Thursday 2nd May 2024
A few weeks ago a partnership between Arriva and Stagecoach was announced. It’s part of the Leicestershire Enhanced Bus Partnership and has seen the two bus companies amend timetables of their respective hourly routes (X3 and X7) between Market Harborough and Leicester so there’s a more even half hourly frequency from either end on Mondays to Saturdays.
In the grand scheme of things it’s not exactly ‘ground breaking’ or ‘world beating’ but for passengers using the bus on this busy inter-urban corridor it’s a very welcome timely development in every sense of that word.
The new arrangement also includes mutual acceptance of each other’s day, weekly and monthly tickets for adults and young people but strangely not for student tickets.
Stagecoach’s X7 is limited stop observing 14 bus stops along the route whereas Arriva’s X3 is an all stopper.
Arriva deploys three single deck buses on its route X3 which shuttles between Market Harborough and Leicester, deviating off the A6 to serve Kibworth and Great Glen. The timetable gives an end to end journey time of 63 minutes southbound and 66 minutes northbound making for a rather slack schedule with 47 minutes stand time at Leicester and only four minutes in Market Harborough.
Stagecoach ‘s longer route X7 originates in Northampton with Market Harborough being the halfway point on the journey to Leicester. This route also serves Kibworth but omits Great Glen making for a reduced journey time of 43 minutes northbound and 46 minutes southbound. Stagecoach operates four buses with a fifth in peak periods when a half hourly frequency is provided from Northampton meaning three buses an hour between Market Harborough and Leicester.
Southbound departures from Leicester are at 07 (X7) and 37 (X3) minutes past the off-peak hour but northbound from Market Harborough are 44 (X3) and 18 (X7) minutes past the hour. It’s a shame an exact half hour gap wasn’t achieved in the northbound direction although it’s very close.
I made a return journey from Market Harborough to Leicester sampling both routes a couple of weeks ago and found impressively well used buses on both trips as well as observing all the other buses we passed being equally busy.
The 11:44 X3 from Market Harborough left its terminus stop immediately outside the town’s Market Hall with only five on board but 14 more boarded at the next stop, The Square, just up the road and another one at St Luke’s Hospital as we headed north.
Nineteen minutes later, arriving in Kibworth, five alighted and six boarded and back on the A6 we lost four more but gained three with two more leaving us in Great Glen. Heading towards Oadby, on the outskirts of Leicester, we gained six more and three alighted and as we crossed the city boundary one alighted and three boarded while we waited time for three minutes which was good going as we’d left Market Harborough two minutes late. Five alighted at Leicester rail station with one boarding and at two more city centre stops approaching Haymarket bus station five and three alighted with 11 left on board who got off at the bus station making for total passengers on the journey of 39.
We arrived five minutes early at 12:45 so with the aforementioned five minutes saved, we didn’t need ten minutes of the allotted 66 minutes running time.
I’d planned to catch the next departure back from Leicester to Market Harborough which is the 13:07 Stagecoach operated X7. The bus was due in at 13:01 giving six minutes stand time – whereas the Arriva X3 wouldn’t leave until 13:37 enjoying its 47 minutes layover.
At 13:07 I spotted a yellow liveried bus in the distance heading towards Haymarket bus station and guessed this was my steed and sure enough it pulled into stand HJ with a good number of alighting passengers.
After the driver had a well deserved short break for a few vape puffs standing outside the bus station he got all 29 of us, patiently waiting. on board and we left just six minutes down at 13:13 with three more boarding at the rail station and four more in Oadby making for an impressive tally of 36.
It was a spirited run back down to Market Harborough with four alighting and two boarding in Kibworth and three alighting as we approached The Square and 10 getting off at that stop with ten more boarding. We arrived at The Square at 13:56 maintaining the lateness at six minutes and you can see that a 43 minute journey compared to Arriva’s actual wheel turning northbound time from The Square of 54 minutes meaning the Great Glen deviation, and being an all stopper, costs eight minutes journey time.
It’s good to see bus companies working with the County Council to promote coordinated frequencies and a shout out to Stagecoach which, in the spirit of partnership, promotes both Arriva’s X3 along with its own X7 times in its timetable….
… whereas Arriva just promotes its own X3 (and a peak X31).
And it’s a pity Leicestershire County Council doesn’t provide coordinated departure lists at bus stops as Leicester City Council does. For example, here’s the display at Haymarket bus station in the city.
And here’s The Square Market Harborough.
Where there’s a timetable case showing Stagecoach departures on X7 (together with its local route 33A)…
…and in the other timetable case are Arriva departures on X3.
The bus stop plates are also a complete hotch-potch with a Leicester city logo appearing at The Square in Kibworth (which is well south of the city)…
… and some stops are just showing Stagecoach X7 but where Arriva’s X3 also stops…
…and some stops showing Sapphire branding.
‘Work in progress’ is the the most charitable description of this pioneering partnership.
Roger French
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