Bus wars as Citylink takes on Red Arrow Derby route
A NEW bus war could benefit commuters travelling between Nottingham and Derby, it is claimed.
Yourbus is to start a Citylink service between the two cities from today.
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Ready for battle: Citylink buses will be operating on the Trent Barton Red Arrow route to and from Derby from today.
It will start and finish at Nottingham's Victoria Bus Station, stopping at Upper Parliament Street, the QMC and Derby – in direct competition with Trent Barton's Red Arrow.
Stephen Bryce, general manager at Yourbus, said: "We want to grow our business and we have got routes in Derby and Nottingham, so we are connecting the two cities so we can have more of a network ourselves."
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The Citylink service will run every ten minutes Monday to Saturday, and every half-hour on Sundays and bank holidays. It will use low-floor buses, instead of the coaches used for the Red Arrow.
David Thornhill, chairman of Notts Campaign for Better Transport, said: "This new competition between Trent Barton and Yourbus will be very interesting to watch. It is recognised that Trent Barton's fares during the commuter peak times were on the high side, so for commuters they may recognise this competition as being positive.
"On the downside, Citylink isn't actually offering anything new. It is just replicating exactly the Trent Barton operation, which means we are stuffing even more buses on to some of the most congested roads in Greater Nottingham."
Trent Barton commercial director Alex Hornby said: "We've been running fast coaches along the A52 between Nottingham and Derby for over 55 years and in that time have developed the service from an hourly timetable to a turn up and go frequency of every ten minutes."
Mr Bryce would not reveal Citylink's fares but said they would be "competitively priced".
Adult tickets on the Red Arrow between Nottingham and Derby cost £4.80 single and £8 for two trips, with discounts for users of the pre-pay Mango card.
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