Citybus Increase Services with some guests

Bus services in Plymouth are set to double on the 31^st May as part of our continued effort to aid social distancing for those who need to make journeys by bus.

As more and more people return to work, the Citybus network in Plymouth will be at 80% of the capacity it was pre COVID. Main routes, including those to hospitals will be brought back to 100%.

We have set up a handy ‘Making travel Safer’ guide here (https://www.plymouthbus.co.uk/news-service-updates/making-travel-safer/), outlining key messages and government advise. You will also see this messaging at bus stops and on buses.

To maximise coverage, we have also taken this opportunity to re route some services. These are services 35, 40/41, 61/62. New maps can be found under each of these routes on the timetables page of our site.

Due to the ever-changing landscape we will not be installing timetable departure times at bus stops. Our app will show live and planned departures, plus stops with real time displays will show when buses are due. Our website also has all timetables published.

You may see some loan buses from our sister companies running our services, as we utilise all we can to get more capacity on the roads.

Full route by route detail of the new network are listed below…

5/5A    These services will operate a combined frequency of up to every 15 minutes to Plymstock Monday to Saturday, and a combined frequency of up to every 30 minutes on Sunday.

Services to Saltash will operate up to every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday with an hourly Sunday service.

8/9      These services will operate a combined frequency of up to every 10 minutes Monday to Friday, 15 minutes on Saturday and 30 minutes on Sunday.

16        This service will operate up to every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday and hourly on Sunday.

20/A    Hourly Service 20A to Ivybridge will operate, with most shorter service 20’s being withdrawn. We have retained the busier journeys for school movements and commuters.

21/A    We will be restoring this service back to a combined frequency of up to every 10 minutes Monday to Friday, and every 15 minutes Saturday and Sunday.

23/24  These services will operate a combined frequency of up to every 15 minutes Monday to Saturday. Sunday services will continue to operate hourly.

25        No change

27/28  These services will operate hourly each via Eggbuckland to Crownhill, with early journeys to Derriford Hospital retained.

Sunday services operate on alternate hours on the same timetable as present.

33        This service will operate up to every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday and hourly on Sunday.

34        This service will operate up to every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday and hourly on Sunday. Early morning journeys on Sunday retained.

35/A/B Services 35 and 35A will operate on their existing routes. Service 35B operates the reverse of Service 35A. Each will operate hourly Monday to Saturday, giving a combined 20 minute service to Ham and Beacon Park.

Sunday services will operate as 35A and 35B, giving a combined service of up to every 30 minutes.

40/41  Service 40 will operate from the City Centre via Looseleigh Lane to Southway and from Southway via Whitleigh Cross to the City Centre. Service 41 will operate the reverse of the 40 route, with a combined frequency of up to every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday. Southway on a Sunday will still continue to be served by the 42A/42D and 40A/41A.

42        Service will operate half hourly to William Prance Road and Derriford Hospital with an hourly extension to serve Powisland Drive (Tavistock Road), George Park & Ride (Morgan Road), Asda and Mainstone.

42A      Every 30 minutes to Tamerton Foliot via Southway

42C   Every 30 minutes to George Park & Ride and Woolwell

42D (Sunday) This will continue to operate as per current timetable.

42/42A/42C will provide a combined frequency between Plymouth City Centre and Derriford Hospital via Mutley Plain of up to every 10 minutes Monday to Friday, with five buses per hour on Saturday and every 20 minutes on Sunday. Early morning journeys on Sunday retained.

43        This service will operate up to every 20 minutes Monday to Friday, and every 30 minutes Saturday and Sunday.

44/A    These services will operate up to every 20 minutes to Whitleigh Monday to Saturday, with an hourly 44A to St Budeaux operating Monday to Friday.

Sunday services will operate hourly as per the current timetable.

48        This service will operate hourly Monday to Saturday.

50/51  These services will operate up to every 20 minutes Monday to Friday, and every 30 minutes Saturday and Sunday. Early morning journeys on Sunday retained.

61/62  Service 61 will operate as per its current route out and back to Transit Way up to every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday, and hourly on Sunday.

Service 62 will operate from Weston Park Road via Outland Road (for Morrisons), Sheridan Road and St Peters Road to Transit Way and back.

This will operate up to every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday, and hourly on Sunday.

On Saturday some journeys on the Services 61 and 62 will not serve Transit Way due to ongoing congestion. As such, they will operate a different turning loop as below:

Service 61 from City Centre to Honicknowle Green will run via Little Dock Lane and Crownhill Road to Coombe Park Lane back to Honicknowle Green to return to the City Centre

Service 62 from Sheridan Road will operate via Cobbett Road, Honicknowle Lane, Shakespeare Road, St Peters Road back to Sheridan Road.

Quickie!

PLYMOUTH CITYBUS PROPOSED CHANGES - Make sure you buy The Herald tomorrow to see full details on proposed changes to your network at the end of September. The 4 page pull out includes a route by route list on what we are proposing to do and why! There will also be details on how to contact us with your thoughts.

Plymouth Citybus

Plymstock Network

This weekend sees the start of the new Plymstock Network by First. Route 2 stays as it was but the 6 has been revised and a new route 7 has been added to the network.
Service 6 (City Centre - Staddiscombe via Plymstock): The route of this service is changing slightly from 12 June. Specifically Service 6 buses will no longer serve Horn Cross Road, Stanborough Road, Springfield Road or a section of route on Goosewelll Road, but instead they will operate via Oreston Road, Plymstock Road, Dean Hill, Furzehatt Road, Reservoir Road, Staddiscombe Road, Goosewell Road and Holmwood Avenue before returning along Dean Hill to Plymstock Broadway. The changes mean that customers in Staddiscombe and Goosewell will be able to get to and from Plymstock Broadway more easily and quickly than previously. Buses will run up to every 20 minutes Monday - Saturday and every 30 minutes on Sundays and Public Holidays.
***NEW*** Service 7 (City Centre - Elburton via Plymstock Broadway): A new Service 7 is being introduced from 12 June. This will offer people in Elburton additional opportunities to travel and a quicker, more direct, route between Elburton and the City Centre. Specifically buses, which will run up to every 20 minutes Monday to Saturday and hourly on Sundays and Public Holidays, will follow the route of the current Service 6 until the Pomphlett Road roundabout, from where they will then travel via Pomphlett Road, Horn Cross Road, Stanborough Road Dunstone Drive, Furzehatt Road, Springfield Road, Elburton Road and Stanborough Road, before returning along Horn Cross Road, Pomphlett Road en route to the city centre. In addition Service 7 buses in the city centre, in response to customer demand, will also serve Charles Street (for the Drake Circus Shopping Mall) and Mayflower Street from the 12 June
Not knowing Plymstock that well its hard for me to judge if this is an improvement or not. I guess like any route and timetable change there will be winners and looser, but its generally the losers that will make the most noise!I have finally managed to get my computer to produce a Google Map of the network as it stands from this weekend. Larger 'live' maps are on my Extra site as detailed below.

The Plymouth Citybus 5 5A service continues as before of course. After the upcoming fare increase by Citybus its possible that First will actually be cheaper now, especially as the recent First increase did not apply to their Plymstock buses.
First are offering cheaper tickets for the first week:
We've listened to our customers who told us they wanted more direct buses to the places in Plymstock and Elburton they wish to visit. So from Sunday 12 June were changing the route of our service 6 and introducing a new service 7:
ugobus 6: Staddiscombe - Broadway West - Oreston - City Centre

Plus weve still got our service 2 (Mount Batten - Goosewell - Broadway West - Pomphlett - City Centre), so between them services 2, 6 and 7 offer up to 12 buses an hour between Plymstock and Plymouth City Centre.
To celebrate the new and improved network in the Plymstock area we're offering a £5 FirstWeek Plymstock ticket on ugobus services 2,6 & 7 from Sunday 12 - Saturday 25 June. If you use it everyday it's valid that's as little as 71p per day for unlimited travel on these 3 services; bargain!
Ask your ugobus service 2, 6 or 7 driver for a £5 FirstWeek Plymstock ticket.
To view full details of this offer and a map showing the service 2, 6 & 7 routes please click here: ugobus service 2, 6 & 7 timetable from 12 June 2011 (PDF - 181.46 KB)

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Related Links

• First 2 Plymothian Transit Extra
• First 6 Plymothian Transit Extra
• First 2 Plymothian Transit Extra
• Citybus 5/5A Plymothian Transit Extra

Elsewhere on the net

• It's about the Olympics and whilst it's a bit about people getting around the city it is mostly about getting supplies and goods to and from premises in London during the summer of 2012. Leon Daniels
• Thursday was quite a busy day online for Dorset deregistrations. Why? Dorset Bus Blog
• If you’re unfamiliar with straightforward local transport authority tendering, there’s basically two types of contract for supported bus services Omnibuses
• After the best part of a year spent chasing problems from one hub to another, from the exhauster and servo to the handbrake and back again... I am now the proud owner of an SUL coach that both goes and stops 270KTA
• A Cardiff East-Lancs bodied Leyland Olympian makes a journey to Newport on a filthy wet day in the days when we grumbled that Four Star petrol was 41.7p Busworld Photography
• The TrawsCambria name will soon die. In theory, it’s a strong brand of more than 30 years’ standing, but it’s also seen many iterations and route changes so, presumably, it’s time for a complete relaunch. Omnibuses
• This is more of a news-y post, just to consolidate all the info of what is going on in First Hants & Dorset at the moment: Southern England Bus Scene
• Rupert lives, as we all know, in a lovely little cottage in Nutwood. And his part time job is in Bigtown, which is a big, big 23 miles away. Sadly, Rupert does not drive a car; this is just pretend Public Transport Experience
• Many have often commented on the particularly potty proliferation of prices on our railways; but this farcical foray into ferro-equinological finances does involve taking a huge heap of those crunchy calorie containing cookies Public Transport Experience

A few changes for January

VOSA registrations

It has been very quiet for the past few months but there have been a few bus route registrations posted on the VOSA web site from local operators just recently: PH0004983/31 - FIRST DEVON & CORNWALL LTD, THE RIDE, PLYMOUTH, PL9 7JT Variation Accepted: Operating between PLYMOUTH Bus Station and TORQUAY, Torbay Hotel given service number X80/X81 effective from 31-Jan-2010. To amend Timetable. PH0004983/243 - FIRST DEVON & CORNWALL LTD, THE RIDE, PLYMOUTH, PL9 7JT Variation Accepted: Operating between TORBAY HOSPITAL and TORQUAY MIDDLE WARBERRY ROAD given service number 64/65 effective from 31-Jan-2010. To amend Route. PH0004983/414 - FIRST DEVON & CORNWALL LTD, THE RIDE, PLYMOUTH, PL9 7JT Registration Accepted Starting Point: Paignton Finish Point: Torquay Via: Preston Service Number: X80/X81 Service Type: Normal Stopping Effective Date: 31-JAN-2010 Other Details: Every 30 Minutes Mon- sat 2 hourly Sunday & Public holidays. On the same day we also have PH0006742/5 - ROBERT JOHN RISK, 4 ARCADIA, ELBURTON, PLYMOUTH, PL9 8EF Variation Accepted: Operating between LANGAGE, PLYMPTON and LANGAGE, PLYMPTON given service number 53/53A effective from 26-Jan-2010. To amend Route and Timetable. PH0006742/33 - ROBERT JOHN RISK, 4 ARCADIA, ELBURTON, PLYMOUTH, PL9 8EF Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Royal Parade, Plymouth and Derriford given service number 14 effective from 04-Jan-2010. To amend Timetable. The X80 X81 is a bit of a mystery but it looks like the X81 shorts will now just be running between Paignton and Torquay rather than from Totnes as they do at the moment? I am sure all we be revealed in due course as First are very good at giving plenty of notice of new timetables.

Oh what a circus!

Citybus are changing the route into the City centre for some of their routes as from 23rd November.

Why the changes?

Plymouth Citybus experienced a period of very poor performance during the run up to Christmas 2007. This was caused by traffic congestion at Charles Church and Drake Circus in addition to other locations where congestion was and continues to be problematic including Derriford around the George junction interchange, Prince Rock, the top of Victoria Road at the junction with the A38 slip road, Manadon roundabout, Peverell junctions, Stoke Village and Transit Way.

This year in addition to those busy areas, traffic will be under severe pressure in Devonport due to extensive gas works

Although Plymouth City Council have made some improvements to Charles Cross roundabout, which has improved the flow of public transport around Charles Church we continue to work closely with the hard working Public Transport team at Plymouth City Council to find solutions to the other congestion areas in the city.
We hope that funding will be approved for the Prince Rock road improvements scheme, which if successfully delivered should see a substantial improvement in public transport operations.

However, the situation at the junction with Drake Circus and North Hill is now very serious. We continue to experience considerable delays to bus services on approach to the City Centre and on a large number of occasions have diverted services away from Drake Circus.

We understand that these changes implemented will cause some inconvenience. We apologise profusely but believe that if these alterations are not made it will be almost impossible to avoid a repeat of last years poor performance.

Over the Christmas period Plymouth Citybus will be conducting an extensive analysis to ascertain if our customers would wish the above services to return to the pre November 23rd operations when City Centre congestion levels have eased.

Plymouth Citybus would therefore welcome any comments in respect of the changes. Comments can be sent either by email to peter.oliver@plymouthbus.co.uk, or by post to: Peter Oliver, Commercial Manager, Plymouth Citybus, Milehouse, Plymouth. PL3 4AA.

Whilst we will be unable to respond to every letter and email we give a commitment that the comments received during the period of our analysis will be key factors when decisions are reached as to which services will return to pre 23rd November operations once traffic congestion around Drake Circus has been reduced.

Once again, Plymouth Citybus apologies for any inconvenience experienced and can only reiterate that these changes are what we feel, to be in the interest of our passengers.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our passengers and will be grateful for your response to our actions. All comments will be used to assist in our route analysis after the holiday period. 

 

What changes?

Last Christmas due to the immense success of the Drake Circus Shopping Mall Plymouth Citybus experienced severe operational difficulties. This was due to the natural increase in traffic and pedestrian flow in the vicinity of the precinct. On analysis, in order to avoid a repeat and in the interest of our passengers we have decided to implement the following changes to our network from the 23rd November 2008:

Service 23/D and Service 24. To change the inbound route of these services from Charles Cross roundabout to operate direct via Exeter Street Viaduct to Royal Parade using Derry’s Cross as the bus turn around point. Inbound services withdrawn from Charles Street, Mayflower Street, Western Approach and Union Street To change the outbound route of these services to operate from Exeter Street Viaduct via Charles Cross roundabout and Ebrington Street to Tothill Road as opposed to Exeter Street and Cattedown roundabout to Tothill Road. Outbound services withdrawn from Exeter Street
Service 21/A/X21, Service 51/A/D & Service 50/A. To change the inbound route of these services from Charles Cross roundabout to operate direct via Exeter Street Viaduct to Royal Parade using Derry’s Cross roundabout as the bus turn around point. Inbound services withdrawn from Charles Street, Mayflower Street, Western Approach and Union Street
Service 28/A/B Service 35 Service 61, Service 62/A. To change the inbound route of these services from Mutley Plain to operate from Mutley Plain via North Road East , Western Approach and Union Street to Royal Parade. Inbound services withdrawn from North Hill and Mayflower Street, no changes to outbound services.
Service 16/B. To change the inbound route of this service from North Cross Roundabout to operate direct via Western Approach and Union Street  to Royal Parade. Inbound service withdrawn from Mayflower Street Services 43, Service 43A, Service 43B & Service 29. To change the inbound route of these services from North Cross Roundabout to operate direct via Western Approach and Union Street  to Royal Parade. Services withdrawn from Coburg Street, Charles Street and Exeter Street Viaduct.

 

I am very impressed with Citybus for getting this information out in plenty of time and with such a detailed explanation why the changes are being made. Certainly anybody who has been into the City Centre knows the problems with traffic in the Drake Circus area. The maps shown above are being printed and will be displayed in bus stops all across the City which should help save any confusion although I believe that some of these re-routings already happen at times of severe congestion so many passengers will be aware of the routes already. The maps are nice and clear and easy to understand too which is always a bonus.
From a personal view point I prefer the new route of the 50 into town as most of the time Bretonside is my first port of call but I am probably not your average passenger! If it works and saves time and helps the buses keep closer to their timetables then it all has to be a good idea. Note that not all Citybus routes are being altered yet, I guess this is just hoping that a reduced number of buses in the area might help the remaining services get through?

86 / 118 confusion

It seems that there has been a great deal of confusion surrounding the loss of the 86 service from FDC.

What has been confirmed is that FDC will cease running the route on 26th September.

The route was then reverting to Tavistock - Barnstable and reverting to route number 118. It had been announced that Hookways had won the tender to operate the route. Certainly FDC drivers had been informed that it was Hookways. Hookways themselves received enquiries from passengers about the service - but they had not even submitted tenders to run the route!

It now seems that the route is being taken over by Beacon Bus, not Hookways. Beacon operate Optare Solos on a few other routes in North Devon so its highly likely they will appear on the 118 - at least they will be low floor buses.

Other news Ian Kirby provided as a comment to the last post - but repeated here as its more visible:

Stagecoach Devon X38 is diverted via Bittaford and Ivybridge from Monday and will be operated by low floor vehicles - three Tridents (made surplus from the X45)will move from Torquay to Exeter. The X38 also goes back to hourly which will be welcome.

Citybus Changes

From the 27th July 2008 Plymouth Citybus will be implementing a number of changes to its Network, these are:

Service 23/D & 24

due to ongoing problems accessing Charles Church from Ebrington Street these services are to be withdrawn from Ebrington Street and will instead operate between Mount Gould and the City Centre via Tothill Road and Exeter Street. It is anticipated that during periods of heavy traffic in Charles Street mainly on Saturdays that these services will operate to the City Centre from Charles Church via Exeter Street Viaduct instead of Mayflower Street. For a number of months now during busy periods Services 23 & 24 have been operating via Tothill Road instead of Ebrington Street.

Service 26

is to be withdrawn from the Devonport Torpoint Ferry Terminal and is to instead operate in Yellowtor and Latchbrook Saltash. Services that currently terminate at St Budeaux will instead terminate at the top of Pemros Road. Service 26 together with outbound Service 46/A, and inbound Service 47/A have been retimed to provide a bus every 10 minutes for most of the day through Devonport Plymouth. This retiming should greatly improve passenger journey times.

Services 29/D/S & Services 43/A/B

These Services from the 27th July 2008 are to operate to the City Centre from Saltash Road, via Cobourg Street, Charles Street, Exeter Street to Royal Parade. Passengers wishing to alight on Western Approach will be able to remain on the bus and alight on its outward journey.  Operating this route to Royal Parade is expected to improve reliability in terms of frequency gaps on Wolseley Road services, especially during peak hours Monday to Fridays. It is anticipated that on some Saturdays due to congestion on Cobourg Street caused by cars waiting to access the Drake Circus Car Park, that for brief periods of the day Services may need to operate via Western Approach to the City Centre.

Service 42/A/D

Service 42D is to be replaced with the Service 42. Service 42/A are to operate into the Derriford Business Park Monday to Saturday. Please note that due to ongoing problems with parking it is highly likely that these services will be withdrawn from Leatfield Drive in the not so distant future.

Service 46/A/S 146 and 246

are to be withdrawn from Mayflower Street and will instead approach the City Centre via Drake Circus and Exeter Street. Service 46/A will also now include the Tamar Science Park near Derriford Hospital.

Service 47/A

is to operate into the Tamar Science Park Monday to Saturdays. These services have been retimed to generally depart 5 minutes earlier and further compliment Service 26 in Devonport. These changes are to provide a bus every 10 minutes for most of the day between St Budeaux, HMS Drake Devonport to the City Centre Monday to Saturday daytime, with evening and Sunday Services operating every 30 minutes.

Service 56S and Service 85

Plymouth Citybus will no longer be operating Service 56S and Service 85 from the 27th  July 2008.

City Centre Services

During periods of heavy congestion in the Charles Street area of Plymouth which is generally on Saturdays between 11:00 & 14:00 usually due to traffic waiting to enter the Drake Circus Car Park. In order to maintain service reliability Services 21, 23,
24, 50/A & 51 may need to operate to the City Centre via Exeter Street Viaduct and not via Mayflower Street and Western Approach. Services 16, 29, 43/A/B may also need to operate via Western Approach instead of Charles Street to Royal Parade. Plymouth City Council has initiated a number of works which has significantly reduced the times we have needed to operate the diversion. It is hoped that further works will be completed to eliminate the need to operate the diversion.

Free Shopper Services

Plymouth Citybus will no longer be operating the free shopper services for Asda & Tesco with the last day of operation being Friday the 25th  July 2008. For Asda Plymouth Citybus operates Services 46/A, 47/A and the Service 50/A. Plymouth Citybus also operates a number of Services to Tesco Transit Way these are Services 26A,  29, 61 and the Service 62. 

Changes to School Services from the 1st September 2008

Plymouth Citybus will no longer be operating the following School Services Service 56S, SAL1, 2, & 4. Grammar School Service 122 is to be withdrawn from St Anne’s Chapel and will instead terminate at Kelly Bray.

It is interesting, and useful to see the 42 now going into Derriford Business Park. We are slowly seeing more buses down this estate which will only see more growth over the coming years. It can add to journey times though at peak times as traffic can take a while to get onto Tavistock Road from the estate. Cant see them picking anyone up on a Saturday though!

The 46/47 diversion into Tamar Science Park is interesting too. The current Northern Connect service also serves this estate - I have only ever seen one passenger catch the bus from there. At least it will only add a minute or two to the journey time.

Plymouth Bus Routes: 50

Something I have been wanting to do for some time is to look more closely at some of the bus routes across Plymouth. I have a good ides of what I want to do, and this map below is fairly close to what I want, or at least some features are there!

 

This is the main line of Plymouth Citybus 50 from Derriford Hospital to Royal Parade. It comes in at just over 9 miles and drops down from 400 feet to just above sea level and one point. I could see that Keswick Crescent is the steepest section (I live at the bottom of the dip at 2 miles so I have a right to feel knackered walking up that hill every day).

For a closer look at the map above click here

You can run your mouse along the elevation graph to show exactly where you are on the route which highlights where the hills are.

You may be able to view the map in Route Editor View (I am not sure if this is available to general view) where you can zoom in and out a bit better, or you can look at it in Google Earth. One little fact that I did pick up was that if I was to attempt to run the route I use up 2485 calories! Don't think I will bother with that!

 

I am still trying out other mapping sites, and even looking at creating my own once I work out how to create the elevation graphs myself

South East Cornwall Route News

Residents and tourists in South East Cornwall can now enjoy improved transport links between the coastal communities of Polruan, Polperro, Looe, Seaton and Downderry, thanks to a new bus service run by a local operator.A coastal service between Looe, Polperro and Polruan run by Polruan Bus was withdrawn at short notice before the summer of 2006 and no local operator could be found to run a replacement. But following public requests to reinstate a coastal service, and with the reduction of the First service 81 to Looe, the route became more attractive and the tender to operate it was won by Liskeard and District Omnibus Company.

RIP the 17

No buses out today as far as I know so start the year with a route which never made it into 2006! D513HUB is seen on the last day of service of route 17 from the City Centre to Glenholt. It was always a good route in that First would put just about anything on it - even more so than any of the low floor routes. To be fair to FDC there were hardly any passengers on it whenever I used the service so I am not surprised its going. The fact that Citybus are taking on the other withdrawn routes but not this one does confirm this lack of usage.
D513HUB is one of the Olympians with bodywork built by Optare very shortly after they took over from Roe, and is to the old Roe design. The body number is 28 so it is very early Optare product! New to Yorkshire Rider as 5513 in Feb 1987. It found its way to First Western National back in April 2000 with its sister D514HUB.
As can be seen 34713 is one of the scruffier buses in the fleet at the moment, especially when compared to sister 34714 which was posted to this blog back on 19th September.
didbygraham