DevonBus is an Enhanced Partnership between

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

and bus operators responsible for the development and improvement of the

bus 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 ...

network in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It subsidises most non-

Stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...

services as "Supported Services", and has control over timetable, route and fares on these services. If you want a bus

Traveline South West operates the "text for bus times" service alongside the real-time information service, which is jointly operated by bustimes.org.

History

Background

In early 2021, the Government announced the Bus Back Better strategy for buses in England. Part of the strategy included an expectation that local authorities would form Enhanced Partnerships, which were introduced with the

Bus Services Act 2017 The Bus Services Act 2017 (c. 21) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It provides for local transport authorities to create partnership schemes to improve bus services in their areas, and to introduce advanced ticketing schemes. T ...

, with local bus operators.

Formation

In June 2021,

Devon County Council Devon County Council is the county council administering the English county of Devon. The council is based at Devon County Hall in the city of Exeter. The area administered by the county council is termed the non-metropolitan county, which is ...

approved the creation of an Enhanced Partnership for Devon. Later, on 17 October 2022, DevonBus was formed.

Members

There are 13 participating operators in DevonBus:

Brand

A primary function of DevonBus is brand unification. Most operators continue to run buses under their own brand, however a

bus wears DevonBus

livery A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol, or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery often includes elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...

as a celebration of the partnership. Most digital bus signage in Devon now displays the DevonBus brand where they previously displayed the Stagecoach or

brand. DevonBus aims to expand its branding across the network.

References