A number of changes will be made to bus services in Stevenage and North Hertfordshire in September.

From September 3, Galleon Travel - with funding from Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) - will replace Arriva as the operator of the SB6 and SB11 services in Stevenage.

The SB6 circular route runs between the bus station and Shephall, while the SB11 circular route runs between the bus station and Haycroft Road, via Pin Green.

Galleon Travel operates under their trading name, Central Connect, and already runs a number of routes across Hertfordshire and Essex.

A HCC spokesperson confirmed that the first and last services on the current SB6 timetable will be cut, while the SB11 timetable will remain unchanged.

Some of the other major changes coming in September will especially affect residents of Bedwell. The SB7 circular route between Stevenage and Great Ashby has been adjusted so that it will now serve Bedwell too, but the SB4/SB40 and SB5/50 routes will no longer serve Bedwell.

A full list of the upcoming changes affecting Stevenage and North Herts can be found at the bottom of this article.

Responding to the changes, David Martin, the secretary of Stevenage Bus Users Group (BUGS), told the Comet: "BUGS are very pleased that Galleon Travel, aka Central Connect, has successfully tendered for the replacement of the SB6 and SB11 routes, providing reassurance to passengers who are dependent on these routes.

READ MORE: No investigation into Stevenage Borough Council over inaccurate planning claims

"While passengers in Stevenage regret Arriva’s withdrawal from the ZEBRA project earlier this year, meaning that we will not have the electric vehicles expected, we are nevertheless pleased to see that more modern, low-emission vehicles with low-floor access will be in use as a result of this new contract.

"Since pressures in the industry led to the removal of the half-hourly SB10 weekday services last year and a reduction of the SB6 to an hourly service with SB11, a week after Hertfordshire County Council published its Passenger Charter which promised to increase services, there has been much effort by all parties to reverse the decline.

"With the revision of Arriva’s SB7 route as well, residents of the central Bedwell area will have the service needed with up to three buses per hour.

"Our only concern is, with several operators in the market, the availability of multi-operator tickets for fare-paying passengers. Though the current £2 price cap will provide mitigation for some passengers in the short term, some thought has to be given to addressing that gap."

Service changes - all take effect from September 3

55 - Stevenage Bus Station to Letchworth

Minor changes to timetable.

74 - Bedford to Hitchin

Timetable change "to improve punctuality".

97/97A/98/98A - Hitchin to Stotfold/Baldock
Service 97 will now serve Purwell Lane on all weekday journeys. 97A journeys to operate as 97s. Service 98 has minor timetable changes and 98A journeys to operate as 98.

100/101 - Stevenage Bus Station to Luton Interchange

Timetable change "to improve punctuality".

SB1 - Poplars to Gunnels Wood Rd
Minor changes to timetable.

SB2/SB3 - Stevenage Bus Station to St Nicholas (Circular)
Minor changes to timetable.

SB4/SB40 - Stevenage Bus Station to Broadwater, Shephall (Circular)
Services no longer serve Bedwell - see SB7 for alternative.

SB5/SB50 - Stevenage Bus Station to Broadwater, Shephall (Circular)
Services no longer serve Bedwell - see SB7 for alternative.

SB6 - Stevenage Bus Station to Shephall (Circular)

Galleon Travel appointed as new operator.

SB7 - Stevenage Bus Station to Great Ashby (Circular)
Changes to route and timetable. Service will now serve Bedwell.

SB8/SB9 - Stevenage Bus Station to Symonds Green (Circular)

Changes to SB8 timetable - Bragbury End will be served on Mondays to Saturdays evenings only. A replacement service to Bragbury End is being investigated.

SB11 - Stevenage Bus Station to Haycroft Rd (Circular) via Pin Green

Galleon Travel appointed as new operator.