An updated bus service network is coming to Melton from January.
Services funded by Leicestershire County Council using government cash, will be supported across the area and will include a new on-demand bookable bus serving areas across Melton, and will start from Monday 6th January 2025.
Five redesigned town centre bus services, operating seven days a week will cover new developments, some industrial estates and places of interest that are not currently served.
Additional villages will be added onto the Melton Loughborough route, maximising onward travel to Grantham, Nottingham, Leicester, and Oakham.
Larger buses will serve the schools and colleges, operating at key commute times to cater for students and non-entitled scholars. All re-designed routes will serve both secondary schools in Melton Town.
Passengers will also benefit from an on-demand, bookable service that will operate across zones in Melton, serving settlements like, Harby, Long Clawson, Beeby, Hoby, and Bottesford.
This service is known as a ‘digital demand responsive transport’ option, and can be booked through an app or a call centre. The service offers flexibility, increases public transport connections and uses smaller vehicles more suited to rural roads.
Improvements to the network have been funded by the Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus government (BSIP+) grant, which has helped the county council review all supported services across Leicestershire.
Plans to improve the bus network across Leicestershire were set out in the Leicestershire Bus Service Improvement Plan document and were discussed at Melton’s Sustainable Travel Roadshows back in October 2024.
“The changes in Melton Mowbray are the first for our county-wide network review to drive forward a positive change for public transport across Leicestershire.
“We have looked at flexible transport solutions that best support the area. The smaller on-demand buses will operate in zones to maximise convenient connections, and bus users will be able to use an app or a call centre to book their journeys.
“We’re using this cash wisely and for the benefit of our communities by identifying how our bus network can better serve Leicestershire.”
Person:Councillor Ozzy O’Shea, cabinet member for Highways and transport,
As part of the county-wide network review, there will be Sustainable Travel Roadshows in Charnwood and Harborough, early next year. These roadshows will discuss plans for wider district bus services, with the town services being reviewed in spring next year.
More information about the roadshows and Melton’s network review can be found on the Choose How You Move website.
To find out more about Bus Service Improvement Plans for Leicestershire, visit the webpage.