New bus routes added and others changing

Monday 22 January 2018

Two new bus routes are being introduced in Guernsey from the beginning of February.

The changes have been made following public consultation.

Routes 12, 21, 31/32 and 41/42 are being amended "to improve connectivity between local centres and to better serve retail and residential areas". There'll also be increased capacity at commuter times on routes P2, 41, 51, and 62.

'Clock face departures' are being introduced at the Town Terminus meaning buses will leave at  "consistent intervals" from next month.

Following successful trials there'll also be an enhanced Night Bus Service, which will be charged at £2.50 per journey going forward. All other bus fares remain unchanged.

In announcing the changes, Deputy Barry Brehaut, President of the Committee for the Environment & Infrastructure, said:

"The changes reflect the desire to improve customer provision and seek to maximise overall network exposure from within existing available resources.

"With passenger numbers continuing to grow year on year it is more important than ever that the network of bus services strives to meet this additional demand, particularly at “peak” times, while continuing to maintain a convenient, reliable and affordable service.

"Given the changes that are being implemented, the public are asked to review the new timetable and, in particular, any amended routes or timing differences to ensure that they are aware of what services will be operating from 5^th February."

The revised timetable is being introduced after another record breaking year with a total of 1,787,569 passengers carried across the scheduled bus network in 2017. That's an increase of 8% compared with 2016. 

Full details of the changes, including timetables and route maps, can be viewed on buses.gg.  Printed copies of the new timetable will also be available shortly.

New routes:

• Route 62 – Provides an alternative and more direct service to and from Town / PEH and Airport for people living between L’Eree and the Richmond end of Vazon.  It will also result in shorter journey times and offer an alternative to the Route 91/92 which can become overloaded in the summer months and provide additional capacity through L’Aumone at ‘peak’ times where existing demand is already very high;
• Route 13 – Extending the previous short Route 12 beyond the Bridge to L’Islet and adding frequency between these two busy areas in the north of the Island. Together with increased ‘peak’ time frequency on the Route 21 it provides mitigation for the loss of the Route 22. 

Amended routes:

• Route 12 – Amended routing to complement introduction of new Route 13;
• Route 21 – Minor alteration to routing to reflect new Route 13 and loss of Route 22;
• Route 31/32 – Will now operate via Admiral Park and Grand Bouet enhancing connectivity to better serve retail and residential areas;
• Routes 41/42 – These amended routes will enhance service provision through Cobo in both directions and also smooth out running times back into Town to regular 15min intervals;
• Night Bus Service – Enhanced network to cover L’Islet, Vazon, Kings Mills, Pleinmont and L’Eree.