A bus company has launched new services across Buckinghamshire following the recent closure of Arriva’s High Wycombe and Aylesbury depots.

It was announced on the week of July 15 by the council’s cabinet member for transport Steve Broadbent that Carousel and Redline will be replacing the cancelled bus services.

From Sunday, July 28, Carousel launched 14 new routes alongside their sister company – Oxford Bus Company – which commenced services at the start of the month.

The addition of further routes across Buckinghamshire is part of a major £2.5 Million investment to take on the services.

An additional 35 buses, increased staff numbers, and increased space has been provided in preparation to take on the services that will replace Arriva.

Luke Marion, Managing Director of Carousel Buses has expressed his excitement to see the new services go live across South Buckinghamshire and surrounding area. said: 

“We’ve worked hard and quickly following the sad news of Arriva’s depot closures to reassure people and undertake the extensive investment and operational preparations required to deliver the services,” he said.

 “This has included the creation of a large number of new jobs and a major investment in our fleet and depot to provide better vehicles and increased services for our customers. I hope people feel reassured that we are committed to making the new network a success and they support it on-going.

Thanks have gone out by the company to Buckinghamshire Council and the key stakeholders for supporting Carousel on the run-up to the launch

He said:” All the new services are detailed on our website and I’d encourage people to take a look for more information.”

Carousel Buses’ ‘Freeflow’ payment system is operational on all services, meaning passengers can benefit from ‘tap on, tap off’ pay-as-you-go technology. All existing Carousel Zone day, week and period products will continue to be issued and accepted across all services and will include all new

routes that Carousel Buses will be operating. Customers can also use Wycombe SmartZone and Reading All-Bus multi-operator ticketing products, maintaining the current areas of validity.