Network-wide bus changes to take effect next month

Network-wide changes to bus routes and timetables in and around Nottingham will come into force next month.

Nottingham City Transport (NCT) said for most services, there would be changes - but added there were some withdrawals "where customer numbers are too low" from 21 June, with a full list included on the company's website.

NCT also cited improvements including daytime services between Clifton and Ruddington going from hourly to every 30 minutes, while a direct service will also be in place between Ruddington and West Bridgford town centre.

David Conway, NCT head of operations, said the company had been dealing with "a combination of higher costs and fewer people travelling".

NCT said various routes would have fewer buses running before 09:00 on Saturdays and in the evenings, which it said "can reduce costs and keep the busier daytime service running".

Some routes - including the Blue 40, Green 11, Lilac 24, Navy 3 and 3A; Purple 88 and Turquoise 79A - will see parts of their routes replaced, with some stops changed to other services.

The Green 11 will be changed to a Meadows and Lady Bay service "to improve reliability", with the Cropwell Bishop extension moved to a new route.

NCT said it "has never fully recovered since the pandemic", with one in 10 fewer passengers each year since Covid "because of the increase in home working, hybrid working and online shopping".

A review of services found some routes "just aren't carrying enough people to cover the basic costs of running them", with roadworks in Nottingham and last year's increase in the bus fare price cap in England cited as other factors affecting passenger numbers in some areas.

A spokesperson added: "Like your personal bills and expenses, NCT is paying more now for most items than it did last year and that was before the spike in fuel and energy prices caused by recent global events.

"We're largely protected from this spike (for now) because of fixed price deals we negotiated beforehand, but the cost of insurance, business taxation, bus parts and our people have increased."

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