Trivia: Britain's Strangest Bus Routes

[MotCO]

Are you sure it's not just 1 in every 5 Saturdays as opposed to the literal 5th Saturday in any month? Otherwise that's pretty weird...

EDIT: Ignore me, I've just looked out of the timetable. Very weird indeed!

One has to ask, why? Does it link it to a tourist attraction which only opens infrequently, or does it fill a void when another bus does not operate?

 

[backontrack]

The Stagecoach X9 in Cumbria. It takes students from West Cumbria to Newton Rigg College near Penrith and back. One bus in each direction on weekdays.

Asby-Rowrah-Arlecdon-Frizington-Wath Brow-Cleator Moor-Hensingham-Whitehaven-Distington-Lilyhall-Workington-Stainburn-Great Clifton-Cockermouth Aldi-Cockermouth Moor-Portinscale-Keswick-Threlkeld-Penruddock-Motherby-Greystoke-Newbiggin-Newton Rigg

The return ends at Frizington.

 

[carlberry]

One has to ask, why? Does it link it to a tourist attraction which only opens infrequently, or does it fill a void when another bus does not operate?

Tavistock Country Bus 112 is scheduled to operate only every fifth Saturday from April to September only. Of course so few months actually have a fifth Saturday it would have only ran two journeys in 2020.

It's more a question of giving it/potential passengers something to do. It operates each Saturday to a different destination with the first and second Saturdays running March to December and the 3rd, 4th and 5th being April to September so most of it's operation could be called 'strange'!

 

[M28361M]

There's a Merseytravel tendered 201 Speke-Royal Liverpool Hospital think this operates everyday of the year including Christmas Day, but only 3 journeys in each direction, was operated by Halton Transport but now Arriva since Halton went under

One oddity of that route now is that it is operated using ArrivaClick minibuses fitted with ticket machines to operate as normal buses.

There was also the now-withdrawn 801 which did two return trips on Sundays only, from the Royal Hospital to Springwood Crematorium. The rather morbid joke among some bus enthusiasts was that the normal way to do that journey would be in the back of a hearse...

 

[markymark2000]

Routes which I find strange in Merseyside is all the work buses. Quite a few buses to get people to work but they don't run the return trips so people then have to use completely different buses later on to get home. Think like the 881, it duplicates Arrivas commercial 81 to get workers into Jaguar Land Rover (Gets them in 30 mins earlier because Arriva has a lot of padding in the timetable). This bus then doesn't return to get people home so people end up having to use the Arriva bus anyway.

Another one is the 800 and 838. Speke to Seaforth. Anyone travelling into the city has commercial alternatives at the same or similar times. IT then runs up to Seaforth port. How do people get home I hear you ask.... Using the commercial buses and changing in Liverpool.

What is the point in worklink buses if they are firstly duplicated in large part by commercial routes (just give deminims money to the operator of the commercial route) and/or they don't actually get the workers home. The only worklink buses in Merseyside which make sense are the 898 and 899 (as they run all day and the 898 runs every day so it's half useful to workers)

 

[Statto]

Back in the day Crosville used to have a route F89 Woodside-Cranage Hospital in Winsford that only operated one journey each way on the 4th Saturday of the month, operated until the early 90s.

 

[MotCO]

Back in the day Crosville used to have a route F89 Woodside-Cranage Hospital in Winsford that only operated one journey each way on the 4th Saturday of the month, operated until the early 90s.

Many routes in London would be extended on a Sunday to serve psychiatric hospitals on the fringes of London until the 1970s or so. For example, the 88 would be extended from Mitcham to Banstead Hospital. The routes would link the main boroughs from which the patients originated (Westminster in the case of the 88).

 

[Statto]

Many routes in London would be extended on a Sunday to serve psychiatric hospitals on the fringes of London until the 1970s or so. For example, the 88 would be extended from Mitcham to Banstead Hospital. The routes would link the main boroughs from which the patients originated (Westminster in the case of the 88).

Not just hospitals, loads of routes were extended on Sundays to cover for other routes too

In the 90s, the 9, Mortlake-Aldwych/Liverpool Street was a strange one,, it was split when the Hammersmith Bridge had weight restrictions imposed, 9A[Mortlake-Kensington] introduced to cover Mortlake section now 209, 9A had midibuses introduced, [as did every other route over Hammersmith Bridge], but Sundays the 9 operated Aldwych-Mortlake but because of that weight restrictions, the 9 had midibuses allocated, totally unsuitable for such a busy route.

 

[Geordie driver]

Routes which I find strange in Merseyside is all the work buses. Quite a few buses to get people to work but they don't run the return trips so people then have to use completely different buses later on to get home. Think like the 881, it duplicates Arrivas commercial 81 to get workers into Jaguar Land Rover (Gets them in 30 mins earlier because Arriva has a lot of padding in the timetable). This bus then doesn't return to get people home so people end up having to use the Arriva bus anyway.

Another one is the 800 and 838. Speke to Seaforth. Anyone travelling into the city has commercial alternatives at the same or similar times. IT then runs up to Seaforth port. How do people get home I hear you ask.... Using the commercial buses and changing in Liverpool.

What is the point in worklink buses if they are firstly duplicated in large part by commercial routes (just give deminims money to the operator of the commercial route) and/or they don't actually get the workers home. The only worklink buses in Merseyside which make sense are the 898 and 899 (as they run all day and the 898 runs every day so it's half useful to workers)

I used to be on a works rota, many of the very early 5am buses were for cleaners working in the city, there was no need for a return journey as by the time they finished normal services were working . 4.30 am start and a split shift so you often didn't finish until well after 4pm. No wonder I left.

 

[MotCO]

Not just hospitals, loads of routes were extended on Sundays to cover for other routes too

In the 90s, the 9, Mortlake-Aldwych/Liverpool Street was a strange one,, it was split when the Hammersmith Bridge had weight restrictions imposed, 9A[Mortlake-Kensington] introduced to cover Mortlake section now 209, 9A had midibuses introduced, [as did every other route over Hammersmith Bridge], but Sundays the 9 operated Aldwych-Mortlake but because of that weight restrictions, the 9 had midibuses allocated, totally unsuitable for such a busy route.

I agree, but the point I was trying to make was that these Sunday extensions went to destinations not usually served; Banstead Hospital was not served by any other buses, just the 88 when extended on Sundays to take visitors to see the patients.

 

[markymark2000]

I used to be on a works rota, many of the very early 5am buses were for cleaners working in the city, there was no need for a return journey as by the time they finished normal services were working . 4.30 am start and a split shift so you often didn't finish until well after 4pm. No wonder I left.

The routes I mentioned all have commercial services at the same or similar times and therefore don't provide any specific benefit. I think once upon a time the work links were the first buses but now, they aren't. Some of them run at 8am.

 

[carlberry]

Routes which I find strange in Merseyside is all the work buses. Quite a few buses to get people to work but they don't run the return trips so people then have to use completely different buses later on to get home. Think like the 881, it duplicates Arrivas commercial 81 to get workers into Jaguar Land Rover (Gets them in 30 mins earlier because Arriva has a lot of padding in the timetable). This bus then doesn't return to get people home so people end up having to use the Arriva bus anyway.

Another one is the 800 and 838. Speke to Seaforth. Anyone travelling into the city has commercial alternatives at the same or similar times. IT then runs up to Seaforth port. How do people get home I hear you ask.... Using the commercial buses and changing in Liverpool.

What is the point in worklink buses if they are firstly duplicated in large part by commercial routes (just give deminims money to the operator of the commercial route) and/or they don't actually get the workers home. The only worklink buses in Merseyside which make sense are the 898 and 899 (as they run all day and the 898 runs every day so it's half useful to workers)

The AM peak is usually the busiest so keeping major flows off of other services is useful, however the major reason could be that it give a more guaranteed departure time. If you have a guaranteed through bus without changing you can plan when to get up and when you're likely to get there. Otherwise you're left with adding on a safety margin or just risking being late because of missed connections. Coming back it's your time. I'm sure the Jaguar workers are fairly glad of the additional 10 hours a month in bed they get as well.

 

[Busaholic]

Many routes in London would be extended on a Sunday to serve psychiatric hospitals on the fringes of London until the 1970s or so. For example, the 88 would be extended from Mitcham to Banstead Hospital. The routes would link the main boroughs from which the patients originated (Westminster in the case of the 88).

In my neck of the woods, the circular 132 had a special, non-circular service to Bexley Hospital on Sunday afternoons, later replaced by the Sunday only 124A.

 

[RHolmes]

What is the point in worklink buses if they are firstly duplicated in large part by commercial routes (just give deminims money to the operator of the commercial route) and/or they don't actually get the workers home. The only worklink buses in Merseyside which make sense are the 898 and 899 (as they run all day and the 898 runs every day so it's half useful to workers)

Merseytravel used to be absolutely terrible for this

The 838 at one point was operated by Stagecoach Merseyside who pulled out of the areas the route served such as Halewood and Bellevale to avoid competition with Arriva, this prevented the use of day/weekly tickets

Another example I can think of is the 192 route which mon-fri was operated by Stagecoach in the morning, Arriva/HTL at nights and in the middle of the day you had to catch either the 193/89 and change at Huyton for 217 operated by Cumfybus/Arriva and Stagecoach

 

[PeterC]

One has to ask, why? Does it link it to a tourist attraction which only opens infrequently, or does it fill a void when another bus does not operate?

Don't know about that one but I have seen timetables elsewhere where a group of villages has a service to a different centre each Saturday included one that only gets the 5th Saturday in the month.

 

[TheSel]

Crosville's former R40 (later R41) ran up the Private Road to Stwlan Dam until about 1986 - the driver being given the key to the gate at the bottom of the gated road.







And the terminus of the R13 at Morfa Bychan could hardly have been more coastal before the council decided to restrict beach access.



Southport Corporation used to run services between Ainsdale and Birkdale along the beach, but that's before my time as a transport photographer. Plenty info on line through, about the former War Department Bedford QLs used on the service.

 

[Journeyman]

969 bus route. Runs only six times a week which is very unusual for a TfL route.

Is that the last surviving Mobility Bus?

 

[Journeyman]

I was in Barra about ten years ago, which had a monstrously complicated bus timetable with more footnotes than I've ever seen, mainly related to tides. It was so complicated that we missed our bus to get to the ferry to South Uist, and there followed a somewhat comical/farcical taxi journey across the island, where we reached the ferry with seconds to spare.

 

[ANDREW_D_WEBB]

Is that the last surviving Mobility Bus?

Yes, last of the Mobility Buses. Efforts to withdraw it always seem to get deferred.

At the current time it is the only TfL bus route to run a normal timetable unaltered by the Covid 19 changes.

 

[matt_world2004]

Yes, last of the Mobility Buses. Efforts to withdraw it always seem to get deferred.

At the current time it is the only TfL bus route to run a normal timetable unaltered by the Covid 19 changes.

611 is still running a normal timetable unchanged despite being a school bus.

 

[Statto]

Speaking of London school routes, doesn't one of the school routes route [603 i think] have a return am working, which is unusual as it's going away from a school?

 

[markymark2000]

The AM peak is usually the busiest so keeping major flows off of other services is useful, however the major reason could be that it give a more guaranteed departure time. If you have a guaranteed through bus without changing you can plan when to get up and when you're likely to get there. Otherwise you're left with adding on a safety margin or just risking being late because of missed connections. Coming back it's your time. I'm sure the Jaguar workers are fairly glad of the additional 10 hours a month in bed they get as well.

If Arriva was given a chance with these passengers though, I am sure they would do their best to guarantee a departure time to get into work. Don't pay Stagecoach and put 1/2 the money into Arriva and say 'put less padding in the timetable and get these people to work'.

 

[scotrail158713]

Speaking of London school routes, doesn't one of the school routes route [603 i think] have a return am working, which is unusual as it's going away from a school?

East Coast Buses have a similar service with the 125. It’s a school day service, but after arriving at North Berwick HS around 0815(ish) it then does a return service to Musselburgh - leaving at 0835.

 

[matt_world2004]

Speaking of London school routes, doesn't one of the school routes route [603 i think] have a return am working, which is unusual as it's going away from a school?

If the full route that it is crosslinked with is near the beginning of the route/ it's garage is at the beginnin of the route It's probably more cost effective to do a return working than to run out of service back to base. Even if it only picks up one or two passengers that's £1.50 more revenue than they would have otherwise got for a similar running time.

 

[Dai Corner]

The soon to disappear (for good?) Stagecoach West Severn Express has one morning journey originating at the village of Magor and one evening journey terminating there. All the others avoid Magor and operate to/from Newport instead.

 

[MotCO]

And the terminus of the R13 at Morfa Bychan could hardly have been more coastal before the council decided to restrict beach access.

View attachment 77400

Did the bus ever get stuck on the sands? That would be an interesting explanation for late running!

 

[MotCO]

Crosville's former R40 (later R41) ran up the Private Road to Stwlan Dam until about 1986 - the driver being given the key to the gate at the bottom of the gated road.

That remnds me of the bus service from Exmouth to Sandy Bay Holiday Camp when the bus used to run into the camp and terminate there. This was back in the 1960's - I think it is now called Devon Cliffes Holiday Park. Do any other routes enter a holiday camp?

 

[daodao]

When I worked in Derby many years ago, I caught a Trent bus to Kedleston Hall and back one summer Sunday; I think it was route 109. There is still a diversion (in normal times) into Kedleston Hall for 1 journey in each direction on summer Saturdays on the Derby-Hulland Ward-Ashbourne route (currently service 114 run by High Peak).
At one time, Bakers extended service 27 (Macclesfield to Knutsford) into Tatton Park on summer Saturdays and Sundays, presumably subsidised by Cheshire CC. It entered the park from the Knutsford end via the archway, and great care was required as this entrance is very narrow.

 

[David Burrows]

That remnds me of the bus service from Exmouth to Sandy Bay Holiday Camp when the bus used to run into the camp and terminate there. This was back in the 1960's - I think it is now called Devon Cliffes Holiday Park. Do any other routes enter a holiday camp?

Stagecoach 56a runs hourly into the middle of South View Park, an enormous caravan/'mobile' home site on the outskirts of Skegness.

 

[PeterC]

Passengers on the bus service onto Foulness Island (Stevensons route 14) require an MOD permit.