The Ilkeston Flyer is a

bus route A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used i ...

that operates between Cotmanhay and

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

via Ilkeston and

Spondon Spondon is a ward of the city of Derby, in the ceremonial county of Derbyshire, England. Originally a small village, Spondon dates back to the Domesday Book and it became heavily industrialised in the 19th and early 20th centuries, with com ...

. Launched in 1999, it is solely operated by Trentbarton and was formerly in partnership with Felix Bus Services prior to 2012.

History

The route was introduced on 27 September 1999. Prior to 2011, the route operated on a half-hourly frequency with one bus per hour operated by Trent Barton and the other by Felix Bus Services. On 26 June 2011, Trentbarton added an additional bus per hour, increasing the frequency to every 20 minutes, including the fleet of buses now using Wright Solars instead of Optare Tempos. On 30 January 2012, Felix Bus Services' commercial routes were acquired by Wellglade Group, the parent company of Trentbarton. Trentbarton subsequently became the sole operator of the route. In September 2013, the frequency was then increased to every 15 minutes (4 buses an hour) in response to Yourbus' Y3 extension to Cotmanhay, with buses running every 30 minutes on Sundays. Ilkeston Flyer would then be extended to Cotmanhay on 30 June 2014 to compete with the Y3 service, though the route would return to its original every 20 minutes frequency as a result. On 26 March 2017, Ilkeston Flyer's fleet was replaced with Wright Eclipse buses equipped with USB sockets and free Wi-Fi, increasing the fleet of buses operating the route from four to six, in turn increasing the frequency from every 20 minutes to 15 again. Then on 1 September 2019, the fleet of buses went up from six to seven, further increasing the frequency to every 12 minutes, though it would be reverted back to every 15 minutes due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In December 2022, Ilkeston Flyer was temporarily diverted to avoid Cotmanhay Road after 18:00 following attacks on buses. The route would later return to its regular route a few days after the attacks. Ilkeston Flyer's frequency would later be further increased to every 10 minutes on 14 July 2024, alongside the entire fleet being replaced with

Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC The Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC, also marketed as the Alexander Dennis Enviro200, is a single-decker city bus produced by Alexander Dennis since 2014 as the successor to the Alexander Dennis Enviro200, Enviro200 midibus and Alexander Dennis E ...

models.

Notes

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References

Bus routes in England Transport in Derbyshire