Stagecoach

Bus Services from Milton Keynes 

MK Metro, the yellow minibus operator, provides most local bus services in the city. However, anyone planning to travel further afield should consider the network of interurban services provided by two competing big bus operators - Arriva and Stagecoach. A  selection of their principal routes is shown on the diagram.

Short bus journeys can seem expensive, indeed rail can work out cheaper than MK Metro for local journeys within Milton Keynes. However, bus fares tend to taper at longer distances and both Arriva and Stagecoach offer some terrific bargains.

Arriva

Explorer Ticket

One of the best bus travel bargains locally is the Explorer ticket. 

Many bus companies offer an Explorer ticket. Usually this ticket is purchased on the bus and then is valid for the rest of the day on all the services of that company. There may be a few exceptions - typically Explorer tickets cannot be used on London services.

What makes the Explorer ticket even better value, and this is not always advertised, is the ability to use the ticket on the services of more than one bus company. Often companies come to an arrangement with neighbouring companies to accept each others tickets. So if you buy your ticket from one company, find out what arrangements it has made with other companies.

Both Arriva Shires & Essex and Stagecoach East offer an Explorer ticket and have agreements to accept some other companies tickets. 

Arriva Shires & Essex Explorers are now accepted on all MK Metro buses (note that Explorers cannot be purchased on MK Metro buses). This could be useful if you are travelling on the new Arriva express service 100 between Aylesbury and MK and wish to travel on MK Metro buses as well.  Arriva Explorers are also accepted by most bus companies in Hertfordshire. Hertfordshire covers St Albans, Stevenage, Welwyn, Hertford & Bishop's Stortford. For timetable information in this area visit the Intalink timetable site. To obtain a bus map for Hertfordshire, email a request to feedback.ptu@hertscc.gov.uk - don't forget to include your postal address!

Stagecoach East has a more complicated range of tickets. It sells a 'normal' Explorer which can be used on most Stagecoach routes in southern England and Wales but cannot be used on the X5 service. It also sells a more expensive Explorer that can be used on the X5 - known as the 'X5 Explorer' this is valid thoughout the Oxford to Cambridge route as well as other Stagecoach routes in southern England & Wales. For a complete list of companies which will accept the ticket, click here.    

Stagecoach East has negotiated for its X5 Explorer tickets to be accepted on the Virgin bus to Luton (VT99). 

The Explorer & the X5

The X5 is Stagecoach East's 'flagship route running from Oxford to Cambridge via Milton Keynes. It is fast, comfortable and frequent. Premium fares are now charged on this route to reflect the better level of service than is found on normal bus routes. This does mean that standard Explorer tickets are no longer accepted on this route. However, the more expensive 'X5 Explorer' tickets still represent good value for longer journeys.

By taking advantage of the X5 route, and the agreements Stagecoach East has with other Stagecoach companies, it is possible to travel significant distances with an X5 Explorer. A day trip to Swindon, or even beyond Swindon to Marlborough, is possible for just £9 (or £15 for a group ticket)..

In the opposite direction a day trip to historic Bury St Edmunds or  Ely is also possible for £9.

Stagecoach  operate local services at either end of the X5 route so you can use the Explorer to travel to either Oxford or Cambridge and then explore locally with Stagecoach. 

It is easier to travel further in the Oxford direction than in the Cambridge direction because there are earlier buses to Oxford and later buses back. 

Mondays to Fridays the first bus leaves Milton Keynes Station for Oxford at 05:45 in the morning and the last return bus leaves Oxford at 22:05. Check these times are still current before travelling .

Read about the history of the X5 here.

National Express

National Express operate services from the Coachway next to the M1. On the whole these are longer distance routes less suited to day trips. 

Journeys to the south usually involve negotiating London traffic and a change at Victoria coach station resulting in a long journey - its off-peak fares to the south are not necessarily much cheaper than rail either. 

Not surprisingly, National Express is fastest and most competitive for destinations that lie along the M1. Some journeys that are practicable in a day include Leicester (day return fare £12.40, journey time 1 hour 15 minutes) and Nottingham (day return fare £16.60, journey time 2 hours minutes).

Metro Daily

MK Metro offers an all day ticket, just for use on its network, for £3. While this ticket cannot be used for long distance trips, it still may offer savings to the local traveller intending to make more than a couple of journey. Also note that MK Metro does operate some routes outside of the city such as service 10 to Leighton Buzzard.

Metro Family

MK Metro offers an all day ticket for group travel. Priced at £6 it covers a group of up to  2 adults and 4 children travelling together. 

NOTE: Some routes normally operated by MK Metro on weekdays may be operated by other companies on Sundays and in the evening. Other companies do not sell the Metro Daily or Metro Family but some will accept it - click here for details.

MK Metro

Selected Weekday Bus Routes