Summer Bus Grumble

This year, Derbyshire County Council are using some of the limited Bus Service Improvement Plan to support two services mainly aimed at tourists coming into the area.

Now whilst you may possibly grumble that, given the limited funding, is this the best use of the money, that’s not the reason for the grumble.

Both services will be run using open-top buses, one linking to Chatsworth and the other to Castleton, with some connections on the route.

But in the case of one of the services, which will be run by Stagecoach, despite receiving public money through support from the BSIP funding, concessionary passes will not be valid. The £2 maximum fare for a single trip will also not be available. 

Instead, you will have to pay £6 for a day ticket for adults, with concessions paying £4 for a day ticket, with the new DCC bus wayfarer ticket only getting you the concessionary price.

Compare this to the other service, which is run by Hulley’s of Baslow, which will allow concessionary passes and has the £2 maximum fare.

In the grand scheme of things, I hope both services do well and help to tackle some of the tourism congestion issues in the areas they serve – but if we’re using public money to support running these services, a bare minimum expectation from the companies running these services should be to take concessionary passes and be part of Government-backed schemes like the £2 maximum fare for a single journey.

Hulleys of Baslow’s ‘Breezer’ service runs from Baslow to Castleton with connections to other services at various points on the route. You can use it from Glossop on Sundays and Bank Holidays via connection with the 257 Sheffield to Castleton service (via Glossop and Chapel en le Frith). You can view details of the times on the Hulleys website at https://www.hulleys-of-baslow.co.uk 

Stagecoach’s Peak Sightseer service starts on the 1st July and runs from Chesterfield and Bakewell to Chatsworth House – you can view details of times on the Stagecoach website at stge.co/3NgFwAO