Devon County Council Tendered services

It looks like most of the end of August changes have now come through so last week we just have a few notices from Dartline with a few of their services now being operated by other operators under Devon County Council tendering.

Licence	Route	Start Point	End Point	Effective	Notes	Operator
PH0005305.118	348	Tiverton Bus Station, Tiverton	Tiverton Bus Station, Tiverton	30-Aug-2026	Service withdrawn. Passengers from the Lea Road, Cowley Moor Road and Pinnex Moor Road areas will be served every 30 minutes by extended service 55 providing a direct bus to Tiverton and Exeter (via Morrisons/Hospital). Passengers from the Queensway, Lime Road, Holly Road, Elmore Way and Siddals Gardens areas will be served every hour by a revised service 343 into Tiverton.	DEALTOP LIMITED
PH0005305.116	349	Tiverton Bus Station, Tiverton	Tiverton Bus Station, Tiverton	30-Aug-2026	Service withdrawn. Passengers from the Lea Road, Cowley Moor Road and Pinnex Moor Road areas will be served every 30 minutes by extended service 55 providing a direct bus to Tiverton and Exeter (via Morrisons/Hospital). Passengers from the Queensway, Lime Road, Holly Road, Elmore Way and Siddals Gardens areas will be served every hour by a revised service 343 into Tiverton.	DEALTOP LIMITED
PH0005305.120	352	Tiverton Bus Station, Tiverton	Tiverton Bus Station, Tiverton	30-Aug-2026	cancellation. Replacement operated by Redwoods with minor changes to timetable to accommodate a driver lunch break	DEALTOP LIMITED
PH0005305.121	353	Tiverton Bus Station, Tiverton	Tiverton Bus Station, Tiverton	30-Aug-2026	cancellation. Replacement operated by Redwoods with minor changes to timetable to accommodate a driver lunch break	DEALTOP LIMITED
PH0005305.117	369	The Mitre Inn, Witheridge	Sidwell Street stop 40, Exeter	30-Aug-2026	Amended route, certain journeys operating via Kennerleigh and Black Dog to replace service 679 (Was regsistred as Cancelled originally - this registration has replaced it)	DEALTOP LIMITED

Speaking of the tenders...

Bus changes have reduced the time passengers from local villages can spend in Barnstaple to less than two hours making it unfeasible for many who have used the service as a lifeline. Users of the local authority funded 372 Stagecoach bus service, which runs once a day on Mondays and Fridays between Bradworthy and Barnstaple ( also serving Buckland Brewer, Putford, Parkham and Littleham), are calling on Devon County Council to reconsider the changes which will come into effect on August 30.

The county council said few people travelled on the service and reducing its time in Barnstaple would allow the bus to operate a school service afterwards, making the 372 viable. But passengers are angry including regular user Margaret Millman who has written a letter to council bosses.

“A significant number of passengers have no access to private transport and rely on the bus for essential food shopping, attending GP and hospital appointments, collecting prescriptions, banking and accessing other services that are not available locally,” she said.

“Because the route travels along narrow single-track country roads and then encounters heavy traffic on entering Barnstaple, the bus occasionally arrives later than scheduled. This is outside the control of both passengers and the driver.

“Reducing the time available in Barnstaple is unreasonable and will make it much more difficult for passengers to complete essential tasks before the return journey. The new timetable shows little consideration for the needs of those who depend on this service.

Service 372 is also losing its college day only journeys between Bradworthy and North Devon College due to low demand.

“It’s like the authorities are saying tough luck! Do they want people to just sit in their houses and rot away?”

Under the new timetable travellers on the 372 will have one hour and 54 mins in Barnstaple (that is without late departures and arrivals and traffic issues. The bus will get in at 10.51am and leave at 12.45am.

The current arrival time for the bus is 11:15am and it departs Barnstaple Bus Station at 1.50pm.

A Devon County Council spokesperson said: “Changes to Service 372 are being made to ensure the route remains financially viable and can continue to operate.

“Service 372 is funded by Devon County Council and operates between Bradworthy and Barnstaple on Mondays and Fridays. On average, fewer than four passengers per day use the service to travel to Barnstaple.

“Reducing the time slightly in Barnstaple will allow the bus to operate a school service after operating service 372, which reduces the cost of operating the service. Without this change, the service would no longer be sustainable.

“The college day only journeys on service 372 are being withdrawn, as usage averaged fewer than one person per day.”

Torridge and Tavistock Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Cox is understood to be in ongoing communication with Stagecoach regarding local bus services and the difficulties faced by rural communities in accessing reliable public transport.

Full story Devon Live

A tender moment

We have got used to Stagecoach hoovering up a lot of tendered work over the last few years so a bit of a surprise to see they have lost some work. No mention yet of who has picked up the work though, I am sure it wont be long before we find out…

Tender Changes from 4 January 2026

Following a recent tender round by Devon County Council, a number of services will transfer to new operators from 4 January 2026 and will therefore no longer be operated by Stagecoach South West.

Barnstaple Depot
• Services 660/663S/855/856/859 – South Molton Town Services

Exeter Depot
• Service 6A – Exeter to Okehampton (majority of journeys)
• Service 96 – Exmouth Town Service
• Service 97 – Exmouth Town Service
• Service 173 – Exeter to Chagford and Moretonhampstead
• Service 348/349 – Tiverton Town Service
• Service 352/352 – Tiverton Town Service
• Service 360 – Exeter to Bridford and Christow
• Service 369 – Exeter to Morchard Bishop and Witheridge

Plymouth Depot
• Service 6A/6B – Exeter to Okehampton / Tavistock to Okehampton

While it can be disappointing when services transfer to other operators, these changes will benefit the business in a number of ways.

The loss of these services is no reflection of our delivery of these services, some of which we have operated for a number of years.

As a result of these changes, there will be some changes to duties and rosters at Exeter Depot from 4 January 2026, with minimal changes at Barnstaple and Plymouth Depots.

We will be communicating these changes, as well as a small number of other services changes to our customers over the coming weeks.

Devon CC Tenders changing hands this weekend etc

Sorry for the lack of postings this last week. I've been so hot and bothered after work I have just not had chance to get anything done!

So lets get back on track with the full run down of new timetables which have gone into place this weekend:

Most of the changes below are fed by Devon County Council tenders with a few routes changing hands between Stagecoach, Dartline, Countybus and Plymouth Citybus (Go Devon). As usual click though for full details with timetables etc

Alansway Coaches Ltd – Country Bus

Licence	Route	Start Point	End Point	Effective	Notes
PH1017984.137	174	Teignmouth Railway Station	Torbay Hospital, Torquay	05-Jun-2023	NEW SERVICE: Monday to Saturday excluding bank holidays Every two hours We will be taking over operation of the 174 service on 5th June 2023 with a revised timetable.
PH1017984.118	366	Kenn	Exeter Bus Station	04-Jun-2023	Cancelled applications. Taken over by Dartline under Devon CC Tender
PH1017984.120	M	Exeter, Paris Street	Exeter, Cheeke Street	04-Jun-2023	Cancelled applications. Taken over by Dartline under Devon CC Tender
PH1017984.119	U	Exeter, Sidwell Street	Exeter, Union Road	04-Jun-2023	Cancelled applications. Taken over by Dartline under Devon CC Tender

Dealtop Ltd – Dartline

Licence	Route	Start Point	End Point	Effective	Notes
PH0005305.013	173	Chagford Square	Exeter, Sidwell Street	03-Jun-2023	Cancellation (Taken over by Stagecoach (Devon CC) Sometimes good things come to an end, and that is certainly the case today for 3 service runs we have held for a long time.  So today we say goodbye to the 173 Exeter to Chagford and Moretonhampstead; the 174/184 Newton Abbot runaround and ED7 the Exmouth town shopper. Over the years lots of our fabulous team have covered these routes, the 173 with its patience testing section from Crockernwell to Sandy Park,  not to mention Chagford Square; the 174 with Newton Abbot gridlocked and race days being ‘something else’ and then ED7, where you chase time all day and bin day is carnage.
PH0005305.031	174 184	Newton Abbot	The Willows	03-Jun-2023	Cancellation (Taken over by Stagecoach (Devon CC) Sometimes good things come to an end, and that is certainly the case today for 3 service runs we have held for a long time.  So today we say goodbye to the 173 Exeter to Chagford and Moretonhampstead; the 174/184 Newton Abbot runaround and ED7 the Exmouth town shopper. Over the years lots of our fabulous team have covered these routes, the 173 with its patience testing section from Crockernwell to Sandy Park,  not to mention Chagford Square; the 174 with Newton Abbot gridlocked and race days being ‘something else’ and then ED7, where you chase time all day and bin day is carnage.
PH0005305.081	366	Kenn, Ley Arms	Exeter, Sidwell Street	05-Jun-2023	Monday to Saturday NEW One return journey. Taken over from Country Bus (Devon CC)
PH0005305.084	M	Exeter, Paris Street	Exeter, Paris Street	04-Jun-2023	NEW Monday to Saturday. Taken over from Country Bus (Devon CC)
PH0005305.083	U	Exeter, Paris Street	Exeter, Paris Street	04-Jun-2023	NEW Monday to Saturday. Taken over from Country Bus (Devon CC)

Plymouth Citybus Ltd – Go Devon

Licence	Route	Start Point	End Point	Effective	Notes
PH0000135.319	315	North Tawton	Bideford	05-Jun-2023	Cancel From Monday 5th June, services 315, 345 and 377 will be replaced by services 5B, 5A and 5C, operated by Stagecoach. All the services have new timetables and will operate to/from the Bus Station in Exeter, instead of Sidwell Street.
PH0000135.320	315	Bideford	Barnstaple	05-Jun-2023	Cancel From Monday 5th June, services 315, 345 and 377 will be replaced by services 5B, 5A and 5C, operated by Stagecoach. All the services have new timetables and will operate to/from the Bus Station in Exeter, instead of Sidwell Street.
PH0000135.324	315	Exeter	Chulmleigh	05-Jun-2023	Cancel From Monday 5th June, services 315, 345 and 377 will be replaced by services 5B, 5A and 5C, operated by Stagecoach. All the services have new timetables and will operate to/from the Bus Station in Exeter, instead of Sidwell Street.
PH0000135.321	345	Okehampton	North Tawton	05-Jun-2023	Cancel From Monday 5th June, services 315, 345 and 377 will be replaced by services 5B, 5A and 5C, operated by Stagecoach. All the services have new timetables and will operate to/from the Bus Station in Exeter, instead of Sidwell Street.
PH0000135.322	377	Bishops Tawton	Morchard Bishop	05-Jun-2023	Cancel From Monday 5th June, services 315, 345 and 377 will be replaced by services 5B, 5A and 5C, operated by Stagecoach. All the services have new timetables and will operate to/from the Bus Station in Exeter, instead of Sidwell Street.

Stagecoach Devon Ltd

Licence	Route	Start Point	End Point	Effective	Notes
PH1020951.034	5 5C	Exeter Bus Station	Crediton / Chulmleigh	04-Jun-2023	The current operator of Services 315, 345 and 377 linking Exeter with Barnstaple, Okehampton and Chumleigh, has notified Devon County Council that they no longer wish to operate these services. Working in partnership with Devon County Council, Stagecoach South West will provide replacement services, which will start from Monday 5 June 2023.Hatherleigh and Okehampton will be served by the extension of existing Service 5 journeys between Exeter and Crediton, which will operate roughly every two hours. These journeys will be known as Service 5A.
PH1020951.395	5A	Crediton	Okehampton	04-Jun-2023	The current operator of Services 315, 345 and 377 linking Exeter with Barnstaple, Okehampton and Chumleigh, has notified Devon County Council that they no longer wish to operate these services. Working in partnership with Devon County Council, Stagecoach South West will provide replacement services, which will start from Monday 5 June 2023.Hatherleigh and Okehampton will be served by the extension of existing Service 5 journeys between Exeter and Crediton, which will operate roughly every two hours. These journeys will be known as Service 5A.
PH1020951.397	5B	Great Torrington Church	Barnstaple Bus Station	04-Jun-2023	Monday to Saturday. Revised timetable
PH1020951.399	5B	Crediton	Great Torrington	04-Jun-2023	Monday to Saturday. Revised timetable
PH1020951.185	6A	Okehampton	Exeter	04-Jun-2023	Timetable variation - additional trips added
PH1020951.390	97	Brixington, Anson Road	Withycombe Raleigh, Heard Avenue	04-Jun-2023	NEW service Monday - Saturday Service 97 (currently numbered Service 7) within Exmouth will operate up to every 60 minutes Monday to Friday daytime and Saturday morning, with the service serving Masey Road and The Marles.
PH1020951.389	173	Moretonhampstead, Court Street Car Park	Exeter, Sidwell Street	04-Jun-2023	NEW: Monday to Saturday. Taken over from Dartline (Devon CC) Service 173 between Exeter and Moretonhampstead via Tedburn St Mary and Chagford,  providing up to five journeys per day Monday to Saturday.
PH1020951.358	EB	Exeter University, Perry Road	Shobrooke Park	03-Jun-2023	To operate a shuttle service when the Enchanted Ball is held each year. One day annual event.

And finally a couple of other changes outside of the Devon CC batch:

NC Eastwood – Royal Buses

Licence	Route	Start Point	End Point	Effective	Notes
PH1086607.019	44	St Ives, Royal Square	Trevalgan Touring Park	03-Jun-2023	Seasonal Timetable variation

First Hampshire & Dorset Ltd – First Wessex

Licence	Route	Start Point	End Point	Effective	Notes
PH0006159.414	X53 X51	Bridport Coach Station	Axminster Rail Station	04-Jun-2023	Revised timetable for summer 2023 Service X51 will continue to operate every two hours between Weymouth, Dorchester, Bridport and Axminster. Service X52 which will be open top will operate every 2 hours between Weymouth, West Bay and Bridport. Service X53 will continue to operate every 2 hours between Weymouth, West Bay, Bridport and Axminster. Overall, this will allow an increased level of service on Sundays, and an hourly frequency between Weymouth, West Bay and Bridport.

Although it looks like the hot weather will continue for a while yet, I hope to get some more posts out this week..