East Midlands - Novus is Changing!

From Monday 6th January 2025, Novus Leicester is changing

NovusFosse will no longer operate, but NovusDirect will be enhanced, with more capacity at peak times, buses running every 15 minutes during the off-peak, and a new extension to Brockington College at school times.

Central Connect and GO Travel Solutions are working together to deliver a sustainable bus network for New Lubbesthorpe, and this involves continually reviewing the bus services that are provided, ensuring that resources are allocated based on when, and where, people want to travel. As such, we’ve taken the difficult decision to stop operating NovusFosse because not enough people are travelling to make the service sustainable for the long term. The final day of operation will be Sunday 5th January 2025.

The Novus bus services operated by Central Connect are funded by the Drummond Estate as part of its fast-growing New Lubbesthorpe development. We’re reinvesting the resource freed up from NovusFosse back into New Lubbesthorpe’s local bus network, by enhancing NovusDirect from Monday 6th January 2025. Extra journeys on NovusDirect will operate, which means additional capacity for the busy morning and afternoon peaks, and a simple every 15-minute frequency on weekday daytimes. Buses will also run more reliably because they will have extra time between journeys to recover from delays caused by traffic congestion along the route.

With the changes, children from New Lubbesthorpe and Thorpe Astley will still be able to travel to Brockington College, with options at College start and finish times. At the start of the College day, two NovusDirect journeys will extend from the bus stop opposite New Lubbesthorpe Primary School on Tay Road before travelling via Beggars Lane and terminating at the Kirk Lane bus stop. In the afternoon, two journeys will start from the Kirk Lane bus stop and run to New Lubbesthorpe via Beggars Lane, before continuing to Thorpe Astley and Leicester city centre. 

This means passengers in Thorpe Astley and New Lubbesthorpe who currently travel to/from school on NovusFosse will still be able to travel by bus - and journey times to school in the morning will be quicker as a result.

At weekends, buses will run more frequently on Saturday daytimes, with buses running up to every 20 minutes. Late afternoon and early evening buses will operate to a consistent half hourly frequency, an improvement on the current irregular 35 minute frequency.

There are minor timetable changes on Sunday and Bank Holiday afternoons, with some late afternoon journeys running up to 10 minutes later than they currently do.

The UK Government fare cap scheme changes at the end of 2024, with the single fare cap increasing from £2 to £3. As such, fares on NovusDirect will change from 6th January 2025. Single fares will revert to our standard fare of £2.50, which is cheaper than the new UK Government cap. A £1.50 local fare will remain for journeys between New Lubbesthorpe and Thorpe Astley. Season ticket prices will also change from the same date.

>>Click here for the new Novus Direct Timetable<<

>>Click here for the new Novus Direct Route Map<<

>>Click here for the new Novus Direct Fare Chart<<

For more information, take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions or email contact@central-connect.co.uk

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are these changes necessary?

Central Connect, GO Travel Solutions and the Drummond Estate are working in partnership towards the long-term aim of a bus service for New Lubbesthorpe which is sustainable without external funding, and the growth seen on NovusDirect is a strong indicator of future sustainability.

As a result, reinvesting the resources from NovusFosse into an enhanced NovusDirect service will provide extra capacity to support the continued growth of this service, helping to maintain a high-quality, reliable bus service for New Lubbesthorpe.

Why does the NovusFosse service need to stop operating?

The number of people who travel on NovusFosse is much lower than the number of people who would need to travel to cover the cost of running the bus, even when funding from the Drummond Estate is included. The rate of growth observed on NovusFosse is also substantially slower than the rate of growth observed on NovusDirect. As a result, bringing the operation of the service to an end, and diverting the resource to an enhanced NovusDirect service, represents the best use of the resources available to provide bus services to New Lubbesthorpe.

My child travels to Brockington College on NovusFosse. Will this still be possible?

Yes. Two buses on NovusDirect will extend from Thorpe Astley and New Lubbesthorpe via Beggars Lane to Brockington College (Kirk Lane bus stop) on weekdays in time for the start of the school day, and two buses will return from Kirk Lane back to New Lubbesthorpe and Thorpe Astley at the end of the school day. This will reduce the journey time in the morning, as the buses will take a direct route via Beggars Lane in both directions. Additional capacity will also be available at school times because two journeys will serve Brockington College at each end of the school day, giving more choice and flexibility to families making use of these journeys.

I want to travel to Fosse Park. How can I do this by bus?

From Thorpe Astley, service 19 operated by First and the Orbital service operated by Centrebus run to Fosse Park. Passengers from New Lubbesthorpe should catch NovusDirect to Thorpe Astley, Owen Close. They should then either cross the road to the bus stop on the opposite side of the road to catch the 19 to Fosse Park, or walk across the roundabout to the Royal Mail bus stop on Meridian East to catch the Orbital to Fosse Park.

New Lubbesthorpe, Thorpe Astley and Fosse Park are all within the Leicester Flexi multi-operator ticket zone, so passengers wishing to travel with multiple bus companies may wish to consider purchasing one of these tickets. Leicester Flexi day tickets can be purchased on the bus from the driver and season tickets are available via the myTrip app.

Who should I contact if I need more information about these changes?

Please contact the Central Connect customer services team on contact@central-connect.co.uk.