Current Provision

Over 95% of the market within Cumberland is provided by a single operator (Stagecoach), this offers significant benefits in terms of ticket inter-availability, comprehensive publicity, but has drawbacks of following strategies set nationally.

Most areas of Carlisle have seven day a week services, and services running from early morning until late evening.

There are Sunday services within Workington, but other towns have either a limited or no commercially provided Sunday service.

Outside Carlisle most local services finish at around 6.00pm.

There are generally good networks along main roads between towns, operating at least hourly in the daytime, with a limited evening and Sunday service.

Services within the Central Lake District are good with high frequencies seven days a week throughout the year, with enhanced frequencies in Summer (Easter to late October).

Daytime service frequency and coverage within the Central Lake District (Windermere, Ambleside, Coniston, Grasmere, Keswick) has increased significantly within the last 20 years, often commercially but sometimes with initial Council and Lake District National Park Authority support to prove the viability of enhancements.

Outside the Lake District, since the withdrawal of Cumbria County Council support in 2014, frequencies are limited in most rural areas that aren’t on routes between main towns, and many areas, due to the sparse population, have no service.

Cumberland Council supports a Voluntary Social Car Scheme and demand responsive Rural Wheels Scheme to fill gaps in these areas. There are a number of section 22 permit “Community Bus operations”.

The bus fleet is slowly and aging, but has previously benefited from renewal, with new vehicles in Carlisle and “Gold” standard vehicles on the 300 service (Carlisle - Workington) and the renewal of buses on the 555 service (Keswick - Lancaster).

During the summer of 2024 Stagecoach are introducing 6 brand new vehicles to serve Whitehaven, this should help to improve service provision.

Individual fares are often seen to be high, but value season tickets are available for regular travellers in most areas. Higher fares are often necessary in the Lake District to support an all year round service, whilst after the withdrawal of Council financial support, many rural services rely heavily on pass holders of the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS - known locally as NoWCard), the free scheme for older and disabled people, to fund their survival.

Bus stops in most areas are marked and a high proportion of marked stops have timetable posters at the stop.

There is currently no real-time information provided at bus stations/stops. Stagecoach provide live running information through their app, and travel news updates through the “X” Cumbria and North Lancashire account.

Bus shelters in the Cumberland area are generally owned and maintained by parish councils. Carlisle benefits from the provision of a number of shelters by an advertising company. Cumberland Council has continued the former County Council scheme of offering grants towards provision or maintenance of shelters.

Following the COVID pandemic concessionary passholders (ENCTS), who were vital for the viability of many rural routes, have been much slower to return to the bus than adults and young people.

Whilst there are currently no real-time displays at bus stops, a large number have bus timetable displays which are stop specific, to key destinations, for simplicity for potential passengers, and designed in a large print.

There are currently no electric (or alternative fuel) vehicles operating within Cumberland. The high costs of introduction and low profit margins make it difficult to deliver this important change. The large number of long routes and topography in the area also make them less suitable for a switch to electric buses. Cumberland Council prepared bids for “ZEBRA” funding from the Government in 2023, but the Cumberland submission for routes within Carlisle failed to meet the criteria needed, for the operator to support a bid to the Government.

The £2 fare scheme has been a major incentive to travel in many areas throughout Cumberland where long travel distances and limited population have led to high fares. The scheme however, does not offer any incentive to the regular traveller in towns where fares and weekly season tickets were already at this level.

Like many areas of the Country the area has been affected by unreliability, due to staff sickness and shortages, meaning services are dropped at short notice, whilst delays in vehicle replacement and shortage of parts have also meant services being dropped due to vehicles shortages. Both are affecting passenger confidence and the ability to attract extra passengers onto the network.

It is recognised that the interchange facilities in major towns are poor compared with those in similar sized towns in other areas, and offer a poor first view of the towns for visitors, and therefore will not encourage greater use of public transport.