West Norfolk set for more frequent bus services

Four key bus services in the west of the county will see enhanced timetables start this week as part of Norfolk County Council's Bus Service Improvement Plan.

Lynx bus who operates the services will implement the following service enhancements from today:

• Service 35 will now serve Castle Rising Village seven days a week, providing buses towards King's Lynn or Hunstanton up to every hour
• Service 39 between King's Lynn and West Winch will now operate every two hours on Sundays and bank holidays
• Service 48 between King's Lynn and Grimston will now operate every two hours on Sundays and bank holidays
• Service 49 / 49A which runs from King's Lynn to Fakenham will see six additional journeys (three each direction) Mondays to Fridays with two extra journeys on Saturdays too. This creates an hourly service through parts of the day

These service enhancements are being funded by the £49.55 million funding which Norfolk County Council was successful in securing from the Department for Transport (DfT) to use on implementing the county-wide Bus Service Improvement Plan over the next three years.

Approximately £12 million of the funding has been allocated to provide new or expanded bus routes and increase service frequencies on key routes, including more evening and weekend services.

Grahame Bygrave, Director of Highways, Transport and Waste said; "Being a rural county our bus services are absolutely vital to ensuring residents can remain independent and access services.

Having frequent services from our villages into our towns means people really can 'choose the bus' more often."

Graham Smith, Commercial Manager at Lynx said; "It is truly an exciting time for bus passengers in West Norfolk. These enhancements to bus services in the area are just a small part of a large package of measures which will include further new buses, the introduction of bus lanes, improved bus stops, exciting ticketing offers and much more! We're certainly looking forward to welcoming lots of new customers aboard over the coming years.

Norfolk Bus Service Improvement Plan

The plans outline 17 new measures across the county which give buses priority on the roads. These include new bus lanes in Norwich, King's Lynn and Great Yarmouth and redesigned junctions across the county.

New or improved travel hubs are proposed for Sheringham, Cromer, Diss and Hunstanton which will provide better waiting areas with real-time information to help to give passengers a better experience as well as being integrated with walking and cycling facilities.

There will also be a county-wide review of bus stops with upgrades to improve access for people with disabilities, to provide more real-time information and a programme of works to reduce delays to buses.

Improved services already running:

• Lynx 35 and 36 service
• Sanders - X55 and 210 service
• Konectbus - 5b and 11a service
• Konectbus - 512 service
• Konectbus - Fab4 service
• Sanders - X40 service
• Konectbus - 35 Canary Konect service