Neil O’Brien MP has welcomed improvements to local bus services in Harborough, Kibworth, Great Glen and Oadby following his successful campaign to improve public transport locally.
Since 2022, Neil has been pressing local bus operators and Leicestershire County Council to improve timetabling and reliability. Early last year he convened a meeting with both Arriva and Stagecoach to see how they can work together to improve bus journeys for residents. As a result, changes were made to timetables to better coordinate the two services between the Arriva X3 and the Stagecoach X7, which connects Market Harborough to Leicester via Kibworth, Great Glen and Oadby.
However, thanks to further changes which have just been introduced, bus users are now able to benefit from a fully coordinated, half-hourly bus service along the A6. In Oadby, new bus stops are now in place around the 31/31A route thanks to work undertaken to remove hedges by Leicestershire County Council.
Neil said: “These changes are hugely welcome. I remember only just a few months ago, the X3 and X7 were not coordinated at all, which led to frustration when the two services arrived at bus stops at the same time, often leaving a gap of up to an hour between buses. That has now changed, with both the bus companies entering an enhanced partnership which is a formal arrangement recognised by law, which has resulted in a half-hourly service between the two services.
“The other benefit of this enhanced partnership model is that for the first time, Arriva X3 tickets can be used on the Stagecoach X7 service, and vice versa. This means that passengers can now hop on the next service, no matter which one it is.
“In Oadby, the new 31/31A routes are now fully operational with all bus stops now in use thanks to the County Council. I’m grateful to Arriva, Stagecoach and the County Council for responding so positively to my campaign which has resulted in these much-needed improvements to local bus services.”
Details of all the timetables mentioned above can be found at arrivabus.co.uk and stagecoachbus.com.