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The Public Transport Thread
- Thread starter Towerslover
- Start date
AT86
TS Member
More positive news for public transport users.
D&G buses, who run the Stafford/Uttoxeter/Alton Towers service have introduced a new service between Stoke Station/Hanley/Cheadle and Alton Towers.
It leaves Stoke station at 8.55am arriving at the park at 10am, returning back at 5.30pm. Operates Mon-Saturday.
https://www.dgbus.co.uk/assets/sk32x_2020-08-03.pdf
D&G buses, who run the Stafford/Uttoxeter/Alton Towers service have introduced a new service between Stoke Station/Hanley/Cheadle and Alton Towers.
It leaves Stoke station at 8.55am arriving at the park at 10am, returning back at 5.30pm. Operates Mon-Saturday.
https://www.dgbus.co.uk/assets/sk32x_2020-08-03.pdf
imanautie
TS Member
This has got to be a first, just in time for opening by public transport.
Thameslink Rail
TS Member
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Having both a Stafford and a Stoke service is brilliant because most of the West Midlands as well as the North West and London have direct services to at least one of those stations. Stafford is more useful for the Trent Valley and Liverpool whereas Stoke is more useful for Manchester.
O
Orange Ribena
Does anyone know if the Stoke bus is actually running at the moment.
Its advertised on the AT site but its not listed on D&G's own site.
Its advertised on the AT site but its not listed on D&G's own site.
AT86
TS Member
It stopped running at the end of the summer holidays. The Stafford/Uttoxeter/Alton Towers bus is still running.
O
Orange Ribena
Thanks. I did use this bus. Its a shame that its stuck to its usual time especially when the part is opening later now.
O
Orange Ribena
Sadly the X41 Stafford/Uttoxeter/Alton Towers bus is being withdrawn from tomorrow and will no longer run.
Lovely, I guess I will need to hire a car to visit for Scarefest. Another reason not to renew my Merlin pass and to stick visiting Blackpool Pleasure Beach instead.
Whilst I sympathise for people without a car / who do not drive, it is important to remember that the bus services to Towers are run on a commercial basis, so they have to turn a profit to remain viable.
Towers do not subsidise public transport links (despite the car parking fee being introduced supposedly to help improve public transport - but that's a different topic!) Passenger numbers on public transport have gone way down since covid struck.
Round where I live there is a new estate of about 900 houses and there is a hourly bus from this estate into the local town. Each of these buses I have seen has about 3 passengers on, maximum, so there is no way the service is making money. It's being kept afloat by Section 106 funding from the developers of the estate (s106 is funding developers have to make in return for planning permission - normally to help fund local services / schools etc). Once this funding expires I can see the service ending unless passenger numbers really increase.
The fact remains that Alton Towers is basically in the middle of the countryside. You only have to look around the UK to see how remote communities have lost their once/twice daily - or once weekly bus services over the years.
O
Orange Ribena
Very little public transport turns a profit in the UK most of it is propped up by the government unless its something like Megabus or National Express which interestingly enough is part of the public transport system that is run as a business. I haven't noticed the number of people going down on the Strafford bus since covid, the number remain the same as before on a weekend. But that's public transport for you in the country - never worth counting on. No doubt why people shun it.
I've got a Monthly pass so I'm okay to cancel it so that's fine on that count.
I've got a Monthly pass so I'm okay to cancel it so that's fine on that count.
Thameslink Rail
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This is very useful, I think it would help if information about buses to Alton Towers was collated and presented on the Alton Towers website (or failing that Towers Street) for easy use as information about buses seems to be quite difficult to find. (on that note, do we know if there going to be buses from Stoke or Stafford to Alton Towers).
Thameslink Rail
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The timetable won't open for me, can anyone else open it?
Poisson
TS Member
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- The Giant Squid
Maybe tweet Notts and Derby and ask?
Well it cost £12 return on x52 which is pretty expensive imo. So I usually use swift from trentbarton instead. No it doesn't go directly past towers but the closest it gets is Ellastone. From there its 3 miles to the park which isn't bad, takes about 47 mins to walk that. It also only costs £6 for a zig zag ticket (unlimited travel on trentbarton lines) so with it being half the price of x52 its much better value. Yes I do have to walk a bit but nothing wrong with bit of exercise!
Poisson
TS Member
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- The Giant Squid
Maybe tweet Trent Barton instead then?