Trivia: Free bus routes in the UK

[Deerfold]

Which is what I said.

You said you'd paid to park your car. Most are per passenger, whether you've parked a car or not. A handful just charge for parking, a few charge both separately.

 

[danm14]

Ulsterbus 341 and Foyle Metro 2d - the shuttle buses between the city centre and railway station in Newry and Londonderry, respectively.

 

[artemic]

The 1, 2 and 3 in Manchester (they tour the city centre - I think that's what the OP referred to) and Bolton used to have one, think it still does but never used it.

Also a cheeky one, all those buses that take you from the plane to the terminal!

Edit; is the bus to Cape Wrath free as you would have to have paid for the ferry to get to it??

All of the Metroshuttles (Stockport [April 2019], Bolton [April 2021] and Oldham [seems to have fizzled out quietly? No idea when]) have been axed over the last few years.
Only the 1/2/3 free bus remains in The City as you say

 

[vla50]

Of course not now, but during a certain phase London routes 12, 18, 25, 29, 38, 73, 149, 207, 436, 453, 507 & 521 could have been considered “free”

 

[Busaholic]

Of course not now, but during a certain phase London routes 12, 18, 25, 29, 38, 73, 149, 207, 436, 453, 507 & 521 could have been considered “free”

Not if you got caught - I was on a 73 'raided' by three inspectors backed up by numerous police and PCSOs on Park Lane once - fifteen minute delay and two people taken off the bus for further questioning.

 

[zero]

Of course not now, but during a certain phase London routes 12, 18, 25, 29, 38, 73, 149, 207, 436, 453, 507 & 521 could have been considered “free”

During a certain (covid) phase all London buses were free - April to May 2020

And if you commit fraud (see thread on Ensignbus) certain buses accepting contactless are free, or 10p.

 

[Adtrainsam]

Route 288 - Maldon Town Circular

 

[lyndhurst25]

Wasdale shuttle bus. I used it between Wasdale Head and Ravenglass a coupe of weeks back (R&ER Ravenglass to Irton Road, walk to Wasdale head, free bus to get back - very handy).

Wasdale shuttlebus

Hop on the Wasdale shuttlebus and make your visit to Wasdale hassle-free.

www.lakedistrict.gov.uk

 

[StretfordEnd96]

All of the Metroshuttles (Stockport [April 2019], Bolton [April 2021] and Oldham [seems to have fizzled out quietly? No idea when]) have been axed over the last few years.
Only the 1/2/3 free bus remains in The City as you say

The Oldham one wasn't 'axed' - it was only ever a temporary arrangement in 2014 during when there was a temporary Tram Stop at Oldham Mumps before the Metrolink actually went through the town centre. It linked the town centre with the tram stop around a 15 minute walk away.

The shuffle was withdrawn, as all originally agreed, when the Metrolink running right through the town centre was opened with stops at King Street, Mumps, Central etc.

 

[MrKyleBuses]

The P1 & P2 services operating to 2 Park & Ride sites in Stirling at both free to travel on. These services operated by Hunters Executive Coaches.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

All of the Metroshuttles (Stockport [April 2019], Bolton [April 2021] and Oldham [seems to have fizzled out quietly? No idea when]) have been axed over the last few years.
Only the 1/2/3 free bus remains in The City as you say

West Yorkshire seems to have done better at keeping most of the free town/city buses than Greater Manchester has- probably because it is more "polycentric" than GM. Although it isn't quite as cut and dried as it seems:
Leeds stopped being free after a few years, not sure if there's currently a service that does a simple loop of the city centre. Bradford's stopped when Ladies Only Travel went under, Wakefield still runs. Huddersfield and Dewsbury still have theirs, but Halifax (which probably needs it more than others due to the topography) I think was the first one to go.

 

[Deerfold]

West Yorkshire seems to have done better at keeping most of the free town/city buses than Greater Manchester has- probably because it is more "polycentric" than GM. Although it isn't quite as cut and dried as it seems:
Leeds stopped being free after a few years, not sure if there's currently a service that does a simple loop of the city centre. Bradford's stopped when Ladies Only Travel went under, Wakefield still runs. Huddersfield and Dewsbury still have theirs, but Halifax (which probably needs it more than others due to the topography) I think was the first one to go.

Several of the West Yorkshire ones have already been discussed in this thread. Bradford stopped being free, then dropped to half hourly, then LOT disappeared.
Leeds stopped being fee, but was initially useable with a rail ticket or any operator bus ticket but after that stopped, they transferred the loop onto the end of route 5. This still does the loop, but seems to be very poorly advertised. https://bustimes.org/services/5-halton-moor-leeds-circular#map

Halifax never had a free bus. In the mid to late 90s it had a loop run by Arriva 8 times an hour - this was used more by people travelling from the station than to the station - I think this led to changes in the allocation of money from Metrocards as they were allocated to bus route irrespective of the length of the route and it made a small fortune from passengers with Metrocards. More recently (from 1996 to 2020) it had a service (600) run by Walsh until they gave up operations - this came from Ovenden, did a loop of the town centre, including serving the Rail Station and then back to Ovenden. The 600 dropped in frequency to every 15 minutes in 2018.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Halifax never had a free bus. In the mid to late 90s it had a loop run by Arriva 8 times an hour - this was used more by people travelling from the station than to the station - I think this led to changes in the allocation of money from Metrocards as they were allocated to bus route irrespective of the length of the route and it made a small fortune from passengers with Metrocards. More recently (from 1996 to 2020) it had a service (600) run by Walsh until they gave up operations - this came from Ovenden, did a loop of the town centre, including serving the Rail Station and then back to Ovenden. The 600 dropped in frequency to every 15 minutes in 2018.

Apologies- I've probably been corrected on this multiple times! I could have sworn I'd seen a Solo in the Metro FTB livery in Halifax, but given how haphazard Centrebus Holdings were with their allocations it could easily have been one liveried up for Huddersfield but working a regular Centrebus service.

It's odd that Halifax never had one, given how hilly it is, and how distant the station is from everything compared to Huddersfield town centre which by comparison is as flat as a pancake!

Presumably a lack of support from Calderdale Council?

 

[Andyh82]

Apologies- I've probably been corrected on this multiple times! I could have sworn I'd seen a Solo in the Metro FTB livery in Halifax, but given how haphazard Centrebus Holdings were with their allocations it could easily have been one liveried up for Huddersfield but working a regular Centrebus service.

It's odd that Halifax never had one, given how hilly it is, and how distant the station is from everything compared to Huddersfield town centre which by comparison is as flat as a pancake!

Presumably a lack of support from Calderdale Council?

That and probably a lack of need. People of Halifax are probably perfectly able to walk to/from the railway station should they want to catch the train. Catching the train involves a downhill walk, and on return by the time you waited for a bus in 5/10 minutes, you’d probably be already where you want to be

As part of the ‘Calderdale Next Chapter’ Market Street is planned to be pedestrianised and as a result buses will pass the end of the station approach using the ‘bottom road’ as they circle the town centre

 

[Deerfold]

Apologies- I've probably been corrected on this multiple times! I could have sworn I'd seen a Solo in the Metro FTB livery in Halifax, but given how haphazard Centrebus Holdings were with their allocations it could easily have been one liveried up for Huddersfield but working a regular Centrebus service.

It's odd that Halifax never had one, given how hilly it is, and how distant the station is from everything compared to Huddersfield town centre which by comparison is as flat as a pancake!

Presumably a lack of support from Calderdale Council?

I suspect the reason there was never a free Halifax bus was that there were always bus links to the station (though few people knew of the 600 and the bus stop at the station was often blocked by badly parked vehicles) so any FTB could be argued as barging in on the operator already running a similar service.

Actually, technically there was a free Halifax bus - the C68, funded by Sainsbury's. This started at the bus station and finished at Sainsburys, serving no other stops. The walk from the bus station to Sainsbury's is around 4 minutes. The bus stop for Sainsbury's was about as far from the entrance as it cound have been whilst still being on Sainsbury's land. You'd pass it walking from the bus station and still have about 90 seconds to go. The bus took 4 minutes and ran every 10.
This was run by a variety of operators, latterly Walsh. I think it lasted until 2020.

That and probably a lack of need. People of Halifax are probably perfectly able to walk to/from the railway station should they want to catch the train. Catching the train involves a downhill walk, and on return by the time you waited for a bus in 5/10 minutes, you’d probably be already where you want to be

As part of the ‘Calderdale Next Chapter’ Market Street is planned to be pedestrianised and as a result buses will pass the end of the station approach using the ‘bottom road’ as they circle the town centre

When the Arriva service ran, there were 8 an hour, effectively meeting every train in both directions. Leaving the station in the peak it was often standing room only on the minibuses used on the service. A popular stop was on Horton Street, just before Commercial Street. This would be impossible now, as that road is now downward only.
Going downhill, it was much less popular.

As part of the ‘Calderdale Next Chapter’ Market Street is planned to be pedestrianised and as a result buses will pass the end of the station approach using the ‘bottom road’ as they circle the town centre

That should make life a lot harder for the infirm - I know several older people who take less frequent buses that stop on Market Street rather than more frequent ones that usually serve the bus station.

 

[LUYMun]

There is an additional free bus route has been running for a number of years, albeit with little publicity. Numbered the 801, it runs a town circular on the second Saturday of each month, alongside an extended trip each way from and to Ware via Hertford, utilising a preserved RT bus. It has been operating since prior 2015.

Stevenage Farmers Market free bus offer could be the route to extra customers

With County Hall cutbacks which will reduce bus services kicking in this week, the volunteer-run Stevenage Farmers’ Market is aiming to redress…

www.thecomet.net

With County Hall cutbacks which will reduce bus services kicking in this week, the volunteer-run Stevenage Farmers’ Market is aiming to redress the balance.

The not-for-profit organisation already provides a free classic bus service between the High Street and the bus station during its monthly market.

And now it has gone a step further by offering a free journey on each market day from Ware, Hertford, Waterford, Stapleford, Watton at Stone and Bragbury End to Stevenage.

The service will then run between the market and the bus station from 10am to 2pm during the market as before, with the 1950-vintage Green Line RT double-decker returning travellers to the villages and towns after the market as per the inward journey.

The classic vehicle is owned and operated by Chris Wills, a former RT driver for London Country at Stevenage bus garage in the 1970s.

The High Street market runs from 10am and 2pm on Saturday.

For more information and a full bus timetable visit www.stevenagefarmersmarket.com

 

[Redgown]

The university of York pay for a free bus (UB1) around the campus, operated by first York

 

[Simon75]

Sheffield has/had one years ago

 

[SteveyBee131]

Sheffield has/had one years ago

I remember it well. It was called the FreeBee, run by TM Travel. It started out with new 57-plate Optare Solos, but due to it's popularity they were soon swapped out for 08-plate Plaxton Centro bodied something-or-others. Alas, whatever you run it with, a free bus needs funding from somewhere, and when the PTE said no the FreeBee quietly disappeared.

 

[Deerfold]

I remember it well. It was called the FreeBee, run by TM Travel. It started out with new 57-plate Optare Solos, but due to it's popularity they were soon swapped out for 08-plate Plaxton Centro bodied something-or-others. Alas, whatever you run it with, a free bus needs funding from somewhere, and when the PTE said no the FreeBee quietly disappeared.

It also had a free service around Sheffield in 1979 (the City Clipper) and then between Sheffield and Meadowhall, both using artics.

 

[MotCO]

All buses on route 23A to Imber are free! Although it only operates one day a year, I believe it is registered as a proper bus service. It is free, but donations for the charity of the year are welcomed.

 

[markymark2000]

Sheffield has/had one years ago

I remember it well. It was called the FreeBee, run by TM Travel. It started out with new 57-plate Optare Solos, but due to it's popularity they were soon swapped out for 08-plate Plaxton Centro bodied something-or-others. Alas, whatever you run it with, a free bus needs funding from somewhere, and when the PTE said no the FreeBee quietly disappeared.

Sheffield has been reintroduced a fortnight ago. Ran by South Pennine Community Transport, funded by the PTE

 

[Cesarcollie]

All buses on route 23A to Imber are free! Although it only operates one day a year, I believe it is registered as a proper bus service. It is free, but donations for the charity of the year are welcomed.

No it isn’t free! Fares are charged! £10 day ticket for adults or £1 child. Also local fares available. All monies go to charity, however. The abandoned village of Imber is fascinating and the bus operation impressive. Highly recommended, excellent value, and it‘s next Saturday (20th August).

 

[Eyersey468]

Does the free bus that used to run from the Red Jet terminal in Southampton still run?

 

[dodecahedron67]

The university of York pay for a free bus (UB1) around the campus, operated by first York

Technically it's not fully free as there's a 1.50 single or £2 return charge if you're using it from Grimston Bar P&R. No equivalent fare from campus to grimston (no idea why!) Whether or not this is charged is another matter

 

[markymark2000]

Does the free bus that used to run from the Red Jet terminal in Southampton still run?

Free to Red Funnel ticket holders, passengers with through rail or National Express coach tickets to/from East Cowes or West Cowes. Otherwise, a flat fare of just £2 applies for a return journey.

 

[Eyersey468]

Free to Red Funnel ticket holders, passengers with through rail or National Express coach tickets to/from East Cowes or West Cowes. Otherwise, a flat fare of just £2 applies for a return journey.

Thanks, from memory it used to be free for everyone 20 ish years ago

 

[Deerfold]

Sheffield has been reintroduced a fortnight ago. Ran by South Pennine Community Transport, funded by the PTE

But, as per your attachment, £1 if you don't have a train, tram or bus ticket to Sheffield already (or ENTCS or local under-21 pass).

 

[markymark2000]

But, as per your attachment, £1 if you don't have a train, tram or bus ticket to Sheffield already (or ENTCS or local under-21 pass).

True. It's free for many though.

 

[Trackman]

The 1, 2 and 3 in Manchester (they tour the city centre - I think that's what the OP referred to) and Bolton used to have one, think it still does but never used it.

The Bolton one I travelled on once when the new Interchange was built. I've just google the number, it was the 500 and the service was withdrawn last year.

--
Also I think Asda buses that still run are not free these days. .. if they count.