Stone to Rugeley Bus 151: Nine a Day, Kept Only if Used

The new 151 bus between Stone and Rugeley has had a good first month, Staffordshire County Council says. It is also warning that the route will only survive if people keep using it.

The service started on Tuesday 1 September as a 12-month trial paid for by the county council. It runs along the A51 and Trent Valley villages, a route the council says has had no continuous bus link for several years. Chaserider operates it.

In an update on 29 September, the council said passenger numbers in the first few weeks had been “encouraging”. It did not publish the numbers. Its transport team will monitor use throughout the year, and Andrew Mynors, the cabinet member for connectivity, said “forward plans will depend on passenger numbers”.

Where it goes

The 151 runs hourly, Monday to Saturday, with nine journeys each way. There is no Sunday service. Between Stone and Rugeley it serves:

• Aston Lodge Park, on most journeys
• Burston
• Sandon
• Weston
• Hixon
• Great Haywood
• Little Haywood
• Colwich
• Bishton and Wolseley Bridge

Aston Lodge lost its own bus when D&G’s town service A was cancelled on 1 September. The county’s bus changes list says the 151 now covers it. It does not do so all day, though: six of the nine journeys in each direction go into Aston Lodge Park.

The whole run takes about 44 minutes from Stone to Rugeley, or about 52 when the bus goes round Aston Lodge.

The timetable

These are the main timing points from the county council’s published timetable, checked on 30 September. Monday to Friday and Saturday are identical.

Stone to Rugeley

Rugeley to Stone

Two things in that timetable are easy to miss:

• There is a two-hour gap at lunchtime. No bus leaves Stone between 11:46 and 13:46, and none leaves Rugeley between 12:43 and 14:43.
• The last bus from Stone does not come back. The 17:34 reaches Great Haywood at 18:05, after the last bus to Stone has already passed through at 17:36. It works for getting home from Stone, not for an evening out there.

What it costs

Chaserider advertises the £3 single fare on its buses. The government’s national fare cap keeps single tickets at £3 until the end of 2026. It says singles in England will be capped at £2 from 1 January 2027, which falls inside the trial year. Chaserider’s fares page also lists “The Knot”, a ticket valid on most operators’ buses across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, at £8.50 for a day or £30 for seven days, bought on the bus.

What it means for you

If you live in Hixon, Weston, Sandon or the Haywoods, this is the first through bus to both Stone and Rugeley in years. It will reach Morrisons in Stone or Rugeley town centre in well under an hour.

The first bus of the day from Great Haywood reaches Stone at 09:37, so it is a shopping and appointments service rather than a commuter one. It can also take you to Shugborough from the Great Haywood stops, a point the council makes itself.

The trial runs for a year from 1 September. The council has been plain that its future depends on who uses it. If you want it kept, the most useful thing to do is ride it.

On the Rugeley end, the route passes the A51 at Wolseley Bridge, which stays on temporary traffic lights until 20 November. Allow a few extra minutes on the later stops.

Sources

• New trial bus service linking towns and villages set to start, Staffordshire County Council, 31 July 2026, for the start date, the route and the 12-month trial.
• New county trial bus service off to positive start, Staffordshire County Council, 29 September 2026, for the first weeks’ take-up and the councillors’ quotes.
• Changes to bus services, Staffordshire County Council, for the operator and the withdrawal of service A.
• Service 151 timetable, Staffordshire County Council, Monday to Friday and Saturday, both directions, checked 30 September 2026.
• £3 national bus fare cap, Department for Transport, last updated 19 August 2026.
• Chaserider and its fares page.