Eleven new bus services will be rolled out next year – and nine will be improved – thanks to £1.7m of funding.
Westmorland & Furness Council received £1.7 million of Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus (BSIP+) funding from the Department for Transport to support bus services across the area in 2024/25 for up to a year. The short-term funding aims to create a commercially viable network of self-sustaining bus routes.
From next spring, the 11 new routes will be in operation – and the authority said they directly address the needs raised by 2,000 people in a consultation.
The funding will also keep nine existing bus services running until November 2025 which were originally restored or enhanced earlier this year by the council.
An enhancement to the 105 Greystoke service will see the highly requested North Lakes Primary School bus route reinstated, providing children and young people with a reliable way to travel home.
Improvements to the frequency and timings of services will also be introduced right across the areas of Eden, Furness and South Lakeland.
The 10 new services are:
- 1 Barrow Biggar Bank – Hospital – doubling the daytime frequency from hourly to every 30 minutes
- 2/4 Barrow Westshore – Holbeck Park – later journeys from 7:15pm to 11:15pm
- 3 Barrow Newbarns – Ormsgill – doubling the daytime frequency to every 30 minutes.
- 11 Ulverston – Barrow via Coast Road – new twice a day Friday service and an extra return journey on a Tuesday to bring the level of service in line with other days providing better access to local services for residents and local camp sites
- 105 Greystoke – Penrith – new Monday to Saturday service improving links from villages the West of Penrith, Shap, Penrith Town Service and North Lakes School bus
- 555 Kendal – Grasmere – introducing later trips on a Monday and a Thursday and running the last bus one amenities later to improve return journeys
- 561 Appleby – Kendal – new Wednesday direct service
- 563 Kirkby Stephen – Appleby – Penrith – enhanced current off-peak service with extra journeys including peak times for work and education
- X5 Penrith – Keswick – Cockermouth – Workington – introducing an hourly Summer Saturday service through winter enhancing the current commercially operated two-hourly service
- X12 Coniston – Ulverston – new Saturday service introducing four trips per day.
The nine council-funded routes that will be maintained until November 2025 are:
- 6 Barrow to Windemere – additional journey on a Sunday morning and late evening service improving access to employment in the central Lakes and late return
- 40 Kendal Town – hourly Sunday service improving access across Kendal
- 104 Penrith – Carlisle – doubling the frequency of the current Monday to Saturday service to every 30 minutes
- 530 Cartmel to Kendal – Monday to Friday service four times a day
- 532 Cartmel to Grange – Monday to Friday service five times a day
- 552 (Carnforth) Arnside to Kendal – Two journeys a day on a Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday enhancing the commercial Monday, Wednesday, and Friday service
- 597 Windermere Town Service – Friday morning service every 30 minutes
- 680A Alston – Carlisle – one trip a day on a Monday and Wednesday with the introduction of a new start point from Garigill instead of Nenthead every week
- X4/5 Penrith – Keswick – doubling the daytime frequency of the Monday to Saturday service to every 30 minutes.
The funded routes were identified based on value for money, the council said, so it would have the best opportunity to secure an operator or likelihood of sustainability going forward by either becoming commercially viable or requiring a reduced level of subsidy.
There was also consideration of whether requested routes had been tried before and found to be unsustainable.
The council said it had taken account of local circumstances and are exploring a further six ‘seasonal’ services, subject to a further tender process in early 2025.
They would focus on improving access to the Lake District for the visitor economy and hospitality workers:
- 1-6 Barrow Shipyard – extra direct bus at shift change times to improve access to work via bus
- U1/509 Ulswater – Support the existing weekend service funded by the Sustainable and Integrated Transport for Ulswater (SITU) to retain improvements to visitor transport for leisure
- 505 Ambleside Coniston – daily early morning service to improve access to employment and education
- 508 Windermere – Kirkstone – Penrith – improving daily frequency in summer to enhance access to Patterdale, Windermere via the West Coast Mainline at Penrith and the Lakes Line at Windermere
- 516 Ambleside – Dungeon Gill – daily early morning service to improve access to employment and education
- 517 Little Langdale Shuttle – explore a weekend service in summer (July to August) and on a Monday to Friday in summer school holidays to reduce parking issues in the area.
In response to calls from residents to boost bus services through Sedbergh, the council said it was also exploring additional opportunities with its in-house Community Transport Team.
It will aim to maintain a six-day a week service once the current Stagecoach 563 contract ends by enhancing the Wednesday route provided by Western Dales between Kirkby Stephen and Penrith via Appleby.
An additional nine services that were provisionally backed by cabinet in April 2024 to receive funding were not awarded contracts following the tender process.
This was due to factors including the cost proposed by operators being too high or the presence of competing routes which would reduce the likelihood of establishing a sustainable, commercially viable service.
A further £4 million of Government funding has been awarded for 2025/26 which includes £1.2 million of funding to continue supporting bus services into next year and £2.6m towards capital improvements.
