Nottingham bus operator criticises city council over new Maid Marian Way junction as delays mount

The city council says the new layout will create more space for pedestrians and be less of a barrier in the city centre. (Photo: Nottingham City Council)
By George Palmer-Soady
Nottingham’s biggest bus company has criticised the city council over its handling of a major junction improvement which has caused long delays since it opened on Sunday.
NCT criticised the new layout at the junction of Maid Marian Way, Upper Parliament Street and Derby Road.
The council has so far spent five months changing a roundabout to a T-junction in a scheme costing £8.97 million.
Announcing the new layout was open yesterday (October 8), Nottingham City Council warned some disruption is to be expected and some roadworks will continue until summer 2025.
The next day, however, Nottingham City Transport (NCT) – which itself is majority owned as an arms-length company by the council itself – criticised the changes, saying it had previously raised concerns over the new layout.
In a statement NCT said: “Since the change to the road traffic layout that has taken place this week, traffic flow in the city has much worsened, and bus punctuality has been significantly affected.
“Having introduced additional buses into our network prior to the works starting in order to temper any delays, there is no way to mitigate the effects of the change to the junction across our entire network.
“Buses are taking the same amount of time to travel along Parliament Street at peak hours as they would ordinarily take to travel to the outskirts of the city.”
It went on to say the new changes have “disproportionately affected bus users,” and described the delays experienced by customers as “very disappointing”.
“As part of the Greater Nottingham Bus Partnership, we’ve raised our strong concerns with the Highway representatives on this body, alongside other bus operators in the city,” it added.
Nottingham City Council says the junction will feature new crossings, cycling facilities and greenery after the old roundabout was labelled as ‘outdated’ by councillors.
Trentbarton – another bus operator in the city – has also warned customers of delays to services.
In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), a spokesperson said: “Due to the works in Nottingham City Centre, we have experienced delays during peak times, in order to lessen this, we will be using Talbot Street and serving this stop.”
Nottingham City Council has been contacted for comment.
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