Service changes from 3 January 2027
All areas
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Effective03/01/2027 - 03/01/2027
From Sunday 3 January 2027, there will be changes to First Bus services across Leicester. These include additional earlier and later journeys, increased frequencies on selected services and some route changes.
Some services will also have revised timetables to help improve reliability and connections. Please check the information below, including any updated route maps, before travelling.
Travelling over Christmas and New Year?
Our buses will be running to different timetables over the Christmas and New Year period. These festive service changes are separate from the changes listed on this page.
Before you travel, check the Christmas and New Year timetables to find out when your bus is running.
How your service is changing
Here's a quick guide to the changes taking place across the Leicester network from Sunday 3 January 2027.
| Service | What's changing? |
| 4 / 4E | Minor timetable adjustments. |
| 13 | New timetables throughout the week. Additional earlier weekday and Sunday journeys, plus a later Sunday journey. |
| 14 / 14A | New timetables throughout the week. Service 14 extended to serve Braunstone Frith Industrial Estate, with additional earlier journeys on weekdays and Sundays. |
| 15 | More frequent buses on Saturdays, with additional earlier Sunday journeys. |
| 16 | New timetables throughout the week. |
| 17 | Revised Sunday timetable, with journeys starting slightly earlier. |
| 18 | More frequent buses on Sundays, with buses running every 30 minutes. |
| 21 | Revised weekday and Saturday frequency, coordinated with Service 21T: 15 minute combined frequency along Catherine Street and Barkby Road on weekdays and Saturdays. |
| 25 / 26 | New timetables throughout the week. New routes serving Abbey Park Road, helping provide closer connections to ASDA and Aldi on Abbey Lane. With additional earlier journeys and more frequent Sunday services. |
| 38 / 38A | Additional earlier Sunday journeys and changes to Saturday afternoon timetables. |
| 54 | More frequent buses on Saturdays and additional earlier weekday and Sunday journeys. Late journeys will no longer serve Anstey. For later journeys towards Anstey, please see Service 74. |
| 74 | Later weekday and Saturday evening journeys to and from Anstey. |
| 88 / 88A / 88E | New timetables throughout the week. Additional earlier weekday journeys and more frequent Sunday services to Eyres Monsell and Saffron Cross Roads. |
Important: Some routes and stopping arrangements will change. In particular, services 14, 25 and 26 will follow revised routes. Please check the updated maps and timetables before travelling.
Leicester service changes
From Sunday 3 January 2027, a number of First Bus services across Leicester will have new timetables, additional journeys and revised routes.
Whether you're travelling to work, heading into the city centre or visiting friends and family, please take a look at the changes to your service below.
We've included links to updated route maps and timetables where relevant.
From Sunday 3 January 2027
There will be a small change to the timetable on services 4 and 4E.
Please check the new timetable before travelling to make sure you have the latest journey times.
From Sunday 3 January 2027
There will be new timetables throughout the week, with additional earlier journeys to give you more options when travelling between Glenfield and Leicester City Centre.
Weekdays:
- An earlier journey will depart Leicester City Centre towards Glenfield at 05:27.
- Additional earlier journeys will depart Glenfield towards Leicester City Centre at 05:43 and 06:12.
Sundays:
- An earlier journey will depart Glenfield towards Leicester City Centre at 08:40.
- An additional later journey will depart Leicester City Centre towards Glenfield at 18:20.
There will also be some changes to journey times throughout the week.
From Sunday 3 January 2027
Service 14 will be extended to serve Braunstone Frith Industrial Estate, providing closer access to businesses in the area.
The extended route will serve Sunningdale Road, Wembley Road and Scudamore Road, before rejoining the existing route.
There will also be new timetables throughout the week, with additional earlier journeys.
Weekdays:
- An earlier journey will depart Kirby Frith at 05:17.
- There will also be earlier departures from Leicester City Centre towards Kirby Frith.
Sundays – Service 14:
- An earlier journey will depart Kirby Frith towards Leicester City Centre at 08:26.
- An earlier journey will depart Leicester City Centre towards Kirby Frith at 09:00.
Sundays – Service 14A:
- An earlier journey will depart Beaumont Leys Centre towards Leicester City Centre at 08:48.
- An earlier journey will depart Leicester City Centre towards Beaumont Leys Centre at 09:15.
Travelling from Kirby Frith?
The extended route through Braunstone Frith Industrial Estate may add approximately 3–4 minutes to some journeys from the Ryder Road area. If you'd prefer to avoid the extended section, the Scudamore Road bus stop provides an alternative boarding point.
Check the updated map to see the new route and your nearest bus stop.
From Sunday 3 January 2027
Service 15 will have a new Saturday timetable, with buses running more frequently between Leicester City Centre and Goodwood throughout the day.
Sundays:
- Additional earlier journeys will depart Goodwood towards Leicester City Centre at 08:29 and 08:57.
- An earlier journey will depart Leicester City Centre towards Goodwood at 09:00.
There will also be some minor changes to journey times, so please check the new timetable before travelling.
From Sunday 3 January 2027
Service 16 will have new timetables throughout the week, with some journey time adjustments to help improve reliability.
Please check the updated timetable before travelling.
From Sunday 3 January 2027
Service 17 will have a new Sunday timetable, with journeys starting two minutes earlier than they do currently.
Please check the revised timetable to make sure you have the latest departure times.
From Sunday 3 January 2027
Service 18 will have new timetables throughout the week, with more frequent buses on Sundays.
Sundays:
Buses will run every 30 minutes between Leicester City Centre, Braunstone and Fosse Park, giving you more regular journeys throughout the day.
Please note that some Sunday journeys will finish at Gravel Street, just before St Margaret's Bus Station, rather than continuing to the bus station. These journeys will be shown in the timetable.
There will also be some changes to weekday and Saturday evening journey times.
From Sunday 3 January 2027
Service 21 will have a revised timetable, with buses coordinated with Service 21T to provide better connections along Catherine Street and Barkby Road.
Weekdays and Saturdays:
- Service 21 will run every 30 minutes between Leicester City Centre and Blount Road.
- Services 21 and 21T will combine to provide a bus every 15 minutes along Catherine Street and Barkby Road.
This means there will be fewer Service 21 journeys between Leicester City Centre and Blount Road, but the combined frequency with Service 21T will provide more regular buses along the shared section of the route.
Please check the new timetable before travelling.
From Sunday 3 January 2027
Services 25 and 26 will follow revised routes, with both services now serving Abbey Park Road instead of Ravensbridge Drive and St Margaret's Way.
The changes will provide closer connections to ASDA and Aldi on Abbey Lane, as well as St Margaret's Retail Park.
Important route changes:
- Services 25 and 26 will no longer serve St Margaret's Way or Ravensbridge Drive.
- Some sections of Blackbird Road will also no longer be served by these routes.
- Service 74 will continue to serve St Margaret's Way and Ravensbridge Drive.
There will also be new timetables throughout the week, including additional earlier journeys and more frequent Sunday services.
Weekdays:
- Service 26 will have an earlier journey from B&Q on Blackbird Road towards Beaumont Leys at 05:23.
- Service 25 will have an earlier journey from Haymarket Bus Station towards Mowmacre Hill at 05:35.
Saturdays:
- An earlier Service 25 journey will depart Thurcaston Road at 05:54.
Sundays:
- Services 25 and 26 will both run every 30 minutes.
- Service 26 will have an earlier journey from Blackbird Road towards Beaumont Leys at 08:28.
- Service 25 will have an earlier journey from Thurcaston Road at 09:03.
- Earlier journeys from Leicester City Centre will depart at 09:07 on Service 26 and 09:22 on Service 25.
Some early Service 25 journeys will now start from Abbey Lane on Thurcaston Road rather than Border Drive. The final late Service 26 journey will also finish at Abbey Lane on Thurcaston Road rather than Belgrave Boulevard.
Check your new route:
As these services will follow different routes, please check the updated maps to see which stops are served and where to catch your bus.
View Service 25 route map View Service 26 route map View Service 25 timetable View Service 26 timetable
From Sunday 3 January 2027
There will be additional earlier Sunday morning journeys on services 38 and 38A.
Sundays:
- Service 38 will depart Humberstone Gate East at 08:22.
- Service 38A will depart Humberstone Gate East at 08:55.
These early journeys will depart from Humberstone Gate East rather than Haymarket Bus Station.
There will also be some changes to the Saturday afternoon timetable after 14:00, so please check the new departure times before travelling.
Later journeys:
The last journey on Service 38 each evening, departing Haymarket Bus Station at 23:00, will now complete the full route back to Leicester City Centre rather than finishing at Humberstone Park.
From Sunday 3 January 2027
Service 54 will have new timetables throughout the week, with additional earlier journeys and more frequent buses on Saturdays.
Weekdays:
- An earlier journey will depart Beaumont Leys Centre towards Leicester City Centre at 05:30.
- Additional earlier journeys will depart Leicester City Centre towards Beaumont Leys at 05:30 and 06:00.
Saturdays:
Buses will run more frequently between Leicester City Centre and Beaumont Leys throughout the day, providing more journeys to choose from.
Sundays:
An earlier journey will depart Leicester City Centre towards Beaumont Leys at 09:00.
Changes to later journeys:
The last late journey, departing Haymarket Bus Station at 23:10, will now finish at Beaumont Leys Centre and will no longer continue to Anstey.
If you're travelling to or from Anstey later in the evening, Service 74 will provide later weekday and Saturday journeys. Please note that there will no longer be a 23:10 Sunday evening journey to Anstey.
Check the updated route map and timetable before travelling.
From Sunday 3 January 2027
Service 74 will have new timetables throughout the week, including later evening journeys to and from Anstey on weekdays and Saturdays.
Weekdays and Saturdays:
- Later journeys will depart St Margaret's Bus Station towards Anstey at 21:10, 22:10 and 23:10.
- Later journeys will depart Anstey, Hollow Road towards Leicester City Centre at 21:33 and 22:33.
These additional evening journeys will give you more options when travelling between Anstey and Leicester City Centre.
There will be no 23:10 Sunday evening journey to Anstey, so please check the timetable when planning a later Sunday journey.
From Sunday 3 January 2027
Services 88, 88A and 88E will have new timetables throughout the week, with additional earlier journeys and more frequent Sunday services to Eyres Monsell and Saffron Cross Roads.
Weekdays:
- An additional earlier Service 88 journey will depart Eyres Monsell towards Leicester City Centre at 05:21.
- An additional earlier Service 88 journey will depart Leicester City Centre towards Eyres Monsell at 06:19.
Sundays:
- All journeys will operate as Service 88E.
- Buses will run every 30 minutes, providing more regular journeys to both Eyres Monsell and Saffron Cross Roads.
- The first journey will depart Eyres Monsell earlier at 08:53.
Please note that some Sunday journeys will finish on Charles Street before reaching Haymarket Bus Station. Check the timetable for individual journey details.
Changes to Sunday stops:
As all Sunday journeys will operate as Service 88E, some stops on Saffron Lane will no longer be served on Sundays. Please check the updated timetable and route information to find your nearest alternative stop, particularly if you normally board or alight near Saffron Way.
Later journeys:
All Service 88E journeys will return towards Leicester City Centre after serving Eyres Monsell, including the last late-night journeys.
View Service 88 timetable View Service 88A timetable View Service 88E timetable
Important: These changes will take effect from Sunday 3 January 2027. Please check the updated timetables and route maps before travelling to make sure you have the latest information.
More journeys for just £2
From 1st January 2027, the £2 single fare cap will make eligible bus journeys even better value.
Whether you're commuting, heading into Leicester City Centre or visiting friends and family, you could pay no more than £2 for an eligible single journey.
Find out more about the £2 fare cap, including the latest information on eligible journeys and tickets.
Explore our updated route maps
We're updating our Leicester route maps to reflect the changes coming into effect from Sunday 3 January 2027.
Take a look at the new maps to see where your bus will travel, which stops it will serve and how to find your nearest boarding point.
Plan your journey
Remember to check your new timetable and route before travelling from Sunday 3 January 2027.
Use our journey planner to find the best way to get where you need to go.