NEW BUS LINKS: CONNECTING PLYMPTON AND PLYMSTOCK

Plymouth City Council has announced that Sherford residents will soon benefit from better bus links, connecting to the local area. New services are being introduced that will link Plympton and Plymstock, and include a route that will serve the new crematorium.

Number 4

The service number 4 will be extended beyond Plymstock Broadway to serve Plympton Ridgeway via Sherford and Sandy Road, providing new links for workers at Langage and for pupils travelling to and from school.

This service will run hourly between 6am and 9.05pm from Monday to Friday, 7am and 9pm on Saturdays and 9am to 7pm on Sundays and bank holidays. It will operate every day (except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day).

Number 19

From Sunday 30 March, the service number 19 (which previously ran between the city centre and Merafield) will be reinstated and extended to serve Plymstock Broadway and Plympton Ridgeway. The service, which will be operated by Stagecoach Southwest, is one of 17 that will be financially supported by the Council following a recent retendering of the city’s ‘non-commercial’ routes.

It will run roughly every 75 minutes from 9.30am to just after 5pm every day (except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day). It will provide a connection to the new crematorium with buses stopping at this location once necessary infrastructure has been provided which is expected to be in the spring.

Other Changes

Some other changes will be made to the subsidised network:

• The frequency on the Coypool park and ride service 200 (operated by Stagecoach Southwest) will be increased to every 15 minutes during the day but it will operate via Exeter Street Viaduct to Royal Parade and no longer serve Mayflower Street and Western Approach.
• Services 4A and 4B will be operated by Stagecoach Southwest but will be reduced from hourly to two-hourly due to low passenger demand. The very early morning service 4C between the city centre and Saltram Meadow will be withdrawn due to low use but replaced by the newly extended service 4 from 6am.
• Services 30 and 31 will be operated by Stagecoach Southwest but reduced from hourly to two-hourly, also due to passenger demand. However, they run the same, short circular route in different directions so passengers will still have a service once every hour (but may have to travel the opposite way between stops).
• Services 13/S, 14 and 27 will be operated by Stagecoach Southwest but their timetables and routes will be largely unchanged.
• Service 41 will be operated by Plymouth Citybus. There will be no change to the route but there will be some minor timetables changes.
• Service 54 will be operated by Stagecoach Southwest.

With the exception of service 19, the contracts are being awarded for three years. Service 19 will be contracted for one year as it is being fully funded through the Department for Transport’s 2025/2026 Bus Grant. It is hoped that after the first year of operation, passenger numbers will reach a level that mean the service can be sustained commercially by the bus operator in the longer term.

Council comments

Councillor Mark Coker, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Transport said: “I’m really pleased we have been able to retain all of our supported bus routes following the latest round of tenders, as I know how important these are to the residents who use them. Although the operators have had to reduce the frequency on a few of these routes, this reflects current passenger demand and we have to target our limited funding where it is most needed.

“We have received many requests for direct links between Plympton and Plymstock, given the growth of Sherford and the opening of the new crematorium. We have listened to our residents and I am delighted we have been able to provide these links. We now need passengers to make use of these services to ensure their long-term future.”

Councillor Kevin Sproston, the city’s bus champion, added: “It’s great that services currently supported by the Council are able to continue and that new links to education, employment, shopping and leisure facilities are being introduced, enabling residents to be better connected to the places they need to visit.”