New orbital bus route for Torquay

• From 25 March routes 32 and 34 will combine
• New route will offer improved links to Torbay Hospital and The Willows
• From same date there will also be minor changes to Hop12, Hop22 and 31

Stagecoach has announced that, starting 25 March, it is introducing a new circular service for Torquay.

Routes 32 and 34 will join forces to provide improved links to Torbay Hospital and The Willows retail park from Chelston, Shiphay, Watcombe, St Marychurch and Ellacombe.

The introduction of the service is in response to consultation with MP Kevin Foster alongside feedback from local residents who, in 2017, saw the loss of a direct link to The Willows from Shiphay and Chelston and the cessation of the Local Link service between Watcombe and Torbay Hospital.

As this service is entirely commercially funded, it is hoped that this new approach of combining all connections into one will generate enough passengers to make the it sustainable in the long term whilst also reducing car usage to some of Torquay’s most visited locations.

From Monday to Saturday between morning and early evening, the circular service will run each way around the route every 20 minutes, effectively doubling the number of buses between the Willows/Hospital and the Town Centre to 6 an hour.

When buses reach The Willows, they will change service number and, rather than returning the way they came, will head to Torquay town centre via the other route. Through single fares will be available, with the Torbay Dayrider and weekly Megarider tickets providing the best value for multiple journeys.

From the same date, Stagecoach is also introducing some minor timetable changes to the Hop12, Hop22 and 31 bus routes.

New timetables are available to view online and will be available in print shortly. Customers can also download the free Stagecoach app - available in the App and Play stores - or use the website journey planner to plan their journeys, remembering to set the date on or after 25 March.