Background
In response to growing congestion, the climate impact of car use, and too few sustainable transport alternatives, the Ullswater Valley community has launched an ambitious, grassroots initiative to reinvent rural public transport. Spearheaded by SITU (Sustainable and Integrated Transport for Ullswater), one result is a new generation of community-supported bus services that carried over 6,000 passengers in 2025 alone—helping to remove more than 1,000 car journeys from the narrow valley roads.
This case study tells the story of how the Ullswater community tackled one of the Lake District’s most pressing issues with local insight, collaborative action, and scalable impact.
Ullswater, located in the northeast Lake District National Park, has become increasingly overwhelmed by private vehicle traffic. Although home to fewer than 3,000 residents, the valley welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors annually, the vast majority arriving by car. With the valley’s narrow roads and limited infrastructure, this has resulted in serious and growing problems for this part of the World Heritage Site:
- Congestion and road safety issues on minor routes
- Increasing urgency surrounding emissions reduction
- Visitor experience compromised by too few alternatives to the private car
- Lack of transport access for those without cars
Visitors are welcome in Ullswater; the problem is too many cars. With post-COVID domestic tourism and staycations on the rise, the community feared a worsening crisis—especially with the dualling of the A66 likely to funnel even more vehicle traffic into the area.
A Response: A Community Bus Revolution
In late 2020, members of the local community representing the parishes surrounding Ullswater came together to launch SITU with one goal: to create a sustainable and integrated transport system for the Ullswater Valley. Their starting point was to ask how they could help encourage people out of their cars, and what practical steps they could take in the short and medium term towards the long term goal.
After collaborating on establishing the Eamont Way, SITU’s next step was to launch three community-designed bus routes (UB1, UB2, UB3) in partnership with Stagecoach. These services aimed to:
- Connect key destinations and visitor attractions with accommodation hubs
- Enable car-free travel within the valley
- Offer affordable, inclusive options for locals and tourists
- Reduce emissions and improve road safety
Key Features of the Bus Model
- Not-for-profit and community-led
- Partnership with Stagecoach for vehicle provision and operations
- Fare structure set by SITU
- Funded by a blend of ticket income, grants and local business pledges
- A step-by-step approach to a gradual extension of the services with each year operating as a pilot for the following year
Impacts and Success
2023
- UB1/UB2/UB3 launched on weekends and bank holidays (July–October)
- 1,157 passengers carried in a 16-seat minibus
- £32,500 obtained in seed grant funds, with about £19,000 rolled over into 2024
- Local businesses and other entities pledged £11,500 to underwrite the service in case of need
2024
- UB2 consolidated into the new Stagecoach 509 route connecting Penrith and Keswick with Ullswater and Matterdale
- UB1 and UB3 consolidated as UB1 and operated 4x daily between Aira Force and Howtown
- UB1 + 509 combined carried 9,382 passengers (weekends and bank holidays March–November)
- Local businesses and other entities pledged over £48,000 to underwrite the service in case of need
- Estimated 600+ car journeys saved (UB1 only)
- 15% of users were locals, highlighting social as well as environmental value
2025
- UB1 extended to a daily service in July, August, and May half-term, with the weekend and bank holiday service continuing as in 2024
- 509 adopted commercially by Stagecoach, so that SITU’s seed funding of this service ceased
- Continued collaboration with local businesses and other entities pledging financial support and assisting with marketing
- Free child fares extended to all under 12s to help offset the increase in the government fare cap from £2 to £3, supporting hard-pressed families
- Data collection ongoing to support future funding and decision-making
- Passengers: 5,956 (UB1 only; excl under 12 year olds)
- Estimated 1,000+ car journeys saved (UB1 only)
2026
- Plan to run for 139 days, an increase over 2025
Enabling Factors
Strong Community Leadership
Local leaders like Michael Firth (Matterdale Parish Council) and Daniel Holder (owner of The Quiet Site) were instrumental. Together, working in close partnership with other proactive community organisations, they combined legal, commercial, and tourism expertise with a deep commitment to local sustainability.
Business Buy-In and local relationships
Local businesses and other entities pledged financial support and helped with promotion, embedding the service within the valley’s tourism ecosystem. This model built both economic resilience and shared responsibility. Local volunteers also brought hands on support combined with insight, connections and expertise.
Strategic Public-Private Partnership
Partnering with Stagecoach allowed SITU to scale services efficiently, coordinate timetabling with commercial services and benefit from integrated ticketing, while retaining control over pricing and routing. This flexibility enabled free fares for under-12s, making the service accessible for lower-income families.
Data-Driven Planning
Using three decades of visitor research and experience, the community knew exactly which destinations mattered most and where cars were putting the most pressure: Lowther Castle, Aira Force, Helvellyn, Pooley Bridge, Glenridding, Howtown, and the Steamer piers. The routes were tailored to join these with the major centres of accommodation, many of which were away from the main road, matching demand, not theory.
Challenges & Considerations
Funding Sustainability
Despite success, UB1 still requires annual top-up funding. As is sadly normal throughout the country, the cost of running the service significantly outweighs the passenger ticket income. Passengers pay the national capped fare, £2 in 2023 and 2024 and £3 in 2025. After taking fare income into account, the implied subsidy per passenger per trip was £10 in 2023, a little over £6 in 2024 and just under £6 in 2025.
While business pledges and donations have helped, covering a shortfall after fares and grants in each year of operation, long-term sustainability will require new multi-year funding mechanisms.
SITU is aware of debate within central and local government about some form of visitor charging and is actively considering how any decisions, involving the way in which visitor contributions might be raised, administered and spent, can be made locally.
Replicability
While the Ullswater model is promising, success depends on community capacity and business engagement.
As Michael Firth notes:
“If other valleys are able to secure both business and community buy-in, then what we have done here is replicable.”
Conclusion: A Model for the Future?
The Ullswater community has proven what’s possible when local insight meets collective action. In just two years, the valley has gone from looming car gridlock to a growing, sustainable public transport network—led not by government, but by a grassroots coalition determined to protect the place they love.
SITU’s community bus services are more than a logistical success; they’re a symbol of what happens when rural areas take control of their future, one bus ride at a time.
“We’re not trying to stop people coming,” says Daniel Holder. “We’re just offering them a better way to move when they’re here.”
Key Metrics (2023–2024)
Metric | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
Passengers Carried | 1,157 | 3,669 | 5,956 (excl. under 12yr olds) |
Estimated Car Journeys saved | ~180 | ~600 | ~1000 |
| Fare income | £3,960.02 | £8,629.80 | £18,022.65 |
Days of Operation | Weekends/holidays (Jul–Oct) | Weekends/holidays (Mar–Nov) | Weekends/holidays (Mar – Nov) Weekdays (Jul and Aug) |
Grant funding | £21,875 | £20,518 | £17,000 |
Local Business Underwriting Pledges and Donations | £11,500 | £47,900 | £39,350 |
Implied subsidy/ passenger/trip | £10.04 | £6.12 | £5.78 |
Grant Funders
SITU is most grateful to the following organisations for providing grant support for the bus:
2023
Eden District Council
Westmorland & Furness Council
Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership and the National Lottery Community Fund
2024
Westmorland & Furness Council
Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership and the National Lottery Community Fund
2025
The Supporting Rural Communities in Cumbria and Northumberland programme of the Royal Countryside Fund and the National Lottery Community Fund
The Strategic Visitor Management Group of the Lake District National Park Partnership
Westmorland & Furness Council
Fibrus Networks GB Ltd and Hyperfast GB
