Service 230 Ends

Service 230 between Hornsea and Hull operated for the last time on Saturday 5th May. It had been operated by EYMS on behalf of East Riding of Yorkshire Council (ERYC) every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, providing a shopping link into Hull, with one journey in each direction. The main Hornsea to Hull link is provided by route 240, whilst there is also the 246 which takes the longer route via Beverley. I presume EYMS handed back the tender with the closure of their Hornsea depot.

The route incorporated Hatfield, Withernwick, Rise, Skirlaugh, New Ellerby, Old Ellerby and Coniston, plus Swine on Tuesday and Thursday only. The service had an unusual 'quirk' in that on Tuesday and Thursday the inbound service to Hull only operated as far as Ganstead where passengers needed to change to service 240, however the return started at Hull Interchange.

The only replacement ERYC have arranged is for the Holderness MiBus on Tuesday and Saturday to also incorporate New Ellerby, Old Ellerby and Swine, providing a link to Beverley if pre-booked by 1600 the day prior. MiBus also covers Withernwick and Skirlaugh, and I guess Hatfield and Rise as well? Skirlaugh and Coniston aren't a concern however as they are on the main 240 Hornsea to Hull route served seven days a week, and also have the 242/243 into Beverley six and five days a week respectively. It is Hatfield, Withernwick, Rise, New Ellerby, Old Ellerby and Swine that become unserved by 'traditional' services. For Witherwick, Hatfield and Rise the 230 ending follows the 2017 loss of service 241.

The 230 had got through the 2016 ERYC Review of Bus Services, the documentation for which reveals an average 9 passengers per journey at a subsidy of £3.04 per passenger journey. It hasn't survived ERYC needing to cover withdrawn commercial services and handed back tenders however. Would a reduction in the number of days have saved the 230 though, maybe with a route change to go Aldbrough-Witherwick-Hatfield-Rise then as before, helping to mitigate the loss of the 220/221? Hornsea was almost certainly just on the route for convenience.