Hull to Barton Update

Time for a success story. It was only in February that Stagecoach introduced service 255 between Hull Paragon Interchange, Barton Market Place and Barton Wren Kitchens operating 5 journeys from Hull and 3 from Wren Kitchens Monday to Friday. As off 28th September, the 255 is operating as follows:

From Hull:

• 0450 Daily from the Beverley Road/Clough Road Junction (then via Beverley Road to Paragon Interchange at 0505)
• 0550 Monday to Saturday from the Beverley Road/Clough Road Junction (Paragon Interchange at 0605) - on weekdays currently being operated by four double deckers to allow for social distancing
• 0805 Monday to Saturday from Paragon Interchange
• 1410 Monday to Saturday from the Beverley Road/Clough Road Junction (Paragon Interchange at 1425)
• 1550 Monday to Friday from Paragon Interchange
• 1630 Saturday from Paragon Interchange
• 1730 Monday to Saturday from Paragon Interchange
• 1830 Monday to Saturday from Paragon Interchange
• 2330 Monday to Saturday from Paragon Interchange

In addition the 0715 250 from Hull Monday to Saturday serves Wren Kitchens.

From Wren Kitchens:

• 0350 Monday to Thursday to the Beverley Road/Clough Road Junction
• 0848 Monday to Saturday to Paragon Interchange
• 1550 Monday to Saturday to the Beverley Road/Clough Road Junction - again operated by four double deckers Monday to Friday
• 1710 Monday to Saturday to the Beverley Road/Clough Road Junction
• 1820 Monday to Saturday to the Beverley Road/Clough Road Junction
• 1920 Daily to the Beverley Road/Clough Road Junction
• 0020 Tuesday to Sunday morning to the Beverley Road/Clough Road Junction

In addition there are service 250 departures from Wren Kitchens to Hull at 1608, 1723 and 1823 Monday to Saturday.

Quite the increase - some of these services are effectively positioning journeys but even still a significant uplift in provision for Wren Kitchens workers. It's great to see more people commuting by bus, and any reduction in car traffic through Barton Town Centre is definitely a positive. In addition the 255 forms part of the overall Hull to Barton service provision, so it's not just Wren Kitchens workers who can utilise the 255. Before I come to the wider Hull to Barton service, whilst most of the 255 services operate 'out and back' from Hull, and the 0550 (or at least one vehicle from it) works back over the Humber on service 250, the following operate out of service in the opposite direction:

• 0350 Monday to Thursday Wren Kitchens to Beverley Road/Clough Road
• 0450 Daily Beverley Road/Clough Road to Wren Kitchens - could form a useful pre 0630 arrival into Hull from Barton
• 1920 Sunday Wren Kitchens to Beverley Road/Clough Road - there is already an 1830 service 350 departure from Paragon Interchange so running in service from Hull to Barton would duplicate an existing service

Pre COVID-19, the Monday to Saturday daytime service between Barton and Hull was every 15 minutes, split between the half hourly 250 and half hourly 350. The two services shared a common route entering from Humberside Airport/Scunthorpe via Ferriby Road then routing via Barton Market Place, Pasture Road, Butts Road, Barton Interchange and Fleetgate back to Ferriby Road and across the Humber Bridge to Hull, and vice versa from Hull. The 250 'short' working each hour between Hull and Humberside Airport was due to be replaced with an hourly 255/255X between Hull and Barton in April, but this change was never implemented.

Since Tuesday 1st September, the Barton to Hull service pattern has been the 350 as normal (apart from evenings) and one 250 per hour operating a revised route. It arrives from Barrow via Falkland Way to Butts Road and Barton Interchange then 'double backs on itself' along Butts Road to Pasture Road, Barton Market Place and Ferriby Road (early morning variations excepted). This gives a three buses per hour service between Barton and Hull, which at the current time is probably a fair frequency. However it does mean an uneven timetable, with services at 10/20/30 minute intervals from both Barton Interchange and Barton Market Place to Hull, and at 15/15/30 minute intervals from Hull. In addition the 250 and 350 now leave from opposite sides of the road to each other in Barton Market Place and on Pasture Road (though the 250 and 255 now serve the same side of the road in Barton Market Place). This isn't ideal, but with the 250 coming from Barrow and the 350 from Scunthorpe there are no easy answers; given the use of full size single deckers the only suggestion I have is to route the 350 the opposite way around Barton in each direction, so that from Scunthorpe buses operate straight to Barton Interchange then as the 250 route to Hull via the Market Place.

Looking in more detail at the overall Hull to Barton timetable, when adding in the 255, a 15 minute frequency remains from Hull in the 1400, 1600 (Saturday Only) and 1700 hours. The 1550 Monday to Friday 255 isn't great as it sits in between the 1540 350 and 1555 250, before then waiting at Wren Kitchens for 44 minutes. Presumably this is driven by Wren Kitchens shift patterns, as the Saturday arrangement with the 250 at 1630 makes for a far more even timetable out of Hull. Later on the arrangement of service 350 leaving Hull at 1825 and the 255 at 1830 isn't ideal - I'd suggest either move the 255 to 1840 or move the 255 to 1825 and the 350 to 1840/1845 to provide a better spread of departures.

Wren Kitchens will shortly be starting an 'inhouse' commuter coach service from Hull to Barton - how that impacts the 255, if at all, I'm unsure off.