Overview
- A new bus station on the south side of Groningen Central with a pedestrian tunnel and a bus tunnel under the tracks opens on Sunday 28 June, letting buses avoid the long detour around the station.
- OV-bureau Groningen Drenthe says the new layout will save about €1.5 million in operating time and costs and that part of those savings will be used to run more buses on high-demand corridors.
- Buses will start on a summer timetable from 28 June with the full revised regular timetable scheduled to begin on Sunday 16 August, and weekday services will be reduced between those dates.
- Several busy lines gain frequency—examples cited include Q-link 3 and 4 running up to three times per hour in the evening, Q-link 5 more often on Sunday afternoons, Qliner 312 added Saturday runs, and line 63 to Lauwersoog moving to hourly service—while a new Thursday–Saturday night bus will link Groningen, Hoogezand and Veendam.
- Some lesser-used services will be cut or altered, including fewer trips to Zoutkamp and the removal of line 174 between Zuidbroek and Veendam, and local route changes such as a new Zuidbroek–Muntendam link and a reroute for line 5 that will change connections for some commuters.