N26 night bus service linking Southwell to Nottingham returns from tomorrow

An axed night bus service linking a town's residents to the city centre returns tomorrow (Friday 23).

The N26 bus service, operated by Nottingham City Transport, links Southwell, and other villages and towns, including Lowdham, Burton Joyce and Thurgarton, to Nottingham city centre.

On Friday night, buses will once again begin operating on the route between midnight and 5 am, with three services in each direction.

It comes after Southwell Town Council and Newark Constituency Labour Party called for the service to be re-instated earlier this year.

It said the service important to residents of Southwell, especially students at Nottingham Trent University's Brakenhurst campus on the outskirts of the town.

For the students, chairman of the town environment committee Karen Roberts explained, the bus is a safer way to travel at night-time.

Jamie Bostock, disability officer for Newark Constituency Labour Party, supported the calls for the return of the service.

He said: "I think that the night bus provides a vital service for all those who live on the 26 night bus route.

"For disabled people particularly, it enables easy access to all the amenities that Nottingham has to offer; it facilitates a diverse social and professional life for disabled individuals. Without this bus service, disabled people in rural areas can find themselves cut off from their social groups in the city if they meet later in the evening.

"Without a night bus, disabled and older people are deprived of opportunities for work, exercise and leisure. In the worst-case scenario, they can become accidentally stranded in Nottingham if they were unable to get the last evening bus at 11.05pm."

The service was previously said to be axed due to a lack of drivers following the pandemic.