Nottingham City Transport (NCT) has announced network-wide changes that will be introduced from Sunday 21st June 2026.
Every service has been reviewed by NCT and independently, with the number of customers boarding at every stop on every route analysed, at all times of the day.
This has identified areas and times of day where NCT is over-providing capacity, as well as some services that just aren’t carrying enough people to cover the basic costs of running them.
These network-wide changes are necessary to balance the cost of providing the bus network against the number of people travelling.
The number of people travelling by bus has never fully recovered since the pandemic, with 1 in 10 fewer customers each year. This is because of the increase in home working, hybrid working and online shopping, which means people need to travel less.
In addition, Nottingham has experienced a number of major roadwork schemes in recent years, which have seen customer numbers decline on affected routes. Passengers found alternative ways to travel whilst services were disrupted and despite the works now being finished, they haven’t returned to the bus. As an example, one group of services is carrying 25% fewer people than before the works on their routes.
The 50% increase in the Bus Fare Cap at the start of 2025 has contributed to decline in bus usage around the country, with NCT passenger numbers in the last year falling by 3.77%.
NCT is paying more now for most items than it did a year ago, with recent spikes in fuel and energy prices caused by global events adding to cost pressures. Whilst NCT is largely protected from this spike (for now) because of fixed price deals it negotiated beforehand, the cost of insurance, business taxation, bus parts and staff wages have increased.
David Conway, NCT Head of Operations said,
“A combination of higher costs and fewer people travelling is not a sustainable position and we must make network changes to ensure we can continue to provide the quality bus service the residents of Greater Nottingham are used to enjoying and other parts of the country look at enviously”.
For most customers on core routes, the level of service during core daytime periods will largely be the same as now – although some times may have changed.
On several routes, there will be frequency reductions on Saturday mornings before about 9am and in the evenings on all days, to better reflect the number of people travelling at these times. By reducing frequencies at quieter times of day, NCT can reduce costs and keep the busier daytime service running.
Navy 3, 3A; Green 11; Lilac 24; Blue 40; Turquoise 79A and Purple 88 will see parts of their routes replaced by changes to other services.
Whilst NCT has had to make changes, there are areas and services where the network review addresses customer requests for improvements, including:
- Doubling the full daytime frequency of buses between Clifton and Ruddington from hourly to half hourly
- Providing a much-requested direct link between Ruddington and West Bridgford Centre
- Returning Green 11 to be a Meadows and Lady Bay service to improve reliability, moving the extension to Cropwell Bishop to a new route
- Reinstating the link between Cotgrave and The Cropwells directly to West Bridgford Central Avenue
- Improved Sunday frequencies to Bulwell via Hucknall Road on Brown 17
- Improved Sunday frequencies along Carlton Road and Carlton Hill on Lilac 25, 27
- Additional buses serving Winwood Heights and Winchester Street on Blue 40
- New links between Carlton, Gedling and Colwick Industrial Estate and Daleside Road Retail Parks on Red 45
- Simplification of the Bulwell and Snape Wood service, with common numbers used along Hempshill Vale or Hoewood Road
- Improving the frequency of the 79 to every 15 minutes during the Monday to Saturday daytime between City, Bulwell and Rise Park
- Simplification of Top Valley services, with a more frequent service to and from Rise Park
Full details and timetables are available at www.nctx.co.uk/june26change and in the NCTX Buses app. Customers who need help planning their journeys can contact the NCT Travel Centre on 0115 950 60 70 or by email travelcentre@nctx.co.uk
Posted on 26 May 2026
