Stephensons 637 (YN55 NJE) in Newmarket - 15 Mar 2021 (P1080085)

Monday 15 March 2021 (0751) – Stephensons of Essex 637 (YN55 NJE) swinging out of Newmarket bus station when working the 0740 service 310 from Exning to Bury St. Edmunds. It is an East Lancs Omnidekka bodied Scania N94D that had been new to London Sovereign (SLE27) in October 2005.

There are a number of the main secondary schools located in Bury St. Edmunds and, along with the West Suffolk College, they collectively generate quite a significant amount of daily traffic from the Newmarket area. The services are also available to the general public.

Until January 2021 services 310/311 had mainly been worked by Suffolk Norse and Suffolk County Council before that. In 2013 the County Council entered a working partnership with Norse, a facilities company owned by Norfolk County Council, to create Suffolk Norse owned 20% by SCC and 80% by Norse. In September 2021 the partnership will be dissolved.

Towards the end of 2020 Suffolk Norse relinquished the contracts for the 310/311 services. Replacement service licences were obtained by Mulleys Motorways and Stephensons of Essex effective from 4 January 2021.

Newmarket bus station is a rather small affair, the main part comprising just two nose in loading bays. A third vehicle can also load in what is the exit road – thus when a vehicle is loading there it prevents other vehicles moving out. Regular drivers employ tactics to avoid getting hemmed in (I speak from experience!). There is also a kerbside loading bay ahead of the latter parallel to the exit road itself – but that sees little use.

In the short period before 0800 the bus station gets quite busy with the Stephensons service 16 departure at 0750 and a Stagecoach (Cambus) service 12 Cambridge departure at 0751 in addition to these five school related services bound for Bury St. Edmunds:

0750 Mulleys 311 (Originating at Exning travelling via the residential areas in the north of the town then onward via Moulton)
0750 Mulleys 311X (Direct from the Bus Station then via Kentford and the A14)
0750 Stephensons 310 (Via Kentford)
0755 Stephensons 311 ((Originating at Exning travelling via the residential areas in the north of the town then onward direct via the A14)
0800 Stephensons 311A

Following is Stagecoach East (Cambus) 15465 (AE09 GYP), an Alexander Dennis (ADL) Enviro400 bodied Scania N230UD new in March 2009, working the 0646 service 12 from Ely to Cambridge.