Changes to Hereford's buses as Yeomans ditches routes

Herefordshire Council said 10 bus routes would be affected as Yeomans scrapped services, with the Old School Lane-based company also blaming out-of-town shopping centres and places of work.

Yeomans Travel, which said it had been a family-owned company for more than 100 years, said passenger numbers had halved since 2019 and it needed to take action to protect its future.

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It meant the Old School Lane-based company was ditching most of its commercial bus services in the city of Hereford, with the last day being December 31.

Herefordshire Council said it had tried to persuade Yeomans to continue until April 2022, but it didn't agree. Since then, Kington-based Sargeants has stepped in to save routes.

From Tuesday, January 4

71/71A/71B Hereford - Credenhill

Yeomans Travel service withdrawn and replaced by subsidised 71B operating Mondays to Saturdays by Sargeants Bros. Credenhill village served on Sundays by diverted 461 service operated by Sargeants Bros.

71S  Credenhill – Whitecross School

Yeomans Travel service withdrawn. Alternative facility using service 71B to and from Moor Farm Lane.

72  Hereford - Bobblestock

Yeomans Travel service withdrawn. Alternative facility between Bobblestock and Hereford using Sargeants Bros. service B.

74/74A Hereford - Newton Farm

Minor revision to Mondays to Saturdays timetable. Last journey at 1855 withdrawn.  Service via Hunderton withdrawn. Alternative facility between Hunderton and Hereford using service 75. Improved commercial Sunday timetable from 2 January 2022.

74S/78S  Hereford - Bishops School

Yeomans Travel services withdrawn. Alternative facility from Hereford City Bus Station using Sargeants Bros. service A to and from Biddulph Rise or Salisbury Avenue.

75  Hereford - Redhill - Belmont - Hunderton - Hereford

New subsidised service operating on Mondays to Fridays by Sargeants Bros.

77A  Hereford - College Green - Holmer - Bobblestock - Hereford

Yeomans Travel service withdrawn. Alternative facility on Mondays to Saturdays using service B or 81B.

78/78A/78X - Hereford - Putson - Skylon Park/Rotherwas

Minor revision to Mondays to Fridays timetable. Service via Redhill withdrawn. Alternative facility between Redhill and Hereford using service 75.

79A  Hereford - Putson - Redhill

Yeomans Travel service withdrawn.

81B  Hereford - College Green - Victoria Park - Venns Lane - Hereford

New subsidised service operating on Mondays to Saturdays by Sargeants Bros.

88/88B  Hereford - Hinton - The Pastures - Putson

Revised Mondays to Fridays timetable with service via Redhill withdrawn. Alternative facility between Redhill and Hereford using service 75.

Saturday service withdrawn by Yeomans Travel and replaced by subsidised 88 and 88B services operated by Sargeants Bros.

449  Hereford - Clehonger - Kingstone - Madley

On Mondays to Fridays (School Days) the 0650 journey from Hereford to Kingstone and 0720 return journey will operate 10 minutes earlier.

On Mondays to Fridays (School Days) the 1426 journey from Madley to Hereford will terminate in Bridge Street.

492  Leominster - Wellington - Moreton-on-Lugg - Hereford

The following Mondays to Fridays journeys are withdrawn:

0930 Leominster to Hereford

1745 Hereford to Leominster

1833 Leominster to Holmer

For full timetables visit traveline.info

Yeomans said in September 2015 it stepped in and kept bus services running when First closed its Hereford depot.

First said that it was not viable to operate with such low passenger numbers.

Yeomans also said that Government support for bus companies ended in September, and while it had continued to operate services since, it was not sustainable any longer.

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"In recent years, and especially since the start of the Covid pandemic, the number of passengers carried has been in slow decline as more people have bought cars and traffic congestion in the city has got steadily worse," the company said.

"The rise of out-of-town shopping and employment centres has also reduced demand for travel into the city centre.

"There have been no discussions with local operators about bus priority or traffic issues until recently when the Government unveiled a package to local councils to assist bus travel.

"We are now carrying only 50 per cent of the numbers of bus passengers that we were carrying in 2019 and this is unfortunately typical of bus services across the whole of England and like many others are also having to absorb the large increase in fuel costs."

While Yeomans Travel said that was aware that Herefordshire Council was working on a new bus strategy that would involve support for services across the county, but it had to "act now to protect the future of the company".

In a statement, Yeomans criticised Herefordshire Council for not thanking them for stepping in with six weeks’ notice and solving the problems six years ago when First pulled its services.

Herefordshire Council awarded Sargeants contracts for five routes.

Matt Evans, the firm's managing director, said: “We’re delighted to tell customers in Hereford about these changes.

"It means residents and visitors will still be able to make their journeys, as well as new connections for our existing customers.

"We have been working very closely with Herefordshire Council to ensure network continuity and we’ve been pleased to be able to step in and support the local community and keep bus links in place across Hereford."