Stagecoach cuts student bus services by a quarter as U2 route axed

The wait for a bus is about to get even longer as Stagecoach cuts daily services between Leamington and the University campus by more than a quarter, The Boar can reveal.

A restructuring of the bus timetable comes as Stagecoach scraps its U2 service – which currently operates between the University and Warwick Gates during term-time – in favour of a new U1A route. The new timetable will begin on Saturday (25 April).

Research by The Boar has found that the revised timetable will see the number of Stagecoach services run daily from Parish Church cut from 97 to 70 on weekdays: a reduction of nearly 28%.

Student anger at bus services is already at a high with long queues forming at University Interchange and Parish Church daily, so these changes are only set to infuriate students even more, especially as exam season looms.

Saturday services will also be cut by 22% with 42 journeys running daily, instead of the current 54. Sunday services will not be affected by the new timetable, with 30 services running in both directions during the day.

This is despite Stagecoach telling The Boar that the new service will reflect “current passenger demand and the need to improve service reliability”.

Post-3am bus services will also be scrapped on weekdays and on Saturdays, with the last bus leaving Parish Church at 2:54am on weekdays and 2:58am on Saturdays – even before some Leamington clubs close.

Student anger at bus services is already at a high with long queues forming at University Interchange and Parish Church daily, so these changes are only set to infuriate students even more, especially as exam season looms.

On average, four Stagecoach routes will run every hour in both directions – but even then, two of those will terminate at Leamington Spa Hospital. For commuters looking to continue onto Warwick Gates, they will need to catch the existing twice-hourly U1 service.

Stagecoach told the Students’ Union (SU) back in November that issues with their services was a result of problems with the charging capacity for their electric fleet of buses. That problem, however, was due to be solved by the end of the year.

Indeed, in a social media call-out conducted by The Boar, one respondent suggested that these changes mean that it “seems like all the [previous] SU lobbying hasn’t worked at all”.

Now, problems could continue to worsen for commuting students, 3/4 of whom already reported missing lectures and seminars due to bus delays and cancellations when polled by The Boar in 2024.

These changes are designed to deliver a more reliable and consistent service for customers, while continuing to meet demand on this key corridor.

Mark Whitelocks

One student subsequently branded the service changes as “absolutely absurd”, recognising the cost of student bus passes. With a 2025/2026 Summer Term UniRider bus pass being currently priced at £170, this student suggested that “there is no way they can continue to charge the rates they are at” when the service is being cut.

Another respondent considered the environmental impacts of a less frequent bus service, questioning “how does this support a car-less, green campus?”.

Although students are therefore largely frustrated by the changes, others have recognised that they are “expected and unavoidable”.

One student said that “fewer and fewer people are living in Leamington” and, as an incoming Sports Club President, they are looking to hold more social events on campus and in Coventry because “it doesn’t make sense to get so many of our members to travel so far [to Leamington]”. This dynamic would justify the cut in buses by arguing there is less demand for trips to Leamington.

I have written to Stagecoach to make these points and will, as I have long done, push them to deliver a service which actually serves the needs of commuters

Matt Western, MP for Warwick and Leamington

Stagecoach Midlands’ Marketing Director, Mark Whitelocks, told The Boar that the upcoming changes are “designed to deliver a more reliable and consistent service for customers, while continuing to meet demand on this key corridor.”

He added: “From the new timetable, services will operate up to four times per hour during the daytime, split between the U1 and new U1A, with additional peak-time journeys to support the busiest periods.”

In a statement on Instagram, Matt Western, the MP for Warwick and Leamington, said, “To see Stagecoach are cutting the U2 route (which runs from Leamington to the University) and PARTIALLY replacing it with a new U1A route is not good enough.”

“I have written to Stagecoach to make these points and will, as I have long done, push them to deliver a service which actually serves the needs of commuters.”

As Warwick students flock back to campus after the Easter break, it seems like bus services will remain the word on everyone’s lips. Students can only cross their fingers that the new services will “improve reliability, particularly during peak times” as Stagecoach has promised.