't depend on the trains these days, now not the buses either. The Gold used to be a really good reliable service, being cut back more and more

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  10. I would guess it is down to developer funding which I am sure Stagecoach would welcome.

    As for extending back to Torquay, I see that Plymouth to Paignton is just under 30 miles, so Gold is able to be registered as one service now.

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    Replies
    1. The SC 2A extension into Sherford is developer funded via Plymouth City Council yes.

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  11. Timetables now on traveline. 1a replaces 2a (same route Sherford, Plymstock to city) 1 And 1a provide 10 min frequency from city to George via Mutley and Derriford. 2a seems to be Saltash to city only with 2 being Saltash to Mount batten.

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  12. I wonder what will happen now Platinum Parkway is open... There's surely going to be some bus routes which use that too?

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    1. Not aware of anything planned at the moment but I am sure there will be at some stage. Its difficult though to see what existing routes could be sent that way as it bypasses the Estover / Leigham Estates - which is a large well populated area that ill bring in a lot more passengers than he new section. One possibility could be the 27 that could use this to get to Derriford and then one to The George / Mainstone etc if the council decide they want to pay for it... If someone was brave enough it could be an alternative to the City Centre / Mutley / Crownhill Derriford corridor which is well served by both Citybus and Stagecoach

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    2. I’m pretty sure I remember reading when Stagecoach were awarded the 52 that it is to be rerouted to use the bypass when complete.

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    3. Stagecoach 52 will be rerouted via the Platinum Parkway from 2nd April and will run non-stop between Coypool and Derriford, omitting Leigham and Estover (which still have the 50/51). The time saving will allow an even hourly frequency to operate. Times are on Traveline SW.

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  13. I just wish they would stop messing around with the routes put s you off going on the busses and cutting back the timetable no wonder people drive their cars can't keep up with all the changes

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    1. No printed SC timetables doesn't help (I know it's all online but are all bus users), just to save a few pennies.

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  14. There will be a new service from stagecoach starting in April service 85 from Tavistock to Holsworthy via Lamerton, Milton Abbot, and Launceston with the bus going onto Barnstaple and vise versa with the drivers swapping bussss in Holsworthy this will be run from the Tavistock outstation

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    1. Is there a timetable available

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  15. Nothing about the 85 on traveline going Launceston barnstaple

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    1. It is on Stagecoach website. All changes fir April are listed. Google search Stagecoach SW promo

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    2. Stagecoach has just posted the timetable. There are three through journeys from Barnstaple to Tavistock taking just shy of two-and-a-half hours, and four in the other direction. Also a morning Bridgerule-Holsworthy-Barnstaple journey and late afternoon return, and an extra short Holsworthy-Tavistock early evening journey. All Monday-Saturday, no Sunday service.

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  16. Extended 85 is a Devon County Council initiative like the new East Devon X30, at a guess both BSIP funded? Wasn't there supposed to be a third route enhancement on top (can't think of another though)?

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