New giant 'loop' bus service to be launched in Milton Keynes next month to connect key destinations

The simple circular system is the biggest expansion to the city’s bus network in at least five years, says the company.

It will start on January 6 and include new destinations such as Oakgrove, Kingston, Woburn Sands, Bow Brickhill, Caldecotte, The Open University, MK Hospital, Stadium MK, Bletchley, Furzton, Westcroft, Shenley Wood and Milton Keynes city centre.

The single, fixed-line Loop will operate in a clockwise and anticlockwise direction, up to every hour each way, from Monday to Saturday. 

It has been created from listening to residents’ requests for better bus connectivity, as well as working with the Milton Keynes Bus Partnership to share insights on where and when people are travelling on other types of transport.

And it will link people with key destinations for shopping, education, work and leisure, say Arriva bosses.

The service calls at all Bow Brickhill, Woburn Sands, Bletchley (for East West Rail) and Milton Keynes Central rail stations, as well as interchange points onto every other bus route within the city, allowing for easier connections to other local destinations alongside longer distance services to Leighton Buzzard, Luton and Luton Airport. 

Arriva has made The Loop possible by working with Milton Keynes City Council through the Milton Keynes Bus Partnership,

Network manager for Arriva Matt King said: “We’re thrilled to be able to new bus route which boosts bus connectivity to more communities within Milton Keynes.

“Our vision is to create a sustainable, attractive, wide-reaching bus network in our city that we’ve been proud to serve for decades – and The Loop reinforces our dedication to not only boost accessibility for existing customers, but also to attract those who perhaps haven’t used the bus in some time and would love to reduce their carbon footprint”.

“The route has been developed not only by working closely with the Milton Keynes Bus Partnership, but also by listening to residents who’ve long requested better access to our great bus network.

“We’ll be closely monitoring how this new service runs and we’re always open to listening to what our customers say, so we’d encourage them to let us know how they find it.

“Our focus in the last year to ensure the foundations of our existing network are strong has enabled us to head into 2025 with the ability to expand the reach of our bus services.”

Milton Keynes City Council’s interim cabinet member for transportation, Cllr Akash Nayee, said: "I'm delighted that Arriva will be operating this new MK Loop circular route to residents, helping to connect people and places without the need to travel into the city centre first.”

"Route flexibility is key to encouraging more people to choose the bus over the car for more of their journeys which will help us to reach our target to be a carbon-neutral city by 2030".

As well as The Loop, Arriva is also expanding other services and introducing timetable improvements to the rest of the city’s bus network from the same date.

For further information, see here.