From today (Sunday 1 February), Nottingham City Transport (NCT) has officially taken over the operation of service 90 from Central Connect East Midlands, with the route now branded Pathfinder 90.
The handover was marked by a symbolic meeting of the two operators’ buses, representing the successful transition of the service between Fernwood, Balderton, Newark, Bingham and Nottingham. NCT looks forward to building on the strong foundations established by Central Connect and continuing to serve communities along the route.
Pathfinder 90 operates seven days a week, with hourly journeys during Monday to Saturday daytimes and services every two hours during evenings and on Sunday daytimes. Adult single fares are capped at £3 across the full route, thanks to NCT’s participation in the National Bus Fare Cap. Easyrider Further and Network Rider tickets are also available for journeys starting or finishing outside the Greater Nottingham area, offering discounted travel for regular users.
David Conway, NCT Head of Operations said, “We are delighted to start operating Pathfinder 90 and build on the success Central Connect have made during their tenure on the route. We look forward to welcoming current customers aboard and growing this important link between Newark and Nottingham.”
Peter Nathanail, Managing Director at Central Connect said, “The 90 is in safe hands with Nottingham City Transport. Our team have worked very hard to develop the route and improve its sustainability during the time we’ve been operating it, and we’re really pleased to be passing the baton on to such a well-regarded operator. At Central Connect, our focus is always on making sure that passengers have access to a reliable, high quality bus service, and route 90 becoming part of a much larger local bus network means that this will continue to be the case for communities along the route.”
Councillor Sam Smith, Newark East, said: “This is great news for the local area and for residents in Newark East, particularly those in London Road, Newark and Balderton who rely on this route. Having a reliable, affordable bus service running seven days a week makes a real difference to people’s day-to-day lives, whether they’re travelling to work, education, healthcare or leisure. I’ve consistently pushed for improvements to public transport locally, and it’s welcome to see this investment strengthening connections for our communities and the wider area.”
As Pathfinder 90 enters service today, double deck buses are being used on busier journeys to provide extra capacity for travel related to the Nottingham Forest vs Crystal Palace match. This approach will continue to be used in future on other journeys where higher demand is anticipated.
