Yourbus Citylink withdrawn

Yourbus has announced its intention to fully withdraw its Citylink service between Nottingham and Derby from 27th July 2014. The service, first introduced in January 2013, has had many frequency and timetable alterations since its inception, including the addition of several new stops. Originally buses ran every ten minutes Nottingham to Derby direct calling at just Upper Parliament Street and QMC before travelling direct down the A52 to Derby.

Pressure from Broxtowe Mayor Stan Heptinstall led to new stops at Bramcote Leisure Centre and The Nurseryman being introduced in April 2013 but then over the summer the frequency was halved to every twenty minutes, and weekend night buses were withdrawn. From then frequent timetable alterations saw new stops added at Priory Island, University North Entrance and most recently Savoy Cinema, and the evening service was also curtailed with earlier last buses.

Loadings on the service have been variable, due in part to unreliability caused by traffic congestion on the A52. However, the operation of the service has left something to be desired, with more late buses and cancellations than might be expected. In particular, the hourly evening service, which runs with just one bus, has been especially unreliable, with the 1015 or 1115 from Nottingham and its associated return working from Derby often cancelled at short notice, leaving passengers with no option but to wait an hour for the arrival of the next bus. It is possible that this situation forced the withdrawal of the last two evening buses earlier this year, because to operate an additional bus would have raised costs substantially.

I have seen buses running completely empty, or with only yourbus employees on, but at the same time I have personally travelled on vehicles when they were full and standing, so there clearly is demand for the service. Trent Barton’s Red Arrow is a testament to this, but the service offered by yourbus clearly could not tempt enough people, either from the Red Arrow or out of their cars. Whether or not there is enough demand to sustain any kind of slower, cheaper service via the A52 remains to be seen, but yourbus are clearly exiting the market, transferring the four vehicles to the Y1 for its new extensions to Alfreton and Eastwood. Due to driver shortages the Citylink has seen extremely poor reliability in the recent past, with an unadvertised Sunday service operating last Saturday, and it is clear to see that the route has been firmly abandoned.

Sadly I will be unable to travel on the final journey, but just as the buses appeared with very little hype almost a year and a half ago, they will disappear, and soon there will be no trace left, leaving Bramcote with just the i4 and the 21, the situation we faced several years ago before the “Nottingham Bus War” began. Stan Heptinstall has asked Trent Barton about the possibility of a stop in Bramcote for the Red Arrow, but received a firm and resounding no. Information about this is available here, on the Bramcote Today website. Maybe in the future another operator will revisit this route, but for now, we wave goodbye to the Citylink.