BUS WAR EXTENDS TO COTGRAVE

Competition on Rushcliffe’s bus services has increased further with Premiere announcing a new service for Cropwell Bishop and Cotgrave. The company, that runs head-to-head in Radcliffe and Bingham with established operator TrentBarton, will launch the Red2 on 5th September – which is a direct service linking Cotgrave with the Victoria Centre.
Running every 20 minutes during the daytime, hourly in the evening and every 30 minutes a Sunday, the service will also extend to Cropwell Bishop at peak times and early evenings.
Premiere brand manager, Jamie Swift, said: “We have had fantastic success on the Red1 from Bingham and Radcliffe with more customers joining us every week.
“Not only have we grown the market by offering cheaper fares and convenient stops at Victoria Centre, it has made the existing operator on there introduce a cheaper ticket option, so competition is beneficial for all customers.
“We now believe that the people of Cotgrave deserve some competition and will give them a choice of operator.
“We will offer a more direct service along Radcliffe Road, run around the city loop to serve Victoria Centre, Friar Lane and Broadmarsh Bus Station, plus our range of great value fares such as day returns from only £3, weekly tickets at £12 and 28-day unlimited travel cards for only £40.”
There are also improvements to the Bingham and Radcliffe Red1 service from the 5th September. There are new earlier morning buses, evening buses now run every 40 minutes and a new Sunday service running every 20 minutes. For more information call 0115 985 1111or visit premierebuses.co.uk.
Under 16s save on bus travel
A new travel card for under 16s has been launched, valid on both school and local service buses. Local company Premiere Travel has started to issue ‘Termcards’ specifically for under 16s using it’s school buses, but these cards can also be used for free travel on services at weekends and during school holidays. The travel cards are valid for a full school term and can work out to less than £5 a week. Parents can save more money by paying up front for either two terms or even the whole year.
Sales manager for Premiere, Gemma Robinson, said: “We are trying to encourage all under 16s using our school buses to sign up for a termcard. Not only does it save them money, but eliminates the problems for parents of their child’s cash fares being lost, stolen or spent on something else.
“There are usually issues with return tickets being lost during the school day too so with the termcard they will only need to carry this card around with them for travel for the whole term.”
Premiere are also putting on extra buses to local schools from the new term in September. The Red1 service will have extra morning trips from Radcliffe to Toot Hill School in Bingham and new service 2A will run from Cotgrave to Dayncourt School.  Termcards are valid on school routes 51, 52, 53, 53A, 53B and 63 serving South Wolds school in Keyworth as well as the 53 to Toot Hill. School bus 415 from West Bridgford to Becket School on Wilford Lane is also included in the scheme.
West Bridgford students attending Loughborough High School can also save money by using their termcards on the X9 service to Loughborough.