Diary 2025

Maundy Thursday 17 April 2025 (0810) – This was the day that Flixbus introduced a new service between Norwich (Bus Station) and London (Stratford, City Bus Station). There are two daily departures leaving Norwich Bus Station at 0700 and 1430 which depart UEA (University of East Anglia) 15 minutes later and Thetford (Bus Interchange) 65 minutes after Norwich Bus Station. The overall journey time is 2 hours 50 minutes. Departures from Stratford to Norwich are at 1100 and 1820. The services are operated by Simonds of Botesdale Limited based in Diss, a company acquired by Vectare in May 2024. 418 (YK25 OME), a Yutong GT12 new in April 2025, is seen at Thetford on the inaugural 0700 Norwich-Stratford journey. Quite a few passengers boarded here. (The same coach worked both trips today. It passed Barton Mill at 1951 on the 1820 service from Stratford).

Wednesday 30 April 2025 (1046) – Earlier in the month Mulleys Motorways acquired SK19 FAJ, a Wright StreetLite WF that had been new to Passenger Plus, Tadworth, Surrey in March 2019. It was seen here in St. Andrew’s Street South when working service M44 to Mildenhall Road and Howard Estates. I had just travelled on this bus which had faced quite a delay at the Newmarket Road/Western Way crossroads due to roadworks. The traffic was being controlled by four way temporary traffic lights with the filter lanes blocked off. It was taking about 8/9 minutes to travel the short distance (about 350 yards/320 metres) from the Asda roundabout to the crossroads normally covered in less than 2 minutes. After a number of circuits on the duty late running builds up. Normally each circuit has a standing time of 7 minutes here giving reliable and timely running. This trip should have arrived at 1033 leaving again at 1040.

Friday 30 May 2025 (1112) – The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) is embarking on a franchising model for the region’s bus services. Bus services are branded ‘Tiger’ and have a ‘T’ prefixed service number. One of the services introduced on Tuesday 27 May 2025 in East Cambridgeshire was the Cambridge-Burwell-Fordham-Soham service T5 operating hourly Mondays to Saturday. The service is contracted to A2B Travel Group whose AB25 AZB was seen in Fordham when operating the 1100 service from Soham to Cambridge. It is an Alexander Dennis Enviro400D new in May 2025 which carries the Tiger lettering and relief.

Sunday 8 June 2025 – The Fenland Bus Show held in Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire is centred on the Market Place from where free rides on different vehicles may be had. Shaw’s Coaches of Maxey BF61 HBH, a Mercedes-Benz Tourismo registered in September 2011 by Evobus, Coventry (the UK supplier of Mercedes branded buses and coaches at the time), was taking on riders. Local to Whittlesey, the Shaw’s business of was acquired by the owner of Reg’s Coaches Limited in May 2025.

Tuesday 17 June 2025 (1055) – The Guineas Bus Station in Newmarket is a compact affair comprising just two nose-in bays with the exit lane providing a third stop. The Connecting Communities mini-bus is stood in the latter. The bus station is busy at times and I have always thought that at least one more bay, if not two, could have been accommodated in the over generous paved area in the foreground to make things easier for drivers and passengers alike. Collins Coaches SK07 CCA, a Wright Eclipse Gemini bodied Volvo B9TL that was new to Lothian Buses (838) in August 2007, had recently arrived on the Cambridgeshire County Council sponsored service 18. This Tuesday only service is actually contracted to A2B Travel Group but worked by this bus on hire. It had worked the 1000 service from Newmarket Road Park & Ride, Cambridge via Teversham, Fulbourn, Great Wilbraham, Little Wilbraham and Six Mile Bottom. The Connecting Communities service is run by The Voluntary Network under contract to Suffolk County Council and provides demand responsive services serving rural communities devoid of a regular bus service.

Wednesday 25 June 2025 – The second phase of the Greater Cambridge Partnership ‘Connector’ autonomous bus trial saw the launch of a timetabled public service on 24 June 2025. The circular service operates from the Madingley Road Park & Ride site travelling via Eddington and the Cambridge West Campus of the University of Cambridge and has four trips in the morning peak and four in the afternoon peak. (Departures are at 0730, 0800, 0830 and 0900 then 1530, 1600, 1630 and 1700 with the circular taking 18 minutes). The vehicle employed is SJ71 HRM, a Mellor Orion E bodied Fiat Ducato 15 seat electric bus, which is operated by Whippet Coaches Limited, one of the partners in the trial. Whippet has operated full sized electric buses in partnership with the University of Cambridge between the West Cambridge campus and the Biomedical Campus since September 2023. The vehicle was new in September 2021 and initially operated in the Didcot area of Oxfordshire with First Bus owned Beeline as their number 59200.

Saturday 2 August 2025 (1417) – Coach Park at the July Racecourse Newmarket. Unidentified Higer bodied Scania in plain white Cooks Coaches, Westcliff on Sea, Southend YK15 OKE, a VDL FHD2-129 Futura 2 new to Birmingham International in March 2015 Cooks Coaches, Westcliff on Sea, Southend SV08 HVG, a Bova Magiq MHD122 that was new to Maynes Coaches, Buckie, Scotland in March 2008 registered M17 YNE. Bland’s Coaches, Essendine FP 7732, a Van Hool Astrobel bodied Volvo B12B that was new to Bakers, Weston-Super-Mare (67) in August 2007 registered WA07 KYB Flagfinders, Braintree Y3 FLG, an Irizar i6 intergral that was new to Galleon Travel 2009 Limited, Hertfordshire in April 2025 registered YN15 YTP Expresslines, Bedford VU16 OTG, a Plaxton Cheetah bodied Mercedes-Benz Atego 1223L that had been new to Henshaws, Moreton-in-Marsh in March 2016 registered GL16 HEN Felix, Long Melford PO66 DHF, an Unvi bodied Mercedes-Benz 1524L new in September 2016 Igo Travel, Wembley, London PL69 ZGV, a Mercedes-Benz Tourismo that had been new to Lucketts, Fareham in December 2019 registered BV69 LTF

Sunday 10 August 2025 – Two former Mulleys Motorways vehicles in the care of the Ipswich Transport Museum were on display at The Big Bus Show, Stonham Barms, Suffolk PV 9371, a Duple Vista bodied Bedford OB new in July 1949. This was Jack Mulley’s first Bedford OB. VF 8157, a Lambert bodied Chevrolet LQ new in March 1930 to W N Final of Hockwold-cum-Wilton, Norfolk. It was acquired by Jack Mulley in December 1942 and operated until November 1951.

Friday 22 August 2025 (1014) – A little trip out on a local bus service this morning with a ride from Mildenhall to Lakenheath and return on Coach Services Limited service 80. My outward journey was on board BU16 OZN, an MCV eVolution bodied Volvo B8RLE new in July 2016, seen in Lakenheath High Street continuing on its way after I been set down. This was the 0950 service 80 from Mildenhall via Lakenheath (1012) and Brandon (1028) to Thetford (1045). My return journey was on board SN63 NBB, an Alexander Dennis (ADL) Enviro200D new in September 2013, working the 1000 service 80 via Brandon (1020) and Lakenheath (1037) to Mildenhall (1100). (The tracker on the Bus Times website showed that the bus departed Thetford at 1004 but was ten minutes late at Brandon and 11 minutes late at Lakenheath where I boarded. This was a Friday and a Friday of a Bank Holiday weekend where traffic on the A11 at Thetford was no doubt quite busy).

Tuesday 9 September 2025 (1138) – Cambridgeshire Guided Busway - a trip on five different buses today (see PiPs). My programme was: Bus 1: Stagecoach East 21233 (AE12 CJU) – Histon & Impington to Longstanton service A Bus 2: Whippet Coaches WG457 (BU25 ZFF) – Longstanton to Huntingdon/Huntingdon to Swavesey service T1 Bus 3: Stagecoach East 21308 (BF65 WKX) – Swavesey to St. Ives Park & Ride service A Bus 4: Stagecoach East 15292 (YN17 ONB) - St. Ives Park & Ride to Swavesey service B Bus 5: Whippet Coaches WG458 (BU25 ZFE) – Swavesey to Histon & Impington service T1 ****** The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) is embarking on a franchising model for the region’s bus services. Bus services are branded ‘Tiger’ and have ‘T’ prefixed service numbers. Whippet Coaches Limited is the operator of service T1, a service that operates from Cambridge to Huntingdon travelling from Drummer Street bus station to join the Busway at Milton Road. It leaves the Busway at the Swavesey crossing taking to normal roads through the villages of Swavesey and Fenstanton. Two MCV eVoSeti tri-axle Volvo B8L tri-axle double deckers were added to the fleet specifically for the service in June 2025. These carry fleet numbers WG457/458 and registrations BU25 ZFF and BU25 ZFE (in that order). The latter was seen just about to join the Busway at Swavesey when working the 1116 service from Huntingdon to Cambridge. I boarded this bus for a ride to Histon.

Thursday 18 September 2025 (1206) – First Eastern Counties Buses 36903 (YN69 XZG), one of 19 Alexander Dennis (ADL) Enviro400 City bodied Scania N250UDs (numbered 36901-36919) added to the fleet in November/December 2019 to operate the Norwich-Peterborough ‘excel’ service. This was the 0947 service B from Norwich (Railway Station) to Peterborough seen passing the South Gate in London Road, King’s Lynn. The South Gate guarded the southern approaches to the town for nearly 600 years. Not only did it perform a defensive role but it also acted as a point of entry and exit to collect tolls and duties on merchandise. Traffic heading towards the town passes through the archway whereas traffic heading out of town passes alongside the building. The First Eastern Counties King’s Lynn garage, which is just around the corner from here, provides almost all of the buses for the service (15 allocated at King’s Lynn garage and 4 at Norwich garage). This is where most of the driver changeovers take place and the bus is leaving after a new driver had taken over. The ‘excel’ service timetable is quite complex but uniform. To legitimately keep this quite lengthy service within the rules of local bus service regulations rather than the more stringent rules pertaining to true long distance type operations, the services are registered in shorter segments although the buses run through: PF0000323/373: Norwich-East Dereham PF0000323/372: East Dereham-King’s Lynn PF0000323/371: King’s Lynn-Wisbech PF0000323/370: Wisbech-Peterborough PF0000323/433: Norwich-Swaffham The full timetable may be seen via this link: tinyurl.com/wt35yxnv This was the last of four buses I travelled on during my outing today: Bus 1: Coach Services Limited BU16 OZO – South Gate, London Road to the Bus Station. Bus 2: Lynx (Coastal Red) 11 (YJ07 VSK) – Bus Station to Felstead Estate then Gaywood Tesco. Bus 3: Go to Town (WNCT) RX72 TJV – Gaywood Tesco via North Lynn to the Bus Station. Bus 4: First Eastern Counties Buses 36903 (YN69 XZG), Bus Station to South Gate, London Road.