Contract number | Operator | Routes | Description | Outcome |
CON090 | Hadleigh CT | 90 | Ipswich - Sproughton - Burstall - Hintlesham – Hadleigh EVENINGS and SUNDAYS ONLY | Contract to be cancelled. Last journey will be on Saturday 2nd November. |
CON796 | Hadleigh CT | 796 | Hadleigh - Upper Layham - Raydon - Holton St Mary - East Bergholt - Cattawade - Manningtree Station | Contract to be cancelled. Last journey will be on Friday 1st November. Connecting Communities options may be possible. |
CON202 | First | 202 | Ipswich - Freston - Woolverstone - Chelmondiston - Shotley | Operator withdrew from contract in March 2019. Replacement will not be tendered. |
CON011 | Mulleys | M33, M44 | Bury St Edmunds Town Circulars M33: Arc - Bus Station - Moreton Hall. M44 Mildenhall Rd Est - Howard Est - Arc. | Alternative funding available, service to continue. |
CON108 | Suffolk Norse | 108 | Lowestoft - Blundeston - Lound - Gorleston James Paget Hospital | Contract to be cancelled. Last journey will be on Friday 1st November. Alternative journeys available by using Connecting Communities services to meet other buses at Gunton Tesco. |
CON377 | Galloway | 377, 386 | 377: Rattlesden - Brettenham - Thorpe Morieux - Great Green - Felsham - Gedding - Drinkstone - Rougham - Bradfield St George - Blackthorpe - Bury St Edmunds. 386: Stowmarket - Onehouse - Harelston - Rattlesden - Felsham - Gedding - Drinkstone - Hessett - Rougham - Blackthorpe - Bury St Edmunds | Operator has withdrawn from contract early, last journeys will be on 21 September. Alternative services being sought, but Connecting Communities options are available. |
CON387 | Stowmarket Minibus & Coach Hire | 387, 456 | 387: Stowupland - Cedars Park - Combs Ford - Stowmarket. 456: Eye - Stoke Ash - Thornham Magna - Finningham - Gislingham - Westhorpe - Wyverstone - Bacton - Cotton - Mendlesham - Middlewood Green - Stowupland - Stowmarket | Reduced route continuing until March 2020. Connecting Communities options are also available for other trips |
CON062 | PF Travel | 62, 71 | 62: Blaxhall - Tunstall - Campsea Ashe - Hacheston - Parham - Framlingham - Easton - Wickham Market - Woodbridge. OR Saxmundham - Rendham - Sweffling - Framlingham - Parham - Easton - Wickham Market 71: Sudbourne - Orford - Chillesford - Hollesley - Sutton Heath - Melton - Woodbridge (and on to Ipswich morning only) | Contract to be cancelled. Last journey will be on Saturday 2nd November. Connecting Communities options are available. |
CON112 | Suffolk Norse | 112 | Hadleigh - Kersey - Semer - Bildeston - Chelsworth - Monks Eleigh - Brent Eleigh - Milden - Little Waldingfield - Great Waldingfield - Sudbury | Service will continue until March 2020; alternative funding options are being sought. Connecting Communities options are also available for other trips |
CON532 | Bungay CT | 532 | Laxfield - Ubbeston - Heveningham - Huntingfield - Walpole - Halesworth - Holton - Brampton - Willingham - Sotterley - Wrentham - Henstead - Rushmere - Mutford - Barsham - Ilketshall St Andrew - Ilketshall St Margaret - The Elmhams - Rumburgh - Wissett - Beccles | Changes to law mean this service cannot run after the end of September. Alternatives are being investigated but Connecting Communities options are available for other trips |
CON971 | Beestons | 971 | Hadleigh - Upper Layham - Raydon - Holton St Mary - East Bergholt - Stratford St Mary - Colchester Schools | The operator is taking this service on as a commercial venture. |
CON094 | Ipswich Buses | 94A, 91 (1 trip), 93 (1 trip) | Hadleigh - Upper Layham - Raydon - Holton St Mary - East Bergholt - Capel St Mary - Bentley - Tattingstone - Wherstead - Ipswich | Contract to be cancelled, last journeys will be on 2nd November 2019. Ipswich to Colchester services will continue in a slightly reduced form after this. Connecting Communities options are also available for other trips, from Bentley, Tattingstone and Wherstead |
CON087 | Galloway | 87 | Stowmarket - Badley - Needham Market - Baylham - Great Blakenham - Claydon - Bramford - Ipswich | Operator has withdrawn from contract early, last journeys will be on 15 September. End to end journeys still possible by rail. |
CON098 | Ipswich Buses | 98 | Shotley Gate - Erwarton - Harkstead - Holbrook - Freston - Ipswich | Contract has been cancelled, last journeys will be on 2nd November 2019. Ipswich to Shotley services on route 97 will continue in a slightly reduced form after this. Connecting Communities options are also available from Erwarton and Harkstead. School movements on route HK98 will be continued. |
CON120 | Hadleigh CT | 120 | Whatfield - Elmsett - Aldham - Flowton - Burstall - Sproughton - Ipswich | Service will continue until March 2020; alternative funding options are being sought. Connecting Communities options are also available for other trips |
CON375 | Suffolk Norse | 375 | Alpheton - Shimpling - Bridge Street - Cockfield - Lawshall - Low Green - Bury St Edmunds | Education transport journeys will be retained but not open to public from 2 November 2019. Connecting Communities options are also available. |
CON461 | Hadleigh CT | 461, 462 | Whatfield - Elmsett - Aldham - Hadleigh and Hadleigh - Aldham - Elmsett - Whatfield - Naughton - Great Bricett - Wattisham Airfield - Ringshall - Semer - Bildeston - Hitcham - Cross Green - Great Finborough - Buxhall - Stowmarket | Service will continue until March 2020; alternative funding options are being sought. Connecting Communities options are also available for other trips |
CON483 | Simonds | 482 | Diss - Oakley - Brome - Eye - Hoxne - Denham - Horham - Stradbroke - Ashfield Green - Laxfield - Badingham - Dennington - Framlingham | Contract to be cancelled. Last journey will be on Friday 1st November. Alternative journeys available by using Connecting Communities and other journey options currently being investigated. |
Suffolk County Council met with 11 of Suffolk's biggest bus operating companies to see whether certain routes could be run without public subsidy, following a reduction in the amount of public money available.
This follows decisions taken in February 2019 on how to save £13 million from Suffolk County Council’s budget, including £340,000 from the authority’s passenger transport budget.
In 2017/18 the 23 services at risk were responsible for 107,624 single journeys out of a total of 14.9 million journeys taken across the county. This means that the services are responsible for only 0.7% of journeys per year.
A full list of the affected routes can be found in the document below. This includes services where the council is currently paying a subsidy of £12.64 per single ticket which equates to over £25.00 per round trip.
Download the above document (PDF 1.4MB)
Download the above map (PDF 4.4MB)
The council spends money on supporting a range of bus services that are not commercially viable.
This year the budget available to deliver these subsidised registered local bus services is being reduced.
Up until now the criteria was based on the amount of subsidy per passenger and local knowledge. A much more thorough way of assessing the criteria for funding services was needed so a cross-party Policy Development Panel was set up. This cross party Policy Development Panel has agreed on the following 6 criteria when assessing local bus service services:-
- Subsidy per single ticket
- Average single tickets per day
- Percentage of those journeys by concessionary pass holders
- Number of eligible students using service
- Level of integration with commercially delivered services
- Service type (daily/evenings/Sundays etc)
When applied, this methodology then results in a score that either increases or decreases the need for local bus service provision. It is important that we have a consistent method for evaluating these to ensure that decisions are made in a robust and transparent way. The maximum score is 65. The services at risk range in score from 8 to 26.
There are 23 bus routes out of the 61 subsidised by Suffolk County Council which are at risk under the new methodology. In total there are 211 commercial bus routes across the county which operate without public funding.
The bus services affected by this bus service review are listed below. Please click on the route number listed below to find out more details
090
Ipswich - Hadleigh - Sudbury 90/91
796
Manningtree - East Bergholt - Hadleigh 796
011
Bury St Edmunds Town Centre - Moreton Hall - Town Centre M33
108
Oulton Broad/Lowestoft - Blundeston - Lound - Gorleston 108/882
377
Stowmarket - Drinkstone - Bury St Edmunds 377/386
387
Stowupland - Stowmarket 387/456
062
Sudbourne - Orford - Woodbridge - Bealings - Ipswich 71/72
112
Hadleigh - Bildeston - Sudbury 112
532
Beccles/Laxfield - Halesworth 532
971
Hadleigh - East Bergholt - Colchester 971
094
Ipswich - Capel St Mary - East Bergholt - Colchester 93/93A/93C/94/94A/94C/X93
087
Stowmarket - Needham Market - Claydon - Bramford - Ipswich 87/88/88A/89/89A/987
098
Ipswich - Chelmondiston/Holbrook - Shotley Gate 97/98
120
Whatfield - Elmsett - Sproughton - Ipswich 120
375
Bridge Street - Lawshall - Bury St Edmunds 375
461
Bury St Edmunds/Stowmarket - Bildeston/Elmsett - Hadleigh 379/461/462
Progress with operators, solutions proposed will be reviewed and the end of July 2019 to decide on next steps.
According to the data we have received from the bus operators, most of the services at risk operate with very limited passengers per day, meaning that these vehicles are contributing to the carbon footprint but are not being utilised to full capacity. Some services carry a very high level of subsidy – as much as more than £14 per passenger per single journey.
The Council is required to have regard to the transport needs of members of the public who are elderly or disabled. This provision is delivered by the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS).
If you currently have an ENCTS card and there is no local bus service available, you can apply to have taxi vouchers to the value of £100 instead of a bus pass. Certain criteria apply. Please click here for further information.
If your child is eligible for Suffolk County Council (SCCCloseSuffolk County Council) funded school travel under the School Travel Policies then we will ensure your child continues to receive travel to and from school.
If your child does not have SCCCloseSuffolk County Council funded school travel but pays fares to the bus operator, there maybe local solutions such as another operator or partner organisations taking on the route or the school operating a minibus service.
To see what your nearest commercial service is, please go to our journey planner.
Community Transport providers maybe able to help with some of these journeys. Please click here to find out further information about this service in your area.
You can also find out about Suffolk Car Share via this link
To find out who your local Councillor is, please click here to find out more
Please sendCloseSpecial Educational Needs and Disabilities any comments or feedback to customer.service@suffolk.gov.uk or you can call on the general line phone number 0345 606 6067 (option7). You can write to us at:-
Passenger Transport
Growth, Highways and Infrastructure
5 Constantine Road
Ipswich
IP1 2DH
Page last updated on 26 November 2019
