Nineteen Herefordshire bus services changed on 30 August and 1 September. D Belfitt takes over seven Nick Maddy routes, Newport Transport three from Yeomans.

Nineteen bus services across Herefordshire changed over the bank holiday weekend and on Tuesday 1 September, and two of them are now run by firms that were not running them a week ago.

Herefordshire Council lists every one of them on its changes to bus services page, and summarised the headline improvements in a news release on 28 August. Here is what actually changed, and the two dates where the council and the operator do not agree.

Seven routes moved from Nick Maddy Coaches to D Belfitt Commercials

From Tuesday 1 September, D Belfitt Commercials Ltd replaced Nick Maddy Coaches on seven services. The council records the reason on each entry as simply a “new operator to replace Nick Maddy Coaches running of this service”.

The seven are:

  • 31, Whitchurch to Ross-on-Wye
  • 54, Bridstow to Monmouth
  • 436, Hereford to Breinton
  • 456/457, Newent to Hereford
  • 459, Ledbury to Ross-on-Wye
  • 478, Much Marcle to Hereford
  • 479, Much Marcle to Ledbury

Most of these run in the south and east of the county. Ross-on-Wye is about 14 miles south east of Hereford, Ledbury about 15 miles east, and Newent is over the border in Gloucestershire. Monmouth is in Wales, about 17 miles south west.

Nick Maddy Coaches keeps the 844 between Bridstow and John Kyrle High School in Ross-on-Wye. That route has been reversed and now serves Brampton Abbots in each direction.

Three Yeomans routes moved to Newport Transport

From Sunday 30 August, Newport Transport took over three services previously run by Yeomans Travel:

  • 413/812, Broad Oak to Hereford, via Garway, Wormelow and Kilpeck
  • 436, Swainshill to Hereford, via Breinton
  • 448, Madley to Hereford, via Bredwardine

Newport Transport’s own Herefordshire page confirms all three, and gives the 448 and 436 start date as 30 August. It gives the 413/812 as starting on 31 August, a day later than the council’s page says. If you use the 413 or 812, check the operator’s timetable rather than assuming either date.

Note that service number 436 appears twice on the council’s list, under two different operators and two different dates: once as Hereford to Breinton moving to D Belfitt on 1 September, and once as Swainshill to Hereford moving to Newport Transport on 30 August. Check which journey you catch before you rely on either.

Table of the ten Herefordshire bus services that changed operator between 30 August and 1 September 2026. Seven routes, the 31, 54, 436 Hereford to Breinton, 456/457, 459, 478 and 479, moved from Nick Maddy Coaches to D Belfitt Commercials on 1 September. Three routes, the 413/812, 436 Swainshill to Hereford and 448, moved from Yeomans Travel to Newport Transport on 30 August, with the 413/812 date given as 31 August by the operator.
Graphic by Hereford Today

The 66 is on diversion for the whole of September

Newport Transport also runs the 66 between Monmouth and Hereford, and from 30 August it added journeys serving Hereford railway station.

At the same time, the operator has posted a service update: Link Road in Monmouth is closed from 1 to 28 September 2026, affecting routes 60, 66 and 68. Buses on the 66 towards Hereford will continue down the hill past the Premier Inn to the mini roundabout, then divert and rejoin the normal route towards the Kingswood Estate. Newport Transport says there should be temporary stops near the Premier Inn.

What got better

Four services gained journeys rather than losing them.

  • 23, Newport to Hereford (Stagecoach South Wales): extra evening journeys Monday to Saturday, and a new Sunday timetable with four journeys in each direction
  • 66, Monmouth to Hereford (Newport Transport): more journeys serving Hereford railway station
  • 417, Worcester to Ledbury (First Bus): an extra journey in each direction on Saturday mornings
  • 675, Ledbury to Great Malvern (First Bus): new early morning and evening journeys, Monday to Saturday

Two changes are trims rather than gains. The First Bus 600 Ledbury Circular has had minor timetable changes “to reduce excess dwell time”, and the first Monday to Friday journey on the 417 now runs 30 minutes later and starts at Leigh Sinton rather than Worcester.

Stagecoach West has retimed the 32 and 33 between Gloucester and Ross-on-Wye. The council’s stated reason is blunt: “delays caused by roadworks near Gloucester”.

The council and Yeomans give different dates for the 447 and 449

Herefordshire Council lists the retiming of the 447/449 between Hereford, Kingstone and Madley under “From Monday 31 August 2026”.

Yeomans Travel’s own timetable page says the change applies “from Tuesday 1st September 2026 - please check times carefully”. The operator publishes the new timetable as a PDF on that page. Where the two disagree, the operator’s own timetable is the one the driver is working to.

Yeomans also lists a change the council’s page does not carry at all. On the 426 between Hereford, Marden, Bodenham, Risbury and Stoke Prior, there are minor changes to schoolday afternoons from Tuesday 1 September, including an extra journey from Bodenham towards Hereford at 15:40. That matters this week, because it is the first full week of the new school year.

What it means for you

  • If you use any of the seven ex-Nick Maddy routes, the bus is the same route but a different company. Ask about tickets and passes before you board, not after.
  • Check the operator, not just the council. On both the 413/812 and the 447/449, the operator’s own page gives a different date from the council’s. The operator runs the bus.
  • If you travel on the 66 to or from Monmouth in September, allow extra time. The Link Road closure runs to 28 September and stops are moving.
  • Timetables in the bus stop cases are being replaced. The council says new ones are going into stop cases now, so a case you passed last week may be out of date.
  • Where to check: the council points people to bustimes.org, the operator apps, or Traveline on 0871 200 22 33. It also names Citymapper as the official journey planning app for Herefordshire, and posts updates as @HfdsBuses on X.

If your journey involves driving instead, our Hereford roadworks and travel page tracks the current closures, and Hereford train times to London covers the rail alternative. For everything else the council runs, see our guides to bin collection days, parking in Hereford and council tax bands.

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