Better buses across Bedfordshire from Grant Palmer
Grant Palmer Ltd is delighted to announce a series of major improvements to bus services across Bedfordshire, which will come into effect from Monday, 1st September, 2025.
Delivered in partnership with Milton Keynes Council and Central Bedfordshire Council, these changes will provide passengers with earlier, later, and more frequent journeys, ensuring communities are better connected to jobs, schools, shops and leisure opportunities.
Working closely with Milton Keynes Council, additional journeys are being introduced to service 34. A new journey will run at 06:09 from Flitwick, with another at 07:00 from Milton Keynes. In the evenings, a later service will depart from Ampthill Heights at 18:28 and from Milton Keynes at 19:30. To support workers travelling to Magna Park, the first journeys of the day have also been retimed to run earlier, making it easier for passengers to reach shift changes on time.
Significant investment is also being made in the popular Service 42, in partnership with Central Bedfordshire Council. From September, most daytime journeys will extend beyond Toddington to serve Dunstable and Houghton Regis, creating a brand new hourly link from Bedford to Dunstable. Buses will also call at Dunstable ASDA, making it easier for passengers to transfer to busway services to Luton and access the L&D Hospital. Listening to passenger feedback, a new journey at 07:30 will operate from Bedford to Flitwick, ideal for school and commuter travel, while a later journey at 17:15 from Flitwick to Bedford will provide improved evening connections.
On Service 44, minor timetable adjustments are being made to early morning journeys to improve reliability and keep buses running on time. Service 73 is also set to benefit from an additional journey, with a new bus leaving Biggleswade Hospital at 06:40. This service will continue via Sandy Market Place at 07:23 and arrive in Bedford at 08:08, providing an earlier option on the Biggleswade town route and adding extra morning capacity between Biggleswade, Sandy and Bedford. No other changes are planned to this timetable.
In response to requests from local residents, a brand new service, the Z1, will be introduced between Marston Moretaine and Flitwick. Operating on Saturdays and funded through Central Bedfordshire’s Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) scheme, the Z1 will provide a valuable new travel option for communities in the area. Thomas Manship, Commercial Manager at Grant Palmer Ltd, said: “With great new links across Bedfordshire, low fares and high quality buses There has never been a better time to get on board.”
For further details of the new timetables and to plan your journey, please visit www.grantpalmer.com.