Barton Town Service timetable change?

Currently the Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning/lunchtime 254 Barton Town Service, operated by Hornsby Travel for North Lincolnshire Council and Barton Town Council, operates an 'irregular' timetable around the town. It can broadly be split into four sections; Tesco-Market Place-Eastfield Road-Meadow Drive-Market Place-Tesco, Tesco-Market Place-Bowmandale-Tofts Road-Market Place-Tesco, Tesco-Westfield Road and return, and Tesco-Far Ings Road and return. The timetable is available on Hornsby's website, though the printed North Lincolnshire Council timetable probably displays it better.

In the latest Bartonian magazine published by Barton Town Council however there is a different timetable printed. The service still operates Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, but with a revised timetable providing an even-interval hourly service on the Meadow Drive and Bowmandale sections, while the Westfield Road and Far Ings Road sections are merged into one, operating Tesco-Westfield Road-Far Ings Road-Tesco. There is no 'effective date' provided, but is this the new 254 timetable to begin at some unknown future date?

Hornsby gain the 90 and 590

Traveline East Midlands reveals that it is Hornsby Travel who have won the contract to operate service 90 from 29th July, replacing Holloways Coaches. As already reported the weekday timetable is unchanged. (to be pedantic the 0721 from Scunthorpe will run one minute earlier). 

On Saturdays 5 journeys continue to operate from Crowle to Scunthorpe, and 5 rather than 4 will operate from Scunthorpe to Crowle; Garthorpe will no longer be served. Two journeys each way will now serve Scunthorpe Hospital on Saturdays, in line with most weekday journeys. 

One afternoon journey each way will extend beyond Crowle as far as Luddington, filling a gap in the 357 Scunthorpe-Goole timetable, which will otherwise the provide the only Saturday bus service to Eastoft and Luddington. While the revised timetable is fairly well co-ordinated with the 357 leaving Scunthorpe, it's not brilliantly co-ordinated in the other direction. Departures from Crowle  (o/s The Hub) for Scunthorpe will be at 0752, 0913, 0952, 1228, 1252, 1613 (x2), 1757 and 1836.

Hornsby Travel have also won the contract for the college day 590 from September, another former Holloways Coaches service that links Eastoft and Crowle with the Scunthorpe Colleges.

90 no longer to Garthorpe

North Lincolnshire Council reports that when the 90 (Scunthorpe-Crowle) is tendered to a new operator next month after Holloways Coaches hand back their contract, the weekday timetable will have no change, but that the Saturday service will no longer extend to Garthorpe. Stagecoach operated, East Riding of Yorkshire Council tendered, route 357 (with one journey provided by Sweyne Coaches) will continue to serve Garthorpe on Saturdays.

EYMS July Changes Teaser

EYMS have teased their July service changes in their latest newsletter. The changes will reportedly include new Hornsea-Scarborough and Hull-York links and improvements for North Ferriby, Walkington, Skidby and Beverley.

Service 55 future

On 26th July Holloways Coaches are handing back their contract for weekday service 55 between Scunthorpe, Appleby, Winterton and Burton upon Stather to North Lincolnshire Council - it had been due to run until August 2015.

In a report to the responsible cabinet member, officers write that Holloways bid for the 55 back in 2011 was £39,000 cheaper than the next lower tender, and that continuing with the current timetable "would likely prove very expensive for a relatively small number of users". Apparently the service has "few users" outside of school times, and some of these could use service 60 instead between Scunthorpe and Burton Upon Stather.

Instead the recommended option is that the 55 becomes a school/college time service, with a council owned minibus providing three weekday daytime journeys under community bus rules with a D1 licenced driver. This is expected to cost £10,500 more than the current higher level of service, but crucially maintains current links and is better than the pre-2011 level of service.

Finally officers also make the following warning:

"5.2 The public transport budget is currently under pressure. We also face the uncertainty around changes planned for Bus Operator Service Grant in October.

5.3 In view of this and other commitments, it might be necessary to consider additional funding for public transport."

 

The full report including proposed draft timetable can be accessed from this page.