New bus service called The Loop launches today in Milton Keynes to give people a better and faster experience

Arriva has launched the new fixed route concept after consultations with MK City Council and bus users, and it represents the most significant expansion to bus services for years.

The buses, all bearing the words ‘The Loop’ instead of numbers, will will run up to every hour, six days per week from early in the morning until late at night.

Arriva bosses claim the system will “connect communities like never before” by allowing seamless travel across the city without the need to change buses.

The Loop’s destinations include:

• Oakgrove • Kingston • Woburn Sands and Bow Brickhill • Caldecotte • The Open University • MK Hospital and Stadium MK • Bletchley • Furzton • Westcroft • Shenley Wood • Milton Keynes city centre

The service will operate in both clockwise and anticlockwise directions and has been carefully designed to link residents to shopping, education, work, and leisure hubs throughout MK.

You can view The Loop timetable here and downlead a network map here.

An Arriva spokesperson said: “The Loop is the result of extensive collaboration with the Milton Keynes Bus Partnership, as well as feedback from residents. By analysing data from the popular MK Connect service, Arriva and the Milton Keynes Bus Partnership have identified key travel patterns and needs to create a fixed-line service, tailored to the community.

“Our new route delivers lots of great connections around the south of the city, linking rural and urban communities with popular shopping, leisure, healthcare and education destinations.”

The Loop serves rail stations at Milton Keynes Central, Woburn Sands, Bow Brickhill and Bletchley, meaning people connect to fast trains to London, as well as other destinations in the region, without paying expensive parking fees.

"We’ll drop you right outside each station entrance,” promised the Arriva spokesperson.

And with the first East West services between Oxford, Bletchley and Milton Keynes set to begin this year, The Loop will provide easier and faster connectivity across the region, say Arriva.

“We’re also linking up with our core bus corridors at key interchange points – with The Loop offering bus-to-bus connectivity to all routes in the Arriva Milton Keynes network, making it easier than ever to make local journeys, or for travelling further afield to Leighton Buzzard, Dunstable, Luton and Aylesbury,” said the spokesperson.

They added: “This is a brand-new service, so we’d love to hear our new customers’ suggestions on how we can make this route even better. You can reach us on TwitterX @arriva_mk, Facebook @mkarriva, or call 0344 800 44 11 - we’re looking forward to hearing from you.

Menawhile, many other Arriva routes in Milton Keynes are due to change from next Sunday (January 5)., including heaps of improvements and serving new areas.

These include busess from Newport Pagnell to Grange Farm, buses fromWolverton to Bletchley and Newton Leys and buses from Wavendon Gate to Westcroft and Oxley Park, as well as the Milton Keynes to Northampton and Luton services.

You can view the changes here.https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/latest-news/improvements-to-milton-keynes%E2%80%99-bus-services-for-2025