Shopping bus service and on demand service saved by Derbyshire County Council

Two further local bus services under threat as their current operator are to cease trading are to have a new operator thanks to Derbyshire County Council.

Derbyshire Community Transport (DCT) ran a number of services for the County Council, including the shopper bus service in Chesterfield, Bolsover, North East Derbyshire, Erewash and Amber Valley, and the trial 

Travel Derbyshire On Demand bookable bus service (which operates across Chesterfield, Bolsover and North East Derbyshire). 

Unfortunately DCT signalled their intention to close down by the end of October 2024, leaving these services without an operator.

New contracts for both the Derbyshire Connect shopper bus service and Travel Derbyshire on Demand are being awarded to Community Transport for Nottingham (CT4N) by the County Council. It was planned that the new services would start on Monday 4th November 2024, leaving a gap in service of just one day, as the DCT services were set to end on Thursday 31st October. 

The services will run exactly as they are now. CT4N, are taking on some of the vehicles used by DCT. The new phone number for enquiries is 0115 969 1801, or hello @ ct4n.co.uk. 

The current booking app used on the Travel Derbyshire on Demand service will remain the same. 

Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways Assets and Transport, Councillor Charlotte Cupit, said: “I am pleased that we have been able to find a new operator to take on these two services, following on from last week’s announcement that we had saved the local 147 and 148 services too.

"We know these services are a lifeline for many communities in the county, so we’ve been working hard to secure their continuation. We know the On Demand bookable service is proving really popular with local communities it serves too, so we’re pleased to be able to continue the trial of it. 

“We were very sorry to hear the news that DCT were winding up but we have now found operators to take on all the services they ran on our behalf. Many thanks to our public transport team at the Council for their work on this and as they continue to make the transfer of these services as streamlined as possible.”

For more information on the Derbyshire Connect shopper service, please visit this link, and for information on Travel Derbyshire on Demand please go to this link.