Stagecoach Agrees To Take Over Bus Route Through Wood Street Village

Published on: 5 Feb, 2016
Updated on: 5 Feb, 2016

The No.17 bus service that runs through Wood Street Village is to be taken over by Stagecoach when Arriva pulls out in March.

Surrey County Council’s passenger transport officer Laurie James has been talking to alternative bus companies and Stagecoach has come up trumps.

Stagecoach will provide a replacement for service 17 on a commercial (non-subsidised) basis from March 14.

It follows plenty of local opposition this week to Arriva’s decision, including the setting up of an on-line petiton by Wood Street Village residents and work by local councillors.

Guildford West county councillor Fiona White (Lib Dem) said today (Friday, February 5): “Effectively, it replicates the frequency and span of the day currently offered by Arriva.

“On behalf of local residents in the Worplesdon, Westborough and Park Barn areas, I am very grateful to Stagecoach for coming forward to help the people of Wood Street and Frog Grove Lane.

“Rather than terminating at Fairlands (Brocks Drive) buses will run on a circular basis north of the Park Barn area, with journeys alternately running clockwise and anti-clockwise, but still covering all the usual points.

“Journeys covering students travelling from Wood Street to Kings College and Guildford Grove School are maintained, with a morning link from Fairlands to these schools newly-added.”

Poster circulated annoucning Arriva's decision to stop running service 17.

Poster circulated locally annoucning Arriva’s decision to stop running service 17.

Cllr White adds that Stagecoach is introducing this service on an experimental basis in good faith, and it will be monitored during the spring and summer to establish whether revenue income reaches their expectations within the business case, before deciding what form their service should take in the longer term from September 2016 onwards.

She added: “It is important that residents use the service and it really is a case of ‘use it or lose it’. I would appreciate everyone who reads this doing all they can to publicise the new service.”

Arriva has been informed that with the introduction of Stagecoach taking over service 17, there will be no need for it now to to divert service 28 (Woking-Knaphill-Brookwood-Pirbright Camp-Pirbright-Stanford Common-Worplesdon-Guildford).

However, this service is not under Surrey County Council control as it is commercially provided. Arriva’s decision, which is its prerogative, is that the diversion should be implemented. This means that rather than losing a service, the Brocks Drive, Envis Way and Brooke Forest area of Fairlands will actually get two bus services on weekdays, each operating basically hourly.

Fairlands will get a regular bus link to Woking on the 28 as well as having the choice of two buses to the University of Surrey and Guildford town centre. A timetable should be available to share shortly.

Cllr White also points out that this decision will mean that Worplesdon Road, between Holly Lane and Cumberland Avenue via Pitch Place and between Byrefield Road and Aldershot Road in Stoughton, will still lose its bus service on weekdays.

Officers at Surrey County Council have not been able to find another company to fill this gap.

Comments in respect of this decision can be addressed direct to Arriva by email to pattersonr.sc@arriva.co.uk

Cllr White said: “My sincere thanks to Laurie James who has worked tirelessly to make sure that a replacement service is put in place.”

Worplesdon county councillor Keith Witham (Con) has explained the same details and made similar comments on Wood Street Village’s Facebook page.

Responses to Stagecoach Agrees To Take Over Bus Route Through Wood Street Village

Brian Holt Reply

February 7, 2016 at 11:56 am

What a waste of a bus service by Arriva, now that Stagecoach is taking over route 17 to Wood Street Village and Fairlands Estate, and with Stagecoach’s number 20 to Aldershot passing Fairlands every 15 minutes.

And with two bus stops on the Aldershot Road to serve the estate.

Where does Arriva expect to get passengers from, after withdrawing from the route and having let the public down?

Do they now seriously think passengers will use their number 28 bus?

They have left the main A322 through Stoughton without buses that serve many elderly people, to divert the bus instead to Fairlands, that will not be wanted now.

Please leave route 28 as it is through Stoughton, and serve the community that needs buses.
Bob Smith Reply

February 9, 2016 at 8:01 pm

I see that Stagecoach have timed their 17 service to run just ahead of Arriva’s 28, so it scoops up all the passengers. Thus negating any significant benefit of there being two services an hour.

The 28 is operated commercially between Guildford and Knaphill. Many journeys seem quite quiet.

I don’t think Arriva are withdrawing the 17 and diverting the 28 for the hell of it. I assume the two changes were designed to combine the patronage from the two routes on to one bus, as best as possible, while leaving as few places as possible left unserved – and avoiding running at a loss.
Brian Holt Reply

February 26, 2016 at 5:09 pm

Fairlands Estate is going to have two bus routes now, plus an Aldershot to Guildford service every 15 minutes also passing the estate with two bus stops serving it along the Aldershot Road.

I hope Fairlands residents are very happy now leaving the Stoughton area of Worplesdon Road with no buses at all.

I have never seen any passengers on these buses when going around this estate, so who is going to use all these extra buses now?
Bob Smith Reply

August 6, 2018 at 9:08 am

I see that, after two years of running at a loss, but now having their foot in the door in the University of Surrey market and managing to chuck Arriva out, Stagecoach are now going to butcher the number 17 from an hourly service to just four trips a day.

On Saturdays, it will be only two trips a day.