24 July 2023 Our Hire Halvergate bus services
The county Council have advised that there are going to be some change to Our Hire bus services in and around Acle from July 24th. All of these services are operated under contract to the Council.
There will be an additional journey on the 73A, which serves Halvergate, allowing more travel options for passengers. There are also changes to the 71A and the 72A which serve West 7 East of Acle.
Timetable below:
Additional journeys on the 71A allowing Upton area into Acle for 0925-1030, and returns at 1425 and 1710 for connections back from Norwich and Yarmouth.
The 72A has changed to a pre book service and some journeys withdrawn to reflect the lack of demand
Timetable attached
72A Specific data:
0658 journey to Acle: 0.16 passengers a day – 3 in the month of April, 2 from Fleggburgh (now covered by service 7) 1 from Stokesby
0900 journey to Acle: 0.66 passenger a day – 9 from Filby and Fleggburgh (now covered by service 7) 3 from Stokesby
1335 journey from Acle: 1.55 passengers a day -all board in Acle
1705 journey from Acle: 0.72 passengers a day – 9 in Acle, 4 in Fleggburgh
1820 journey from Acle: 0.27 passengers a day – all board in Acle
The recent evidence suggests there is very little passenger demand for the 72A and its current timetable. Rather than continue to operate timetabled services which there is little demand for them, a pre book service will be in place for the area covering not only passengers that were previously served, but new villages such as Clippesby and Thurne, increasing accessibility and reducing isolation for residents. The resource has been reallocated to improve journey options for other villages in and around Acle on services 71A and 73A. The services as a whole have been carrying only around 60% of the pre-covid numbers, so a refresh of the services was required.
Note: There is still a service in place to East Norfolk Sixth form and East Coast College on service 68