Boost for Stoke-on-Trent’s bus revolution

New bus routes being introduced in Stoke-on-Trent will make it easier for people to get to shops, hospitals, visitor attractions and key employment sites.

The changes affect 14 services, being phased in from Sunday 23 February, and will help to meet the ongoing demand from passengers for more evening and weekend services.

They are being introduced as part of Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) which is transforming the local transport network.

The new journeys include brand-new services 500 and 501 which link Stoke-on-Trent Railway Station, Hanley Bus Station, Festival Park, Etruria Valley and Wolstanton Retail Park.

Another brand-new service, service 27A, links Bentilee, Anchor Road and Longton to Trentham Lakes and Radial Park in Stoke, while service 40 has been extended on Saturdays to include the World of Wedgwood in Barlaston.

Councillor Finlay Gordon-McCusker, cabinet member for transport, infrastructure and regeneration at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: “We’re bringing buses back. We’re making them work for working people, getting them to and from work, connecting them to family and friends and making everyday life easier.

“Local people have told us they need better connections to jobs, shops, and hospitals - and we’ve listened. That’s why we’re introducing new and improved routes linking places like Etruria Valley, Trentham Lakes, Festival Park, Wolstanton Retail Park, Haywood Hospital and the World of Wedgwood.

“Here in Stoke-on-Trent, we are leading the nation in the bus revolution. In just 12 months, we’ve improved 28 services across all six towns, providing more evening and weekend buses, creating new routes where they’re needed most and making sure no community is left behind. And people are seeing the difference. They’re telling us they’re noticing more buses on the roads, running later than they have in years.

“This is about getting the basics right - buses that turn up on time, go where people need them while supporting jobs, families and our local economy. We are determined that everyone - from students to pensioners - feels the benefits of our Bus Service Improvement Programme.”

Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s Bus Service Improvement Plan is being funded by £31.6 million of funding from the Department for Transport (DfT).

In December, following extensive lobbying efforts by councillors and local MPs, the city council was awarded additional government funding of almost £10 million to continue with its efforts to improve the local bus network and build on the success of the scheme in the coming years.

The new routes, which will operate until at least March 2026, are:

• Service 2 (Hanley – Birches Head) – new evening services Monday to Saturday, operated by First Potteries.

• Service 5 (Hanley – Abbey Hulton) – new early morning buses from Abbey Hulton into Hanley, Monday to Saturday, along with new evening services, all operated by First Potteries.

• Service 7A (Hanley – High Lane – Fegg Hayes) – new evening service along High Lane, serving Haywood Hospital, Monday to Saturday, operated by First Potteries.

• Service 8 (Hanley – Norton – Ball Green) – new late evening services to Ball Green, Monday to Friday, operated by First Potteries.

• Service 9 (Fegg Hayes – Bradeley – Hanley – Newcastle) – new evening service along Chell Heath Road, Monday to Saturday, and a new Sunday daytime service along Chell Heath Road, operated by First Potteries.

• Service 23 (Hanley – Blurton – Newstead) – new late evening services to Blurton, Monday to Saturday, operated by First Potteries.

• Service 27A (Bentilee – Longton – Trentham Lakes) – new service running at shift-change times, every day of the week, operated by D&G Bus.

• Service 36 / 36A (Meir – Longton – Hanley – Tunstall – Kidsgrove) – new Sunday evening service, operated by First Potteries.

• Service 38 / 39 (Hanley – Festival Park – Newcastle) – new late evening service every day, operated by First Potteries.

• Service 40 (Hanley – Mount Pleasant – Longton – Wedgwood) – new Saturday daytime service for Mount Pleasant, also providing a new link to World of Wedgwood, operated by First Potteries.

• Service 501– new link to Wolstanton Retail Park and the Etruria Valley development site from Stoke and Hanley, Monday to Saturday, operated by First Potteries.