Dents Coaches Brigg to Lincoln service to be withdrawn

On Friday, Dents Coaches will operate their Friday only Brigg to Lincoln service for the final time, after running the route since 1998. The service departs Brigg at 0920, serving Scawby, Hibaldstow and Redbourne in North Lincolnshire en-route as well as Waddingham and various other villages in the Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) area. Arrival in Lincoln is at 1050, returning at 1345. The route has been subsidised by North Lincolnshire Council and LCC but Dents Coaches are cancelling it due to 'economic reasons' (handed back the contract?). One councillor has "quoted survey figures showing low passenger numbers from Brigg" and another said the times were "not very user-friendly" (not long enough in Lincoln?).

A replacement service numbered 162 between Waddingham and Lincoln commences every Wednesday from the 8th January, operated by Stagecoach. Passengers from Brigg, Scawby, Hibaldstow and Redbourne to Lincoln will need to use the 94 or CallConnect to connect onto the Stagecoach 103 at Kirton in Lindsey, or use CallConnect to access the train to Lincoln at Barnetby station.

It is disappointing to see the link from Brigg to Lincoln lost after many years; I think a bus service has been provided since World War 2, starting in New Holland in the days of the Humber Ferries. However the 162 ensures the LCC area communities retain a Lincoln link, whilst all the communities in North Lincolnshire retain bus services six or seven days a week. A Brigg town councillor calling the service a 'lifeline' seems a bit excessive to me when the town has a good range of shops, daily buses to Scunthorpe for anyone wanting an alternative and also a Saturday train to Grimsby and Gainsborough.

It is a shame though the 162 is not also serving Brigg, but I suspect the 162 could be worked around a Market Rasen De Aston School service, along with the 25 and 161 (the former operates on a Friday which maybe why the 162 operates on a Wednesday?). Trying to do Market Rasen-Brigg-Lincoln and vice versa in between school times whilst still serving en-route villages and providing a reasonable amount of time in Lincoln wouldn't be possible.