Report by Local Democracy Reporter – Jon Cooper
East Midlands Combined County Authority insists it has agreed measures to protect key bus services and is working to secure replacements after a commercial operator announced that it is due to cut or withdraw a wide range of services affecting Chesterfield and Staveley.
Stagecoach Yorkshire announced it is making changes to ‘several services’ with amended timetables to ‘improve punctuality’, and some services will be revised or withdrawn by October 25 over what it claims have been issues with reduced passenger numbers and running costs.
The commercial bus company stated that EMCCA had chosen not to directly replace any of the reduced or withdrawn facilities after months of discussions but the authority has since stated that it is working quickly to reduce the impact on passengers.
EMCCA’s East Midlands Labour Mayor Claire Ward, said: “We understand the concern these changes will cause for people who rely on these bus services.
“Although this is a commercial decision by Stagecoach Yorkshire, we are working quickly to reduce the impact on passengers in Chesterfield and Staveley.
“We have already agreed immediate measures to protect key services. Our transport team is working closely with bus operators to secure further replacement services, which we will announce as soon as they are confirmed.
“Passengers can find the latest information on a dedicated webpage on the EMCCA website.”
Staveley Town Cllr Paul Mann, who revealed Stagecoach Yorkshire’s plans and appealed to Labour’s EMCCA and Chesterfield MP Toby Perkins for action, fears there has still been no action to stop the cuts and changes affecting villages and residents who he claims will be left housebound and in some cases unable to work.
Independent Cllr Mann, who says Mr Perkins arranged to meet with Stagecoach, said: “We are less than a month away, and I feel residents are being left high and dry with small talk from the Mayor’s office and the MP of Chesterfield and I have not heard anything from the North East Derbyshire MP [for] Woodthorpe and Barrow Hill… Now is not the time for talks, but action so residents know where they stand.”
Campaign group Better Buses East Midlands confirmed residents, including some living in areas without a bus service, have been contacting councillors about the struggle to get to work and visit family and friends.
BBEM argued cutting services creates a vicious circle because the less useful and reliable they become even fewer people will use them and they will be further cut.
EMCCA has stated that some immediate measures have been agreed to preserve a number of important links, but they will not fully replace the routes, frequency or coverage of the services being withdrawn.
BBEM claims Stagecoach Yorkshire is cutting nearly 60 bus trips a day as a result of changes, making the services less useful for existing bus users and less attractive for potential passengers.
It argued that adding additional stops to other services to pick up the withdrawn services will make those bus journeys longer and less direct.
A Stagecoach spokesperson said: “We are making some service changes from the above date. Several services will have amended timetables to improve punctuality.
“Unfortunately less people are travelling with us as our customers’ lifestyles change. This is a nationwide trend caused by continued growth in online shopping and the impact of the cost of living crisis.
“As our costs also continue to rise we have had to make some changes affecting poorly used parts of our network.
“These changes have been designed to have the minimum adverse impact on our customers whilst ensuring we can continue to offer a high standard of service and good value for money.”
BBEM argued that cancelling or withdrawing bus services does not improve punctuality and that declining bus passengers is not a nationwide trend or even a Derbyshire trend claiming the number of bus passengers in Derbyshire increased by two per cent between 2024 and 2025.
A BBEM spokesperson said: “Overall, despite EMCCA’s well meaning attempts to mitigate the damage caused by the loss of services, this represents a deterioration in bus services for residents and workers in and around Chesterfield.
“We have frequently been told that an Enhanced Partnership offers the same benefits as public control and will provide better services to the residents of Derbyshire.
“We would be grateful to know why there was so little warning given that Stagecoach is planning to be part of the Enhanced Partnership. The current behaviour of Stagecoach does not augur well for the Enhanced Partnership, the obligations for which are currently under consultation.”
Cllr Mann argued some will have to reconsider whether they can afford to keep working without reliable bus travel and he fears this will affect the economy with some also struggling to get to Jobcentres and that perhaps it is time to start discussing the nationalisation of public transport.
He said: “Some residents are also telling me that now there will be no bus from their village, it will make their job no longer worth going to if they have to get taxis and they would be better staying at home on universal credit.”
Cllr Mann added: “I feel that Stagecoach will be leaving some villages high and dry and, in my mind, not providing a good reliable service to the villages and residents of Staveley and Chesterfield which would then bring into question is Stagecoach the correct company to provide any service to the Staveley area?”
Withdrawn services include: the numbers 3 on Saturdays; 5 with a partial replacement with the rerouted 15; 38 with replacements from the rerouted 16 and 84; the 74/74A will continue hourly as 74 but will no longer serve Woodthorpe; 90/90A service is withdrawn beyond Staveley and Markham Vale, Clowne and Creswell will no longer be served but a 90 service will continue elsewhere.
Amended services include the numbers 1, 10, 15, 16, 25, 39, 43/44, 50/50A, 54, 74/74A, 84, 90B, 170 and the 583 and 584 school services will be provided by another operator.
The main changes, according to Stagecoach, are listed below by service number and the bus operator stated that full timetables will be made available soon.
1 – On Saturdays, the 16.50 hours ex Chesterfield and 18.16 hours ex Whaley Thorns are re-timed to run 10 minutes later.
3 – Withdrawn on Saturdays. The last bus from Chesterfield on Mondays to Fridays will be 17.30 hours.
5 – Withdrawn. See 15 for a partial replacement.
10 – Some minor early morning timing changes.
15 – Rerouted to cover most of the 5, joining the route southbound from Stand Road, then anti clockwise via St Johns Road, Cranbourne Road, Salisbury Avenue, Lansdowne Avenue, Highfield Lane, Chantry Ave, Malson Way, Highfield View Road, Tapton View Road, Highfield Road, Newbold Road and as current route.
16 – Rerouted to serve the Chasecliff Estate and Green Farm Close as a replacement for the 38, from Hawksley Ave, then Newbold Back Lane, Cheedale Avenue, Loundsley Green Avenue, Newbold Road and as current route.
25 – Some re-timing to improve punctuality.
38 – Withdrawn. See 16 and 84 for replacements.
39 – Daytime buses will run every 20 minutes.
43/44 – Some re-timing to improve punctuality.
50/50A – Some re-timing to improve punctuality.
54 – Daytime buses will run every 20 minutes.
74/74A – Buses will run hourly. All buses will run as 74. We will no longer serve Woodthorpe.
84 – Rerouted to cover part of the 38 route from West Bars via Foijambe Road, Ashgate Road, Clifton Street, Springfield Avenue, Old Hall Road, Churston Road, Ashgate Road, Greenbank Drive, Cuttholme Road, Loundsley Green Road, Slack Lane, Old Road, Storrs Road and Chatsworth Road.
90/90A – Service withdrawn beyond Staveley. Markham Vale, Clowne and Creswell will no longer be served. This section of route was funded, primarily to provide improved access to improvement, but ridership was very low. All buses will run as service 90.
90B – Inbound buses rerouted in Chesterfield town centre via the town hall.
170 – The first bus on Mondays to Fridays will be 06.45 from Chesterfield and 07.26 from Bakewell. The first bus on Saturdays will be 07.38 from Chesterfield and 08.30 from Bakewell.
583/584 – These school services will be provided by another operator.
