Thursday 30 April 2009

KC Stadium Rail Halt ruled out

Last year a study was commissioned into the feasibility of a new railway station to serve the KC Stadium and Hull Royal Infirmary.

That study has now reported back, and the answer is that it would be unlikely to get public funding and should not be pursued. The cost was put at £5.5 million with annual running costs of between £100,000 and £200,000. Even if it was built the study questionned how many services would be able to call at it due to timetable constraints.

Instead the report recommends any available money should be spent on bus improvements, such as match day shuttles to Paragon Interchange, improved bus priorities, and bizarelly more direct buses between Hull Royal Infirmary and the Interchange. By my calculations there are the following buses between the hospital and interchange (based on Monday to Saturday daytime) that are available for local travel:

1C (EYMS) - 1 bus per hour (buses from Hull operate from Carr Lane and not the Interchange however)
2 (Stagecoach Hull) - 6 buses per hour
35 (EYMS) - 2 buses per hour
57 (EYMS) - 6 buses per hour (buses from Hull operate from Carr Lane and not the Interchange however)
60/60A/6264 (EYMS) - 6 buses per hour
66 (EYMS) - 6 buses per hour
151/152/153 (EYMS) - 3 buses per hour
154 (EYMS) - 3 buses per hour
155 (EYMS) - 1 bus per hour
350 (EYMS/Stagecoach) - 2 buses per hour
(Plus the 1A which is less than hourly)

So thats 35 buses an hour from the Infirmary to the Interchange, and 28 buses an hour from the Interchange. And while many go via the city centre, especially when departing the Interchange, its still only about a 10 minute journey time. So theres already plenty of buses, and they are fairly direct. Why a need for more?

Finally the report has also ruled out new stations at Priory Park and the Bricknell Estate.

Wednesday 29 April 2009

EYMS Possible Fare Increase

The Humber Business website reports EYMS are considering a modest fare rise. Stagecoach increased some of it's fares back in March.

Thursday 23 April 2009

190 Saved

Service 190 between Wroot and Doncaster has been saved.

Back in March this blog reported that the registration for the service had been cancelled. Currently funded by South Yorkshire PTE and North Lincolnshire Council it operates three times a day, Monday to Saturday. From next week however it will only operate once each way on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturday, and have a new route avoiding Amthorpe. Yesterday's Yorkshire Post said this was after North Lincolnshire Council stepped in to save the service, which looks like it was planned to be axed completely.

Monday 20 April 2009

195 Changes

From Monday 27th April, certain journeys on EYMS service 195 between Pocklington and York will be withdrawn, following funding being pulled by City of York Council. Withdrawn journeys are:

0902 Bielby to York (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday)
1200 Newton to York (Monday, Thursday)
1300 Newton to York (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday)
1015 York to Pocklington (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday)
1230 York to Pocklington (Monday, Thursday)


A partial replacement is provided by new service 36 operated by York Pullman. The City of York Council website also reports that some Saturday services on this route will be extended to Aughton at the request of East Riding of Yorkshire Council. Aughton Saturday journeys will depart York at 1120 and 1520, and Aughton at 0850, 1220 and 1620. A full timetable is on the York Pullman website.

EYMS increase Willerby Evening Buses

Monday to Saturday evening services between Hull and Willerby via Spring Bank will be increased to half hourly from Monday 27th April. Current evening services are numbered 47 because they continue as route 64 to Castle Hill Hospital. I suspect the extra services will be short workings to Willerby only and therefore be numbered as service 44.

Also, from Sunday 26th, the 33/34/44/45/47 group of services between Hull, Spring Bank, Wold Road and Willerby, as well as the 115/215/315 to the University, Endike Lane and Cottingham, will operate via Ferensway instead of Park Street when departing from Hull Interchange. As a regular user of the 115/215/315, the Park Street route is quicker so I wonder why the change?

Thursday 16 April 2009

More Scunthorpe area service changes

Following on from last weeks post about service changes planned by Stagecoach in Scunthorpe from 25th May, two more have appeared on the VOSA website today:

PB0001484/65 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Variation Accepted: Operating between Scunthorpe Bus Station and Hemswell given service number 353 effective from 03-Jun-2009. To amend Route and Timetable.
PB0001484/80 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Scunthorpe Bus Station and Gainsborough given service number 101/601 effective from 25-May-2009. To amend Route and Timetable.


Service between Grimsby and Lincoln will also see changes:

PB0001484/34 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Lincoln and Grimsby given service number 3/3A/3B effective from 25-May-2009. To amend Route and Timetable.

Wednesday 15 April 2009

Humber Flyer NEW Mini-website

Last week I posted about the new Humber Flyer service, replacing the X1 between Hull, Humberside Airport, Grimsby and Cleethorpes. This week, Stagecoach have introduced a new mini-website for the service, as they have done with the Humber Fastcat (350).

http://www.stagecoachbus.com/grimsbycleethorpes/humberflyer.html

Nice to see some effort being put into the route launch. However the website reveals some mistakes and oddities.

Firstly the route in Hull. The route map shows it using Clive Sullivan Way, but the timetable has a timing point at Fiveways, which is definetly not on Clive Sullivan Way. How many passengers will study the route map in such detail is questionable, but anyone who does will end up rather confused.

Secondly the single fare from the Humber Bridge to Humberside Airport is £2.75 but the return is £6.00. Mistake, or is it really cheaper to but two singles rather than a return?

And finally the return fare from Humberside Airport to Hull is £6.00, yet the Stagecoach fare from Barton to Hull on the 350 Humber Fastcat is 30p more, despite it being a shorter journey in terms of time and distance.

Friday 10 April 2009

Walton Street Park and Ride Saved

Earlier in the year we reported that Hull City Council proposed to cut the Walton Street Park and Ride. Today's Yorkshire Post reports EYMS, who recently inherited the service with their takeover of Veolia's Hull operation, will continue to operate it on a commercial basis for a trial period.

The site is unusually close to the city centre for a park and ride site, but it appears to have some loyal users who became very vocal about it's threatened closure. If EYMS can make it work commercially, without affecting the Priory Park site, or the other new ones planned by Hull City Council on the edge of the city, then it's a win win for everyone.

The Walton Street Park and Ride is service number 700.

Wednesday 8 April 2009

Another 51 (Grimsby-Louth) change

More changes are on the way for service 51 between Grimsby and Louth from May, according to this entry from VOSA:

PB0001484/160 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Variation Accepted: Operating between Grimsby and Louth given service number 51/51A/51B/51C/51X effective from 25-May-2009. To amend Route and Timetable.


The change may be related to the cancellation of service 41 (Louth Town Service), also reported by VOSA today, which is interworked with the 51.

Changes to the 51 have already taken in place in January and March this year.

Scunthorpe area Stagecoach Changes

Advance notice of changes by Stagecoach coming up in Scunthorpe and the surrounding area in May. Taken from VOSA:

PB0001484/2 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Variation Accepted: Operating between Scunthorpe Bus Station and Wrawby given service number 365 effective from 25-May-2009. To amend Timetable.
PB0001484/129 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Variation Accepted: Operating between Scunthorpe Bus Station and Flixborough given service number 60 effective from 25-May-2009. To amend Timetable.
PB0001484/136 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Variation Accepted: Operating between Scunthorpe Bus Station and Ashby given service number 6 effective from 25-May-2009. To amend Timetable.
PB0001484/155 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Variation Accepted: Operating between Scunthorpe Bus Station and Scunthorpe Bus Station given service number 31/31A/32/32A effective from 25-May-2009. To amend Timetable.
PB0001484/156 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Variation Accepted: Operating between Scunthorpe Bus Station and Scunthorpe Bus Station given service number 33/34 effective from 25-May-2009. To amend Timetable.
PB0001484/158 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Variation Accepted: Operating between Scunthorpe Bus Station and Crosby given service number 38 effective from 25-May-2009. To amend Timetable.

PB0001484/164 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Registration Accepted
Starting Point: Scunthorpe Glover Road
Finish Point: Scunthorpe Bus Station
Via:
Service Number: 30
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 25-MAY-2009
Other Details: College Days only. Hail and ride on sections where traffic and safety conditions allow

Stagecoach Hull Saturday Frequency Cuts

Stagecoach Hull will be cutting the frequency of some service on Saturdays from 25th April 2009.

Service 13 (Hull-Orchard Park) goes from every 10 minutes to every 12 minutes
Service 14 (Hull-Orchard Park) goes from every 10 minutes to every 12 minutes
Service 15 (Hull-Orchard Park-Kingswood) goes from every 7/8 minutes to every 10 minutes
Service 28 (Hull-Sutton Park-Branshome) goes from every 12 minutes to every 15 minutes
Service 30 (Hull-Bransholme-North Bransholme) goes from every 10 minutes every 15 minutes
Service 51 (Hull-Bransholme-Kingswood) goes from every 10 minutes to every 15 minutes
Service 54 (Hull-Bilton Grange) goes from every 10 minutes to every 15 minutes

Stagecoach Hull Service 52/53 enhancements

From 20th April, Stagecoach services 52 to 53 from Hull to Salthouse Road will be increased from hourly to half hourly, Monday to Saturday daytime. Service 53 operates via the Garden Village and Ings Road areas, and the 52 via Holderness Road. Service 52 is also diverted via Marfleet Lane and Bilton Grange with the new timetable to partially replace service 11.

Evening service 52C will now only operate on Friday and Saturday nights, with a revised route and times, serving Savoy Road.

Stagecoach Hull Evening and Nightbus Changes

From 20th April, Stagecoach Hull will be making various changes to evening and night buses.

Services 13 and 14 to Orchard Park will have more journeys while service 15 will operate every 15 minutes in the early evening. Services 30, 32, 51 and 54 in North and East Hull will operates half hourly all evening (currently hourly after about 8pm), though the 20 minute early evening frequency on the 54 (Hull-Bilton Grange) on Friday and Saturday nights is reduced to every 30 minutes.

Service 52C to Salthouse Road will now only operate on Friday and Saturday nights (currently operates daily) and will be diverted to serve Savoy Road with revised times.

As far as nightbuses go, the big news is the all night services on the N2 (Hull-Hessle Square) and N51 (Hull-Kingswood) on Friday and Saturday nights, introduced last September, have been axed. The 0400, 0500 and 0600 departures from Hull, and the 0325, 0425, 0525 and 0625 from Hessle Square on the N2 go, as do the 0400, 0500 and 0600 departures from Hull on the N51, and all nightbuses in the opposite direction from Kingswood are axed.

Service N32 to Bransholme has revised times, and now operates on Friday as well as Saturday nights. The N55 to Ings Estate, Longhill and Bilton is axed. It was the only nightbus not to follow a daytime route, and ran on Saturday nights only.

Hull City Circle Changes

The Hull City Circular service, taken on commercially by Stagecoach last September, shall see changes from 20th April.

Back in September the major innovation was a half hourly frequency on the Hull-Orchard Park-Bransholme section on weekdays with hourly services 10 and 11 being co-ordinated to provide this. However the service 11 will be axed, bringing this to an end. The remaining service 10 shall also be diverted away from Chanterlands Avenue North to Bricknell and Fairfax Avenues (service 13 route).

In part the service 11 shall be replaced by an enhanced service 52.

Servicee 10 will continue to provide an hourly city circle service, Monday to Saturday daytimes.

Stagecoach Hull route renumberings and minor changes

From 20th April service 29 (North Bransholme-Bransholme-Sutton Park-Hull) shall be renumbered service 28A. Unlike service 28, it does a full city centre loop. Service 51N (North Bransholme-Bransholme-Holderness Road-Hull) shall be renumbered 51A.

Another renumbering is the peak time only 36 (Hull-Leads Road-Bransholme-Kingswood) which becomes the 38A. There is a new 1715 departure on the 38A from Hull Interchange and a new 0810 service 38 on Saturdays from Bransholme to Hull. Other time changes affect other journeys on both the 38 and 38A.

The 63 (Hull-Newland Avenue-University-Bricknell Avenue Estate-Cottingham) has a revised peak timetable to improve reliability. Service 20 (Hull-Kingswood-North Bransholme-Wawne) also has a revised peak timetable. Evening and Sunday journeys on the 20 also have slightly revised times and the 2310 departure from Hull Monday to Saturday moves to 2305 and only operates on Fridays and Saturdays.

Stagecoach Grimsby Cleethorpes 13/14 change

One more minor change from Stagecoach Grimsby Cleethorpes on April 20th, service 13/14 (Bradley/Laceby Acres-Grimsby-Cleethorpes) will now terminate in Alexandra Road in Cleethorpes, rather than Sea Road during the day, as they currently do in the evening.

Wybers Wood goes LoZone

Changes by Stagecoach in Grimsby and Cleethorpes this April seem to be a mix of good and bad, and this one seems to be a good one. Service 16 between Wybers Wood, the Willows Estate, Grimsby Town Centre and the Asda superstore is being upgraded with low floor buses from 20th April. The weekday daytime frequency will also improve from every 15 to every 12 minutes, though the Saturday service remains quarter hourly.

Return of Service 2 and 12 in Grimsby, Bye Bye Service 5

Services to Bradley Park, Grange Estate, Gilbey Road and parts of Cleethorpes and New Waltham are set to see changes with the axing of services 5 and X1 and their replacement with the 2 and 12 on 20th April.

Service 5 currently links Europarc (weekdays only) and the Gilbey Road area of Grimsby with the Grange Estate and Bradley Park via Grimsby's Riverhead Bus Station. Services presently run half hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes. It will be replaced by new service 2 (or rather the return of the previous service) and new service 12 (or rather the return of the previous service with a changed route).

The 2 will continue to link Europarc and Gilbey Road with Grimsby Town Centre via Corporation Road; however there will be no Saturday service and the weekday service is cut in half to hourly, with a large gap in the afternoon. Or in other words a morning/early afternoon shopping service with a couple of evening peak journeys. Existing early morning/evening service 20 between Cleethorpes, Grimsby and Europarc provides some extra journeys along part of the route but this is a major cutback for the Gilbey Road part of Grimsby.

Many years ago Corporation Road had a tram service, now a rather basic bus service. How times change.

Bradley Park will also see a frequency cut; it's replacement service 12 is also just hourly rather than half hourly with another large afternoon gap. Though unlike the 2, it does run on Saturday's.

While the new 12 will serve Grange Estate, service 7 (Grimsby-Pleasure Island) will once again be extended from Grimsby Bus Station to the Estate to provide an enhanced service of 3 (as opposed to the current 2) buses an hour. As a result of the changes to service 7, interworked service 8 (Grimsby-New Waltham-Pleasure Island) and 9/9A (Waltham-Grimsby-Cleethorpes-Pleasure Island) have revised timings.

With the axe of service X1 (Hull-Humberside Airport-Laceby-Grimsby-Cleethorpes-New Waltham), new route 12 shall replace it between Grimsby and New Waltham. When service 12 last ran it linked Laceby with New Waltham, but on the Western end now serves Bradley Park and Grange Estate instead of Laceby, as mentioned above. The 12 is the same core frequency as the X1, hourly, except for a very poor morning peak service and the already mentioned large gap in the weekday afternoon service.

The current peak journeys extending to Waltham on the X1 continue on the new service 12. As well as service 12, the Humber Flyer also replaces route X1.

Humber Flyer

Stagecoach have released details of the new Humber Flyer service that will replace the current X1 from 20th April.

The new Humber Flyer (HF) service will run from Cleethorpes North Sea Lane (Pleasure Island) via the Pier and the High Street in Cleethorpes before joining Clee Road. It then operates via Weelsby Road and Hainton Avenue into Grimsby. Parts of Weelsby Road and Clee Road do not currently have a bus service so this is a welcome new link, while still being a direct route between Cleethorpes and Grimsby.

From Grimsby it follows the existing X1 route through Laceby and Keelby to Humberside Airport. There is then a guarenteed connection to a separate Humberside Airport-Hull service. Or is this the same service registered in two parts to get around what your author thinks are some well intentioned but practically stupid EU rules on driver hours and the use of tachographs? The timetable seems to indicate the service will be a through service rather than two separate ones. Separate service or not, through fares are available.

The wait at the airport is only two minutes (so no big issue) before the service departs to Barnetby Top and goes up the A15 and over the Humber Bridge. In Hull it will operate down Boothferry Road and Anlaby Road instead of Clive Sullivan Way as the X1 currently does. Hull Royal Infirmary is still served before terminating in Hull Interchange at coach stand D.

The basic daytime frequency is hourly Monday to Saturday with peak journeys being off pattern. First departure from Grimsby is 0620 and the last departure from Hull is 1900.

Overall the new service looks good, serving Pleasure Island and being less of a local service in Grimsby. Hopefully passengers can remain onboard the bus at the airport though.

Monday 6 April 2009

Stagecoach Easter Services

Stagecoach have announced their service provision this Easter. Good Friday sees Sunday services operated by Stagecoach in Hull and Stagecoach in Grimsby Cleethorpes. Stagecoach Lincolnshire shall operate a Friday service. The X1 and 350 Humber Fastcat shall operate a normal Friday service.

Normal service on Easter Saturday and Sunday, with a Sunday service on all routes on Easter Monday.