Christmas Eve/Boxing Day bus services

[jimobasa55]

Is there anywhere other than London where the bus service continues until midnight (24-hours buses) or until the end of normal Saturday service (non-24 hours routes) on Christmas Eve?
Is Stagecoach the only provincial operator not offering any service at all on Boxing Day (except for Hull for some reason)?  I know NXWM is offering pretty much a Sunday service on Boxing Day

[gooderson1]

Lothian Bus website is interesting. It would appear that they are operating a normal day time  service on the 24th and there is nothing to indicate that daytime services will finish earlier than normal but I stand to be corrected. But the website reveals that the company is operating a number of routes on Christmas Day from 0800 until about 2300.

[SF07]

Stagecoach are actually providing Boxing Day services in most of the areas they operate in. The only areas that don't have any services are most of the Midlands and East (except Northampton and Oxford) plus Middlesbrough and Hartlepool in the North East.

They also provide a Christmas Day service on the 43 between Manchester city centre and Manchester Airport, as well as a couple of services in Oxford including the Oxford Tube to/from London. As well as those services, they also run several free services on Christmas Day in Merseyside on behalf of Merseytravel.

www.stagecoachbus.com/promos-and-offers/national/christmas-timetables-2018-and-2019
www.merseytravel.gov.uk/travel-updates/Documents/Xmas%20booklet%202018%20for%20WEB.pdf

[gooderson1]

BBC Radio Leeds ran an interview yesterday with a local councillor who represents her council on the WYCA. She was pointing out that people need to get to work and visit hospitals on Boxing Day so the WYCA were funding bus services on this day. Obviously the same people do not need to work or visit hospitals on New Years Day.

[Deleted]

Dec 24, 2018 9:11:39 GMT 1 gooderson1 said:

BBC Radio Leeds ran an interview yesterday with a local councillor who represents her council on the WYCA. She was pointing out that people need to get to work and visit hospitals on Boxing Day so the WYCA were funding bus services on this day. Obviously the same people do not need to work or visit hospitals on New Years Day.

Or Christmas Day

[deerfold]

I thought the justification for Boxing Day services was shopping? Many services don't run early enough for the workers in those shops though.

[driver6540]

Dec 22, 2018 23:14:01 GMT 1 gooderson1 said:

Lothian Bus website is interesting. It would appear that they are operating a normal day time  service on the 24th and there is nothing to indicate that daytime services will finish earlier than normal but I stand to be corrected. But the website reveals that the company is operating a number of routes on Christmas Day from 0800 until about 2300.

Up there,christmas isn't really a big deal, indeed its only in the past couple of decades that boxing day has been classed as a holiday. Most Scots worked on boxing day as normal (many still do). Its the new year festivities (hogmanay) thats the main event. I've not looked at the LB website yet, but i would think there will be more services running on xmas/boxing day than on Jan 1/2. I too stand to be corrected if that isn't the case. just going on past experience!. merry christmas to you.

[gooderson1]

A very quick look at the Lothian Buses website reveals in excess of 25 services operating on 1st/2nd January as well as 25th/26th December and it is to be commended.
Also Go Ahead are operating Christmas Day services on the Isle of Wight and in the Bournemouth area. If some operators can do it why can't it be wide. Folk do have to work on bank holidays some have to rely on public transport.

[stevieinselby]

Dec 24, 2018 23:25:46 GMT 1 gooderson1 said:

If some operators can do it why can't it be wide.

Running buses on Christmas Day and New Year's Day is unlikely to be cost-effective for most operators. They will need to pay their drivers extra to compensate for having to work on what are usually the two sacrosanct days off in the calendar, and there are far fewer people travelling so they won't get as much revenue. Most operators won't want the discontent that would be likely to follow if some drivers had to work on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. You might as well say "if some routes can justify a Sunday service then why can't all of them?", very few routes would carry enough passengers to justify running them, and councils and PTEs are strapped for cash and can't afford to splash out on running buses on those days when few people are likely to use them.