Changes coming to Arriva bus network in Luton, Dunstable and Houghton Regis next month

The changes will come into effect on June 1

Arriva said: “There’ll be more buses and more routes so you can connect more with the people you love and the places you need to reach.

“After carefully reviewing passenger numbers, travel patterns and taking into consideration the changes many of you have been asking for, we've invested over £9 million in new buses to help shape Luton’s bus network in a way that works more effectively.”

Routes A and Z will be combined and turned into a loop to make “getting around Dunstable even easier” – running 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Buses will run up to every 15 minutes.

Route A will now run in a clockwise loop, starting at Luton Airport, then travelling through Luton, Dunstable, Houghton Regis, Tithe Farm, Lewsey Farm and Luton and Dunstable Hospital, before heading back to Luton and the airport.

Route Z will run in the opposite direction, following an anticlockwise loop from London Luton Airport, through Luton, Luton and Dunstable Hospital, Lewsey Farm, Parkside, Tithe Farm, Houghton Regis and Dunstable, before returning to Luton and the airport.

From the airport, route A is the fastest bus to Dunstable and Houghton Regis, while route Z is the fastest for those travelling to Lewsey Farm, Parkside and Tithe Farm.

Good news for those in Parkside, as buses will use Windsor Drive in both directions, meaning the area will have a bus service on Sundays.

Route Z will coordinate with Routes H, X2, and X3, making the journey between Dunstable, Luton, and London Luton Airport faster, with buses every seven minutes along the busway.

Route A and H will stop at White Lion Retail Park, Central Bedfordshire College, Asda, Quadrant, Church Street (P1) and Priory View, before returning to White Lion Retail Park to head towards Houghton Regis, Tithe Farm and Lewsey Farm.

The operator will start a new route from the airport to Thorn. Route H will run from the airport, Luton town centre, to Dunstable, Houghton Regis and Thorn. Route L will connect Luton with Linmere, going past the Luton and Dunstable Hospital and Lewsey Farm on the way.

The new service runs up to every 15 minutes, Monday to Saturday. Buses will do a small circuit of Linmere, stopping at The Farmstead, Waterslade Way, Box Crescent and Silver Birch Avenue.

The F70 and F77 routes from the airport to Leighton Buzzard and Milton Keynes will be called X2 and X3.

Arriva said: “Our new route X2 will now serve Apex Park, Clipstone Park, heading into Leighton Buzzard town centre along Hockliffe Road up to every hour, including in the evenings and on Sundays. Route X3 will serve Stanbridge and Tilsworth, continuing into Leighton Buzzard past Roundel Drive.

“We’ll still serve Leighton Buzzard town centre, but to avoid disruptions from High Street closures, buses will call at West Street every day of the week, making things simpler and more consistent.”

Also, as part of the network updates, route 31 will now be known as route 1. This is a name change only, as there are no changes to the timetable.

Routes 24, 25 and 26 will be replaced with 4 and 4A.

The new route 4 will extend to Dunstable, running through Lewsey Farm, Woodside Industrial Estate, past White Lion Retail Park and Central Bedfordshire College directly into the town centre.

The bus operator said: “This means that there's now a direct connection from Dunstable to Marsh Farm, Bramingham and Bushmead without changing buses, which many of our customers have been asking for.”

Route 4 will serve Cromer Way (replacing existing route 26), and route 4A will serve Barnfield (replacing existing routes 24 and 25).

Extra services on route 4A will run during school days only, directly connecting Luton, the Sixth Form and Barnfield Colleges.

Arriva explained: “Buses will no longer start at Sundon Park on schooldays due to a change in customer demand - the nearest bus stops are on Hill Rise for routes 4/4A.

“Equally, due to a reduction in demand over time, buses will no longer serve Kestrel Way or Ravenhill Way on schooldays only - customers should catch route 4 at St Dominics Square or Leagrave High Street.”

Changes are also being made to route 23, especially to accommodate workers at Panattoni, Ocado and Lidl distribution centres.

The bus company said: “We’ve worked closely with employment sites to align bus departures with updated shift patterns. We've added new journeys to cover all key shift start and finish times at Lidl distribution centre, where our buses stop right outside the colleague's entrance.”

There will also be some minor timetable changes to the 27 between Luton and Marsh Farm and to the 321 and 721 services.

Some “low-used journeys” on the 721 to Hemel Hempstead will no longer run.

What do you think of the changes? Let us know at [email protected]