Students Think Bus Str8 to College is Gr8!

The "str8” bus service from Dereham to Norwich, which stops close to City College Norwich, has proven such a hit with students and other passengers that konectbus will be introducing an increased service from Monday 29th November.  The service will now run every half an hour throughout the day.

The service, which runs non-stop between Dereham and Norwich city centre and the rail station, was introduced in September 2009.  It also stops on Newmarket Road which means the str8 provides a faster route direct to the College for students, which was not available before the introduction of the service.

Engineering student, Chris Wilcock, 16, from Dereham, said: “I would have hated having to ride my motorbike to college every day.  The number eight bus is great.  The journey is comfortable, the drivers are friendly and the journey is over in no time”.

Management of Care student, David Moore, 45, from Dereham, said “I regularly use the number eight konect bus from Dereham to get to City College. The bus is comfortable, the drivers are helpful and polite and the service provides good value for money”.

The success of the str8 service is the latest example of the College working alongside local travel firms to help ensure that services meet the needs of its students, almost 60% of whom travel to college from outside the City of Norwich.  The College is in regular discussion with all of the local transport operators on issues such as student discounts, routes, timetabling and safety.   

Natalie Halsall, the College’s Eco-award-winning Travel Plan Co-ordinator & Environment Officer, said:  “We are delighted with the success of the str8 bus, which has improved the journey to College for students travelling from Dereham.  We will continue to work with all of the travel companies to secure the best deal for our students, so that travelling to college is affordable and convenient”.

Julian Patterson, Operations & Commercial Director, Konectbus, said: “We introduced str8 to provide a fast, convenient service from Dereham to Norwich for students and those wishing to get to Norwich to work, shop or for onward travel at the rail station.  It’s been a roaring success and our no-quibble discount for 16-19 year olds has been particularly popular with students.  We’re consistently the most punctual bus operator in the county and the fact we turn up when we say we’re going to has encouraged more people to travel and helped us to transform str8 into the fantastic service it is!”

The new timetable is now available to download at www.konectbus.co.uk.