On 1st September 2026, Stagecoach merged south Scunthorpe town service 3 into north Scunthorpe town services 7 and 8. Service 3 had operated as a circular service from Scunthorpe Bus Station via Ashby Road, Ashby High Street, Bottesford Road, Chancel Road, Cambridge Avenue, Valley View Drive, Messingham Road, Willoughby Road, Ogilvy Drive, Quebec Road, Manby Road, Willoughby Road, Bridges Road, Lichfield Avenue, Scotter Road, West Common Lane and Ashby Road back to Scunthorpe Bus Station. The frequency was hourly in each direction Monday to Saturday daytimes, albeit with no morning peak anti-clockwise service.
Services 7 and 8 continue to link Skippingdale Retail Park with Frodingham Road and Scunthorpe Bus Station, the 7 via Speedwell Crescent, Dewsbury Avenue, Hilton Avenue, Doncaster Road and Avenue Vivian, the 8 via Crosby Avenue, Portman Road and Foxhills Road. They also both continue to operate hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes.
Now though both the 7 and 8 continue 'cross town' from Scunthorpe Bus Station to Ashby High Street - not exactly halfway on the old 3, but a key district centre for southern Scunthorpe, Ashby and Bottesford. At Ashby High Street the 7 continues as an 8 and vice versa. The 7 takes the direct route via Ashby Road, whilst the 8 takes the more indirect part of the old service 3 route, but with some important changes. From Scunthorpe Bus Station to John Leggott College on West Common Lane, the 8 doesn't use the 3's old route via Ashby Road and the eastern part of West Common Lane. Instead it serves Station Road, Church Lane, Kingsway and Glover Road before picking back up the 3's previous routing to Ashby High Street.
The 8's re-routing compared to the 3 brings considerable benefits. In terms of 'all day' buses, Station Road and Church Lane had otherwise only been served by off peak service 361 every 2 hours Monday to Friday (and a random early and late journey on a Saturday). Station Road - as the name suggests - serves Scunthorpe Station with easier access than catching the more frequent services along Oswald Road. Church Lane serves the main entrance of Scunthorpe Hospital. The only other daytime service along Glover Road is the limited Monday to Friday 10/10a/10b. Three stops on West Common Lane are now only served by college buses, but this feels like an acceptable trade off; passengers may be able to walk to John Leggott College, Glover Road or Ashby Road, which has various other services in addition to the 7.
Whilst some of the 'cross-town' links are convoluted around residential areas, journeys such as Ashby to Skippingdale Retail Park or Speedwell Crescent to Scunthorpe Hospital are now possible (or reinstated). This will hopefully strengthen the network at little or no cost.
In detail, the first service 7 from Skippingdale Retail Park was previously at 0839 Saturday or 0939 Monday to Friday, but is now at 0700. There is now a three rather than two hour gap from Skippingdale on school days - from 1500 to 1800 rather than 1539 to 1739. From Scunthorpe Bus Station the 0750 departure on Saturdays was withdrawn, first service now at 0910. The last departure from Scunthorpe Bus Station is slightly later at 1810 rather than 1750.
On service 8, the 0744 and 0844 'shorts' from Portman Road to Scunthorpe Bus Station Monday to Saturday were withdrawn, as was the Saturday 0817 from Skippingdale Retail Park to Scunthorpe Bus Station. The first service is now at 0940 from Skippingdale Retail Park. This is somewhat compensated for by the above improvements to service 7, but for Crosby Avenue, Portman Road and Foxhills Road, their only morning peak journeys are on service 8 to Skippingdale Retail Park, they need to either travel in the wrong direction and return on service 7 to Scunthorpe Bus Station, or walk to Ferry Road and catch service 7 there. From Scunthorpe Bus Station the two hour school day gap became three hours - from 1435 to 1735 rather than 1520 to 1720. The last departure is now at 1735 rather than 1820.
Whilst the 7 and 8 have been changed - and for the most part improved - Monday to Saturday, on Sundays they have been withdrawn. North Lincolnshire Council removed funding "due to the lack of support". The Sunday 7 and 8 had operated every two hours in each direction. As a partial replacement, the 350 from Hull and Barton to Scunthorpe Bus Station and Gallagher Retail Park/Tesco Extra has been extended on a Sunday only to Skippingdale Retail Park via Scotter Road and Luneburg Way, utilising what was a 33 minute layover. Interestingly there is time to divert via Hilton Avenue, Dewsbury Avenue and/or Speedwell Crescent to better replace the Sunday 7, but the Sunday 350 instead sticks to the 'main roads'. Presumably that reflects usage of the Sunday 7? The Sunday 350 operates every two hours during the daytime. The Sunday 7 and 8 were introduced in May 2024, although Frodingham Road had a year round Sunday service since the 350 was rerouted in March 2009, and a (seasonal?) service before that when service 4 had (Summer?) Sunday extensions to Normanby Hall.
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