Uni bus service vision

Huge gaps have appeared in Cranfield’s bus services in recent years as Central Beds and Milton Keynes council have pulled back financial support.

Now Cranfield University looks set to plug many of the holes and go one step further with an innovative Flitwick service.

The University has been reviewing investment in its traditional shuttle services for students between Bedford and Milton Keynes. 

It is planning to award a contract, subject to final agreement, for the provision of a regular through bus service between Milton Keynes and Bedford via Cranfield, to be used not just by staff and students but by the public as well.

This would include buses from the centre of the village to Bedford bus station and to Milton Keynes railway station before 7 am. There would be hourly buses with the last bus from Bedford back to the village at 22.15 and from MK station at 22.55. The route includes Wootton and Upper Shelton. All times are subject to final confirmation.

Saturday services will run hourly and late evening and the Sunday service will be every 90 minutes finishing early evening.

An innovative service, Monday to Friday, will run one bus early morning to Flitwick and one late afternoon back again, passing the railway station. This would include Marston and Ampthill. 

There would be a morning bus from Milton Keynes via Newport Pagnell and North Crawley and one back again in the late afternoon.

Passes will be useable on all services, which would start in early September.

The Parish Council was planning to write to the university to express its appreciation.

Along with other parish councillors including Alan Morris I have been involved with public transport issues for a number of years. It has been all bad news as evening and Sunday buses disappeared, we lost our connection to Wootton and Milton Keynes services were taken over by another company.

The University has sought parish council engagement with its plans and listened to our suggestion about a Flitwick service. As a regular user of rail from Flitwick I have felt for years that there should be a commuter service. I hope the University’s vision is vindicated with usage.

Watch the blog and Movers and Shakers for updates