Park and ride closures and new routes among changes announced in major Shropshire bus review
Shropshire Council said it would have to find an additional £1.25 million to continue providing services as they are now
Shropshire Council has announced a series of changes following review of 21 local bus services.
Among them include new routes, improvement works, timetable changes, and several service withdrawals, including the closure of two park and ride sites.
One of Shrewsbury's three park and ride services - the site in Meole Brace - and Ludlow's park and ride will both be withdrawn.
The local authority said in order to keep services how they currently operate, an additional £1.25 million would be needed.
"Like councils across the country, we're having to try and do more with less," said Councillor Rob Wilson, Cabinet member for transport and regeneration.
"Whilst we have long term funding form the government, it is a lower sum than it has been in the past.
"That means we're going to have to make some tough choices about which services we can support and which ones we can't."
The review – carried out as part of the council’s 2026 bus retendering programme – will see new bus services, new more accessible buses, and improved timetables. A number of services will have a new operator and some will stop.
Services which have been retained like for like include the 437 that runs between Broseley, Much Wenlock and Shrewsbury, the 501 from Ellesmere to Shrewsbury, the 553 from Bishop’s Castle to Plox Green (and on to Shrewsbury), the 558 from Montgomery to Shrewsbury, the 301 Market Drayton town service and both the 701 Ludlow North and 702 Ludlow South services.
In Shrewsbury, the 20 which serves Radbrook Green, the 23 which serves Preston Street and Belvidere and the 26 in Meole Village will also continue to operate.
New bus shelters with electronic real-time information will also be installed at Oswestry and Market Drayton bus stations in July 2026, and at the Oxon and Harlescott park and ride sites in Shrewsbury in August 2026.
The 64 which operates between Market Drayton to Shrewsbury service will also be protected, now using council funding.
What changes are coming to bus services in Shropshire?
- From November 1, the three current Shrewsbury park and ride sites will be consolidated into two – Oxon and Harlescott – and the Meole Brace service will be suspended. The operating hours of the Oxon and Harlescott park and ride services will be extended to 10pm, Monday to Saturday.
- From September 1, a new Ellesmere to Wem service will replace the existing limited town services (the 201 and 208) with a single combined service running six days a week between the two towns. This will provide access to the railway station and other essential services in Wem.
- From September 1, the Ludlow park and ride will be withdrawn due to 'very low use', the council said. Resources will instead be focussed on town centre services, with the introduction of new accessible buses.
- The following services in Shrewsbury will be withdrawn from September 1: the 2 which serves Castlefields, the 12 which serves Merlin Road and Crowmeole Lane, the 3A which runs between Harlescott/Sundorne to Belvidre School and the 37 from Meole Brace School to Weeping Cross.
The council said the review has considered the number of passengers using each service as well as the cost per passenger journey and is taking place in the context of reduced Government revenue funding for local bus services, alongside increasing operating costs across the transport sector.
Cllr Wilson continued: "Bus services are vitally important to many people across the county and despite the financial challenges we will be protecting key routes and services, improving local connections and making a number of other improvements.
“We’re having to deal with increasing costs alongside reduced funding, which means we have to work harder to deliver the best possible transport network with the resources available, and this has left with some difficult choices.
”But despite these challenges we will be retaining many important services, and making a number of improvements.”