Public Transport News for Milton Keynes

January 2008 Fares Revision

Traditionally most local rail fares are increased in January. There are also minor fare revisions in June and September.

Silverlink (the local rail operator) was replaced by LondonMidland in late 2007. January 2008 is the first fares revision since the new operator arrived.

There are no big surprises yet. The range of tickets and discounts on offer remains much the same. Local rail fares have typically increased by just under 5%. This is more than inflation but the increase is not as steep as in some past years and is less than increases imposed by some other operators. Indeed, this year's increases seem relatively benign when set against some reports suggesting the new operator will have to impose significantly above inflation increases for years to come in order to meet government targets. Other reports suggest that the cost of running and building railways is some three times higher than in the days of British Rail even after adjusting for inflation.

As always there are variations. The Milton Keynes PLUSBUS fare increases by 100% for day trip passengers but for season ticket holders the increase is a very acceptable zero! If you are a rail passenger that also uses MK buses then do check out PLUSBUS - it will very likely save you money.

An updated list of popular day return fares from Milton Keynes is available here.

OPINION

Money Well Spent?

Between 2002 and 2005, leisure fares from Milton Keynes to London have increased by more than 40%. During the same period the taxpayer has contributed billions of pounds of investment upgrading the MK line to accept new, faster Virgin Pendolino trains.

Government money has been provided to encourage greater use of the railways. However, increasing fares by 40% is likely to have the opposite effect. The problem is that taxpayer's money has not been well spent.

Business passengers travelling between Manchester, Liverpool and London will no doubt welcome faster journeys. However, for many Milton Keynes passengers the results of the 'upgrade' have been disappointing. The disappointments include:

Fewer trains on the Milton Keynes to Birmingham route (1 per hour instead of 3 per hour).
Fewer trains on the Milton Keynes to London route.
Significantly higher day trip fares to London.
Some passengers find the new, faster Virgin trains claustrophobic - many seats have no window.

It would have been better to have focused the investment on increased capacity (longer trains rather than shorter) - this would have kept fares down and encouraged a switch from road to rail.

Season Tickets

Local season ticket prices this year have increased by around 4.7% - more than inflation. As always annual tickets give the best savings. The dual route ticket is no longer cheaper than a standard ticket but at the same price is worth having for anyone who might occasionally want to travel on the Bedford line.

It is also worth pointing out that season ticket prices from Milton Keynes to London are identical to those from Wolverton.

More for free: Milton Keynes and Bedford commuters can buy season tickets with dual route availability - i.e. valid on the London to Milton Keynes line and on the London to Bedford route. Last year, the dual route fares were cheaper than the normal Milton Keynes rates. This year they are the same price as the normal rates - see below.

A word about First Class. Most regular commuters probably feel that they pay too much for a standard season ticket without contemplating an extra £2,000 a year for First Class. However, for anyone requiring a short period season ticket, perhaps for the purpose of attending a course, the extra expense may be worth thinking about. First Class does not only give access to more comfortable seating; on Virgin trains there is complimentary tea, coffee and newspapers plus access to the First Class lounge at Euston which offers refreshments and shower facilities. However, if you do plan to use Virgin trains check with the timetable that suitable services are available - very few Virgin trains now call at Milton Keynes during the rush hour.

	7 Days	1 Month	3 Months	Annual
Bletchley - London Euston	78.10	300.00	899.80	3124.00
Bletchley - All Zones Travelcard	99.40	381.70	1145.10	3976.00
Milton Keynes - London Euston	90.10	346.00	1038.00	3604.00
Milton Keynes - All Zones Travelcard	110.60	424.80	1274.20	4424.00
Wolverton - London Euston	90.10	346.00	1038.00	3604.00
Wolverton - All Zones Travelcard	110.60	424.80	1274.20	4424.00
Milton Keynes - All Zones Travelcard also valid on Bedford - London St. Pancras route	110.60	424.80	1274.20	4424.00

Revamp of Arriva Bus Routes

Arriva, the operator of some of the longer distance bus routes from the city, is making some of the most significant changes to its MK network for many years.

From 3rd September 2007, the X66 MK to Dunstable service is replaced by a new route, 70, which links MK to Leighton Buzzard, Dunstable, Luton centre and Luton Airport. The 70 runs every hour and provides an alternative to the VT99 express service between MK and Luton. However, the 70 has a journey time of 1 hour and 50 minutes to Luton Airport while the VT99 journey is only 50 minutes. Another operator is launching route X31 from MK to Dunstable and Luton, so there will be a lot of competition between MK and Luton.

Further changes are due on Monday 17th September when the Arriva X15 service to Aylesbury is replaced by new service 100. This is a faster journey taking only 50 minutes from CMK compared with an existing journey time of 64 minutes.

Detailed timetables for all of these routes can be found in the new edition of MK Council's Long Distance Services leaflet. Download a copy from the council's website here

Service 100 heading towards Aylesbury

Fast bus to Aylesbury

All Change for MK Metro

MK Metro, operator of the local yellow minibus fleet, was taken over by Arriva in February 2006.

Bus operations in Britain are dominated by a few large transport companies (Arriva, Go Ahead, Stagecoach and First). Milton Keynes was unusual in having its own independent bus company.

The big companies run most of the buses in neighbouring towns – Arriva in Aylesbury & Luton; Stagecoach in Bedford & Cambridge; Stagecoach/Go Ahead in Oxford and Stagecoach/First in Northampton. Contrary to the belief of some, local councils do not usually own bus fleets. However, Milton Keynes Council does pay for many evening and Sunday services.

Arriva & MK Metro buses in Station Square

Arriva & MK Metro side by side in Station Square. MK retains its yellow buses for now.

History

MK has not always been served by minibuses. Anyone living in MK during the early 1980s will remember that MK was served by a fleet of conventional single and double decker green buses owned by the National Bus Company. In those days buses did not normally run into the estates but stuck to the grid roads.

On 26^th October 1986, following de-regulation, the National Bus Company was broken up and overnight a new fleet of minibuses took to the roads of Milton Keynes. The early days of minibus operation were a shambles. In theory, buses were supposed to zip around the estates really quickly with only a 6 or 7 minute gap between services. In reality the timetable was completely unrealistic and was soon abandoned in favour of a timetable more like that of today.

Milton Keynes Citybus (as it was called in 1986) was later taken over by a Cambridge Company (Cambus) and then, in 1996, sold to Stagecoach.

Stagecoach had ambitious plans to replace the ageing minibus fleet, indeed new vehicles had been earmarked for Milton Keynes when the competition authorities decided that Stagecoach had too many operations in one area (Bedford, Cambridge, Northampton, Peterborough) and ordered it to sell MK Citybus. The new vehicles were never delivered and the company was sold to millionaire Julian Peddle who renamed the operation MK Metro, introduced the now familiar yellow livery and set about a more gradual program of investment than Stagecoach had planned.

Facts & Figures

MK Metro owns 120 vehicles and employs 260 staff.
MK Metro's annual turnover in 2005 was £8.6 million.
Arriva paid £5.6 million to acquire MK Metro.
Arriva operates 6,000 vehicles and employs 30,000 staff in bus and rail operations across Europe.
Arriva's annual turnover for 2004 was £1,800 million and profits were £112 million.

Sources: Arriva press release and financial statements

The Future

Arriva was contacted in March regarding its plans for Milton Keynes. While not giving much away, some interesting points were made.

It seems that it is the intention to retain MK Metro as a separate entity and not to absorb it into neighbouring fleets. Also there are no plans to re-brand the MK fleet with an Arriva identity. This is fairly unusual as most of the big bus groups are quick to stamp their identity on new acquisitions (with the exception of London where branding is regulated).

There is a recognition that MK Metro does some things particularly well and that these should be preserved and not changed for the sake of the change. In areas where there is scope for improvement, Arriva believes that the resources of a big group will be better placed to tackle these.

In recent years MK Metro has benefited from significant investment in new buses. Arriva gave an assurance that it has no intention of swapping new MK vehicles with older vehicles from other Arriva fleets.

Any bus operator in MK has to respond to the challenges posed by the grid road system. Should it operate buses into the estates which takes passengers close to home but at the expense of slow and sometimes uncomfortable journeys over the traffic calming humps? Or does it run faster journeys direct along the grid roads but with a longer walk from the bus stop to home? Arriva has agreed that it needs to look at this issue to see if the balance is right in MK. However, it does not have any immediate plans for big timetable or route changes.

Finally, Arriva states that "Milton Keynes is a growing city and we see this as a fantastic opportunity to provide first class bus services in a vibrant new city." It is certainly reassuring that Arriva recognise the great potential for bus services in MK. In a few years time Milton Keynes residents will be able to judge if Arriva has made the best of its opportunity.

United Counties bus. Older residents will remember these buses which were common in MK prior to 1986.

Prior to 1986, Milton Keynes was served by full size buses operated by United Counties (a subsidiary of the National Bus Company).

PLUSBUS: Combined Bus & Rail Travel

The London Travelcard is over 20 years old and so the idea of one convenient ticket that covers both bus and rail services is not new.

The Travelcard has been slow to catch on outside the big Metropolitan cities. However, in recent years there has been a big push to create new rail/bus tickets and now most British town and cities offer such schemes. Unfortunately, some of these schemes seem to be a closely guarded secret and so few people use them!

Milton Keynes PLUSBUS ticket

PLUSBUS might look like a rail ticket but this ticket can be used on buses in Milton Keynes.

PLUSBUS in Milton Keynes

PLUSBUS has been available in Milton Keynes for a number of years and during that time has been steadily improved. The scheme was originally intended to cater for visitors to Milton Keynes. It has now been extended to cater for Milton Keynes commuters and rail trips commencing from Milton Keynes.

Visitors

Visitor's to Milton Keynes can add one day's unlimited bus travel in Milton Keynes to a Milton Keynes rail ticket for only £2 (the usual discounts for children and railcard holders are available). Just ask for Milton Keynes PLUSBUS when buying a rail ticket to Milton Keynes.

Commuters

Milton Keynes PLUSBUS can be added to a Milton Keynes rail season ticket or Travelcard. This gives unlimited Milton Keynes bus travel. Click here for season ticket rates.

Day Trips from MK

PLUSBUS is now available for passengers starting their journey in Milton Keynes. So it is possible to add local Milton Keynes bus travel to a One Day Travelcard or any other rail journey from Milton Keynes. The extra cost on top of the rail fare is only £2. These tickets have to be purchased from the station; they cannot be purchased on the bus.

Which Buses?

Virtually all Milton Keynes bus operators should accept PLUSBUS within the boundaries of the new city and Newport Pagnell. MK Metro, Arriva & Stagecoach are participants as are the smaller companies that run evening and Sunday services for the council. Testing has shown that MK Metro drivers have excellent knowledge of the PLUSBUS scheme. Experience with some of the other operators is a bit more sporadic because drivers encounter the tickets so rarely and internal communications within some bus companies seem to be very poor.

Other Schemes

Most British towns and cities now offer PLUSBUS. Visit the PLUSBUS website to check whether a scheme is available for the town you plan to visit.

Some nearby schemes that might be of interest include:

Birmingham £1.60
Coventry £1.60
Northampton £2.00
Watford £2.50

Internet Tickets

If you buy a cheap advance purchase rail ticket over the Internet or over the phone then you are may not be offered PLUSBUS as an option. However, if you take your rail ticket along to any station and show it to the ticket clerk you should be able to buy PLUSBUS separately.

X5 History

The Stagecoach East flagship route from Oxford to Cambridge via Milton Keynes was launched in September 1995. It was a bold move by Stagecoach to introduce a brand new long distance route with services running at hourly intervals late into the evening every day of the week. The buses had a similar specification to National Express coaches but there was no need to book in advance and the fares were cheap.

During the first year of operation passenger loadings were light and some buses ran around empty. Fortunately, Stagecoach kept its nerve and passenger loadings gradually increased proving that there is a demand for a service that is fast, frequent, inexpensive and comfortable.

In 1999 the service was adjusted to serve Oxford rail station as well as Oxford bus station. This gave Milton Keynes passengers access to the rail network in west and south-west England without the need to travel via London and without the need to pay for expensive 'via London' fares.

New European driving regulations forced a review of the X5 route in April 2007. In order to keep the service economic it was decided to withdraw the extension to Oxford rail station. Thanks to heavy traffic in Oxford city it is often a quicker to walk from the bus station to the rail station than travel on the bus. For anyone travelling without heavy luggage, the X5 still provides a viable connection to the rail network at Oxford - it is approximately a 10 minute walk from Oxford bus station to the rail station.

An X5 heading along Midsummer Boulevard towards Oxford in 1995
1995

Fares

The success of the X5 is no doubt in part attributable to a policy of very flexible & competitively priced tickets. An all-day Explorer ticket covering the whole X5 route and many other routes in southern Britain can be purchased on the bus. A couple of years ago this was priced at only £5.99 and a family ticket was sold for £7.99. Sadly these tickets are no longer so cheap - even so the current prices remain reasonable compared with other modes of transport. For details of current tickets, read the bus page.

X5 outside the Randolph in Oxford
2005

Connections

The X5 provides useful connections with other bus and rail services at both the Oxford & Cambridge ends of the route. Checkout bus connections here. Read about rail connections from Oxford here and rail connections from Cambridge here.

Every 30 minutes

In its 10th anniversary year there were some major improvements to the X5.

During 2005, the service was doubled in frequency. Buses now run between Oxford and Cambridge 7 days a week, every 30 minutes throughout the day and early evening - only the last few journeys remain hourly. 15 coaches and approximately 45 drivers are required to operate the enhanced timetable.

easyBus leaves Milton Keynes

Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the Greek entrepreneur behind easyJet and easyCinema, launched easyBus in Milton Keynes in August 2004.

The original easyBus service operated between Milton Keynes and Hendon in north London. From March 13th 2005, the Hendon terminus was dropped and replaced by a new terminus near Baker Street tube station in central London. Bright orange minibuses operated from Midsummer Boulevard direct to Baker Street. This was a more attractive destination than Hendon for most passengers, within easy walking distance of the Planetarium, Madame Tussauds and London Zoo.

From 26th February 2006, the Milton Keynes easyBus service was withdrawn. However, this was not the end of the easyBus concept. From the beginning, there were two easyBus routes. One from Milton Keynes to London and another from Luton Airport to London. While the Milton Keynes route did not prosper, the Luton Airport route has now been strengthened to 100 trips a day. It seems that buses freed from Milton Keynes have been redeployed on the Luton service. If the improved Luton service takes off, it seems that there is a possibility of new routes based around Gatwick and Stansted airports.

So why did the Milton Keynes route fail? Cheap fares are to be welcomed but, as this site pointed out, the easyBus offer had its limitations. Cheap tickets from as little as £2 each way were available by booking in advance over the Internet. Alternatively, tickets could be be purchased on the bus at the time of travel for £7 each way.

£4 for a return trip to London was a bargain but there were a number of caveats.

To obtain the £2 fare, tickets had to be booked well in advance for a particular date and time - there was no flexibility to change your mind and travel on an earlier or later bus. Even when booking well in advance, the £2 fare was impossible to find at certain times; £4 seemed to be the normal fare.
There were only 6 journeys per day from Milton Keynes to London.
The easyBus ticket did not include travel on London Transport services. A separate Travelcard or bus pass was required for travel in London.
The easyBus rules about baggage were strict. The fare included 2 item of luggage approximately the size of one large carrier bag and one small carrier bag. Additional items were allowed if you booked an extra seat for them!
There were no discounts for children, seniors etc.

So was easyBus Good Value?

Well it all depends. On weekday mornings it was hard to find any easyBus journey priced at £2 but even the £4 fare was very competitive at that time of day. So easyBus was definitely worth considering for travelling before 09:00 Mondays to Fridays.

In the off-peak, the £2 fare was reasonable value. However, rail worked out cheaper than the £4 each way bus fare once London bus and tube travel was taken into account. And rail gives discounts for children, is much more flexible and there are fewer worries about luggage.

National Express

Some National Express coaches pick up at the Coachway on the way to London. The day return fare is £10.20 and has never been good value for the off-peak traveller. However, following the announcement of easyBus, National Express introduced a new £1 'funfare' each way. It is only available over the Internet and only on a few journeys. The £1 fare is certainly worth considering but don't think about the £10.20 fare without checking what rail has to offer.

It will be interesting to see if the 'funfare' survives now that the competition from Stelios has gone.

easyBus setting down near Hendon Central tube station

An easyBus in London.

These buses are still used on the Luton Airport route.

Travelling by easyBus - First Impressions

An easyBus seats just 16 passengers. The vehicles are noticeably smaller than the minibuses used on regular services such as those operated by MK Metro. In fact the vehicles are more like those operated by a club or college. However, most of the seats are comfortable enough for a one hour journey and the leg room is fine - but bear in mind you will have to share it with your small item of luggage - there literally is no other luggage space - no roof racks or luggage hold. A couple of seats towards the rear of the vehicle have less leg room because of the raised wheel arches. The buses have air conditioning which should be of benefit on hot days.

Two of the seats at the front are situated right next to the driver. They offer an excellent view through the front window but passengers are not usually allowed to occupy them. The side windows are covered with orange advertising. It is possible to see out through these windows but it is like looking through a fine wire mesh - a bit distorted.

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