New Spurn Explorer

A new Summer Saturday link from Hull to Spurn Point commenced on 23rd March - the East Yorkshire operated Spurn Explorer. It is numbered as either service 71 or service 71E depending on where you look. I suspect the 'E' maybe an internal East Yorkshire suffix to differentiate from the main service 71 between Withernsea and Easington? The Spurn Explorer has been funded from East Riding of Yorkshire Council's Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus funding allocation. It is due to operate until 3rd November.

The new Spurn Explorer operates from Hull to Patrington largely via the service 75 route - including the Burstwick diversion - with the intriguing exception that it uses Preston Road and Marfleet Lane rather than Southcoates Lane. Logical, as it serves more residential areas, but intriguing as the southern section of Marfleet Lane is otherwise unserved, except for school/college buses.

After Patrington, the Spurn Explorer follows the main 71 route to Easington Village and Caravan Park before extending to Kilnsea Village and the Spurn Discovery Centre.

The Spurn Explorer timetable only has one full route journey from Hull to Spurn, leaving Hull at 0825, returning from Spurn at 1625. Otherwise there are two Patrington to Spurn 'shorts', designed to connect with either service X7 or 75 from Hull at Patrington. Finally at lunchtime there is a Spurn-Patrington-Withernsea and return service - that is also timed for Hull connections at Patrington - presumably to allow the driver to take a break at Withernsea?

Co-ordination with the main service 71 between Withernsea, Patrington and Easington isn't fantastic, but the timetable seems to be designed around Hull connections, which is understandable as the intent is to serve visitors to Spurn rather than local demand.

The following Sunday - 24th March - saw the commencement of the expected seasonal extension of the main service 71 between Withernsea and Easington to Spurn on Sundays and Bank Holidays only.

There are a couple of interesting articles about the Spurn Explorer - and the attraction of Spurn Point - on the East Yorkshire website here and here.

Bridlington Park and Ride passes to East Yorkshire

East Yorkshire Buses have taken over operation of the tendered Summer Only Bridlington Park and Ride this year, with the season having commenced on Saturday 23rd March. Previously operated by Stagecoach as their service 88, it is now numbered 520. 

Presumably this will mean no Stagecoach 99 from Hull to Bridlington this year; the route commenced when they won the Park and Ride contract as a 'positioning' service, albeit with some journeys at useful times for a daytrip to Bridlington.

New Wolds Explorer

The service 4 extension to Normanby Hall wasn't the only seasonal leisure service to start on Easter Saturday (30th March). The East Yorkshire operated service 200 'Wolds Explorer' also commenced. The 200 operates between Pocklington, Millington, Huggate, Fridaythorpe and Thixendale every Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday until the end of September. It is funded from East Riding of Yorkshire Council's Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus allocation.

The Saturday timetable has departures from Pocklington at 1010, 1330 and 1530, returning from Thixendale at 1105, 1430 and 1630. On Sundays and Bank Holidays the 200 departs Pocklington at 1120 and 1520, returning from Thixendale at 1215 and 1615.

One interesting feature of the 200 is that customers with a ticket for the X46/X47 between Hull, Pocklington and York can travel for free on the 200.

Whilst the 200 is intended to serve visitors to the Yorkshire Wolds - including walkers - it may also have some use for villagers travelling into Pocklington. Millington and Thixendale are otherwise unserved by bus services. Huggate has the 199 into Pocklington, but only on a Tuesday, whilst Fridaythorpe has the Tuesday and Thursday 535 to Driffield, but no other weekend or Pocklington services.

Finally, if this service sounds vaguely familiar - it is. My August 2002 East Riding timetable book includes a Summer service W1 between Pocklington and Thixendale, but also extending to Sledmere and Wharram Percy. It operated on Sundays and Bank Holidays from late March until the end of September and Tuesdays in the North Yorkshire School Summer Holidays. The W1 was operated by EYMS, the brand used by East Yorkshire at the time.

Normanby Hall Regains Service 4

Using Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus funding, Hornsby service 4 between Brigg and Scunthorpe regained a Normanby Hall Country Park extension yesterday - Saturday 30th March. In the 00's it was the Sunday service that extended to the Country Park north of Scunthorpe, but this time it is the Saturday service. The extended journeys are the 0840, 1040, 1240 and 1440 from Brigg to Scunthorpe, with the 1245, 1445 and 1645 from Scunthorpe starting back at Normanby Hall 20 minutes earlier. Overall this gives good flexibility as to the length of a day out. The Normanby Hall extensions will operate until 26th October.

Otherwise bus access to Normanby Hall is via service 60 between Scunthorpe and Whitton (or the Just Go demand responsive service). However most journeys on service 60 only serve the side entrance by Normanby Village, so the new extended service 4 to the main entrance will be a big improvement from Scunthorpe, as well as providing through journeys from Brigg, Broughton and Ashby.

260 extended to Immingham

The 260 Barton Villager has been one of those services which rarely changes since it was first introduced around 20 years ago. Whilst a Saturday service came and went, and the operator changed from North Lincolnshire Council to Stagecoach, it had always been a Monday to Friday daytime Barton-Barrow-Goxhill-New Holland-Barrow-Barton circular, operating hourly with some longer gaps. A long standing exception had been a Thursday only extension to East Halton as well as a internal Barton Town Service from Tesco to Victoria Drive. Overall this had meant seven circular trips Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday and six on Thursdays, two of which served East Halton.

That all changed on Monday 19th February. The 260 now operates between Barton and Immingham via Barrow, New Holland, Goxhill, East Halton, North Killingholme and South Killingholme, with the Civic Centre being served into Immingham en-route to the County Hotel. There are two full route services in each direction as well as two Barton to Goxhill and return extras on schooldays and three during School Holidays. St Chad in Barrow is now unserved, as is Victoria Drive in Barton. The service remains a Monday to Friday only route (for now).

The change is Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus funded, though I'm not sure why - resource has been taken away from the Barton to Goxhill section to provide the Immingham extension.

The intent here is good. North and South Killingholme were without a scheduled bus service, and East Halton only had one on Thursdays (college service excepted). Plus to be fair the 260 was never a busy service in recent years from my limited observations - one of those routes that usually had at least someone on, but never many. The Barrow to Barton section also received a significant boost in recent years when the four times a day service 450 was replaced by the hourly (with gaps) 250, supplanting the 260 as the primary bus service between the two settlements. In theory at least there is logic behind reducing the Goxhill to Barton service in order to address no/limited bus services elsewhere.

That being said, the new timetable isn't perfect. Anyone from Goxhill or New Holland who would like or needs a morning in Barton by bus now has only one service to choose from - the 0919 from Goxhill, arrives Barton Market Place 0950 - and can't return home until the 1245 from Barton Tesco. East Halton residents don't really have a usable service to Barton anymore - first arrival at Barton Market Place is at 1150, last departure 1252. 

In terms of co-ordination with the 250 between Barrow and Barton it is a mixed picture - see the updated Summary Timetable here. The 0942 260 from Barrow Market Place fits it well between the 0902 and 1002 250's, but the 1142 260 is just 10 minutes after a 250. In the afternoon the 1427 260 slots is nicely between the 1332 and 1502 250's; so does the school holiday 1535 260 in between the 1502 and 1602 250's, and finally the 1642 260 in between the 1602 and 1722 250's. From Barton Market Place the 0900 260 runs ahead of the 0922 250, then the 1007 260 is 15 minutes ahead of the 1022 250. Very unfortunately there are both 250's and 260's leaving Barton Market Place at 1252 and 1452 (school holidays), but the final 1557 260 fits in better between 250's at 1452 and 1622.

Isle of Axholme Service 97 revised

North Lincolnshire Council directly operated service 97 in the Isle of Axholme was revised on 29th January. The 97 was launched last May, operating between Garthorpe, Crowle, Epworth, Sandtoft and Wroot Monday to Friday. There were two full route journeys from Garthorpe, three from Wroot plus a Garthorpe to Epworth 'short' in each direction. It was reported last September that some changes may need to be made in response to early passenger numbers; those changes came in January.

The route is unchanged between Garthorpe and Epworth but now operates to Sandtoft via Low Burnham, Haxey, Westwoodside and Wroot. Haxey and Westwoodside already have Epworth links on the 399. The timetable has also been reduced, to two journeys in each direction - albeit not quite that simple. There is a morning Sandtoft-Garthorpe-Sandtoft round trip, then in the afternoon the route operates Epworth-Sandtoft-Garthorpe-Epworth.

There are now new Humber Transport Summary Timetables available for Belton to Epworth and Epworth to Haxey and Westwoodside, including the revised 97. 

Reviewing co-ordination with other services in detail and from Epworth to Haxey and Westwoodside, the 1141 from Epworth fits almost perfectly into a four hour gap on service 399. The 1315 from Epworth leaves just 21 minutes before a 399 however. From Westwoodside, the 0952 is just 12 minutes after a 399, but the 1412 fits in better between the 1323 and 1623 service 399's.

From Belton to Epworth the 1133 follows two minutes behind a service 399, but the 1548 fits in better between the 1331 and 1651 399's. Departing Epworth to Belton, the 1006 duplicates the 1007 399, with the 1426 fitting in a little better between the 1350 and 1650 399's.

Turning to North Axholme, and from Ealand into Crowle, the 1026 97 fits in nicely between the 0957 361 and the 1055 service 90. The 1446 97 runs 9 minutes ahead of a service 90, so not so good. Returning from Crowle, the 1118 97 follows after the 1114 90, whilst the 1533 97 is just a minute in front of a service 90.

Finally departing Garthorpe for Crowle, the 1100 97 slots in almost perfectly between the 0956 and 1156 service 361's, and the 1515 97 in between the 1356 and 1556 361's. From Crowle co-ordination is not as good, but not awful; the 1031 97 fits in between 1004 and 1204 service 361's, and the 1451 97 follows on from the 1404 service 361, to provide the last service of the day north from Crowle (except for a college day service 90 to Eastoft).

Overall co-ordination with other services can be described as mixed, but not an easy job to fit around multiple different other services.

Mostly Positive Changes in Bridlington

Last September, East Yorkshire made some retrograde changes to their Bridlington town services - reduced frequencies, non-clockface timetables and increasing differences between weekdays and Saturdays. It appeared to be an attempt to improve reliability without any extra resource. On Monday 29th January, East Yorkshire changed approach and made some clear improvements, "after carefully listening to your feedback".

On service 2 to the south of Bridlington, times have been aligned Monday to Saturday for those journeys that operate six days a week, as opposed to most weekday services running 5 minutes earlier than on Saturdays. For service 3 to the West Hill Estate, intermediate times have been aligned Monday to Saturday, so that the only Saturday difference is one extra journey.

Service 4 and 4A to the New Pasture Lane Estate go from a messy every 20-45 minutes combined to every hour each, on a standardised 20-40 minute interval; prior to last September they were every hour each with a combined half hourly service. 

In last September's timetable, the 5 and 5A to the north of Bridlington had retained some semblance of a clockface timetable, at least in the morning and early afternoon period, with each service operating every hour for a combined half hourly frequency. Since late January the 5A variant via Kirkgate has been withdrawn, with Kirkgate still served by the 4/4A. The 5 continues hourly, with a new Monday to Friday 0826 from Bempton Lane into Bridlington added; previous first service 0921, but the last service cutback from 1735 to 1705. 

Together with the 4 and 4A, the 5 now provides a service every 20 minutes from central Bridlington along Quay Road where the three routes diverge - hence the 20-40 minute interval on the 4/4A. It would appear that the 5A has been sacrificed to increase the 4/4A.

Somewhat 'softening the blow' for the Bempton Lane area of Bridlington, service 12 from Scarborough now diverts via the area on a small number of journeys. The Monday to Friday 0710 from Scarborough to Bridlington serves Bempton Lane at 0812, whilst the Monday to Friday 1525 from Bridlington is also diverted via Bempton Lane to fill a 2 hour gap in the weekday service 5. Finally on Sundays three 12's in each direction divert via Bempton Lane so that residents can travel into Bridlington Town Centre during the daytime.

Service 6 to the north of Bridlington now has alignment of Monday to Friday and Saturday timetables with the exception of one Saturday only service.

Finally, Bridlington gained a new Friday and Saturday evening town service from 2nd February. The 513 - a number rather out of place for the modern day town network in Bridlington - is funded by East Riding of Yorkshire Council's Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus funding allocation and operated by East Yorkshire. It operates an hourly circular from Bridlington Bus Station from 1830 to 2230 via Hilderthorpe Road, the West Hill Estate, the New Pasture Lane Estate and Westgate in the Old Town, covering parts of the daytime service 3 and 4 routes. Creating a bespoke evening service isn't ideal, but one bus couldn't provide an even interval hourly service on routes 3 and 4, so a bespoke service is perhaps appropriate in this instance. 

Big boost for Bempton and Buckton

Another recipient of East Riding of Yorkshire Council's Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus funding was the East Yorkshire operated service 504 between Bridlington and Bempton, a village to the north of the town. The 504 was previously a Monday to Friday only service, interworked with the 131 Carnaby Industrial Estate workers service. As such, the 504 offered three journeys from Bempton and two from Bridlington, timed to operate immediately post morning peak, at lunchtime and again mid-afternoon. The 504 operates via Queensgate, St Aidan Road, Bempton Lane and Darwin Road in Bridlington on all journeys, providing a town service function as well as also serving the village of Buckton. Additionally one service in each direction also serves Fortyfoot and St Anne's Road.

That previous service remains unchanged, but has now been added too. On Saturdays and Sundays a two hourly daytime service is now provided, with five journeys from Bempton and four from Bridlington, all operating via the main route (i.e. omitting Fortyfoot and St Anne's Road). As such the weekend daytime service is more frequent than the weekday service. 

In addition a limited Friday and Saturday evening service has been provided to support nights out in Bridlington. There is a new 1900 from Bempton to Bridlington and 2310 return (both omitting Fortyfoot and St Anne's Road), with the 2310 also extending beyond Bempton to Flamborough, Thornwick Bay and North Landing. This is a logical extension as Flamborough lacks a late evening service on it's service 14 route from Bridlington.

Certainly not the only route with this sort of anomaly, but there is a very large gap in departures from Bridlington between 1530 and 2310 on Fridays and from 1640 to 2310 on Saturdays. An evening peak service would be ideal, but if not an 1825-ish departure from Bridlington which then forms the new 1900 from Bempton could make a useful difference at potentially marginal cost.

Service 121 Increased

With financial support from East Riding of Yorkshire's Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus funding, East Yorkshire increased the Saturday daytime frequency of service 121 between Hull, Beverley, Driffield and Bridlington from hourly to approximately half hourly between Beverley and Bridlington on Saturday 3rd February. The service otherwise operates hourly daily daytimes with a reduced evening service; as such the Saturday daytime frequency is now double the remainder of the week.

There are new 'shorts' from Bridlington to Beverley at 0950, 1040, 1150, 1240 and 1450, along with a new 1350 Bridlington to Hull; the '50' minute past the hour additions fit in perfectly for an even interval half hourly service. In the opposite direction, extra service operate from Beverley at 1130, 1340, 1440, 1545 and 1640, and from Hull at 1148 and 1702. Some fit in perfectly for an even interval half hourly service, others don't; though it's worth noting that from Hull to Beverley the two extra journeys need to avoid duplicating the 1155 and 1655 service 23's.

It's an interesting increase, with lots of open countryside between Beverley and Bridlington, only one intermediate town and not many large villages. That being said, this increase is very much 'baby steps'. If it's a success and that leads to a 6/7 day a week half hourly service, then the extra journeys could be combined with the existing hourly 23 between Hull, Beverley and Molescroft to offer a half hourly Hull to Bridlington provision.

Elsewhere, with effect from 28th January, East Yorkshire made some other small but notable changes to the 121. The 0644 (Mon-Fri)/0657 (Sat) Nafferton to Hull now starts back in Bridlington at 0621 (Mon-Fri)/0635 (Sat), providing a 59 minutes earlier Mon-Fri/50 minute Sat earlier first departure from Bridlington. To balance this out, the 1840 Monday to Friday Bridlington to Hull service is split at Beverley, with a new Monday to Friday 1940 Beverley to Bridlington added, providing a later last service from Beverley to Bridlington by 1 hour 16 minutes. On Saturdays the previous last 1825 service 121 departure from Bridlington now operates at 1850, which it appears is worked 'off' the previously mentioned 1702 from Hull. 

Overall it looks like 1 Monday to Friday 'board' has moved from Hull to Bridlington depot. On Saturdays the equivalent 'board;' also appears to have moved depot, but Hull are picking up some of the new Saturday extra journeys instead. 

New Evening Services in the Beverley area

On Friday 2nd February, East Riding of Yorkshire Council started contracting East Yorkshire to provide one vehicle's worth of evening services in the Beverley area every Friday and Saturday, funded by Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus funding. Three routes have gained a new evening service - the 142, 180 and 525 - albeit in each case on a part route basis only.

Before I review each route, here is the 'diagram':

• 1900 Service 180 Skidby-Beverley
• 1930 Service 142 Beverley-Cherry Burton
• 1940 Service 142 Cherry Burton-Beverley
• 2000 Service 525 Beverley-Beverley Town Service
• [46 minute break]
• 2100 Service 525 Beverley-Beverley Town Service
• [46 minute break]
• 2200 Service 525 Beverley-Beverley Town Service
• 2230 Service 180 Beverley-Skidby
• [position out of service]
• 2315 Service 142 Beverley-Cherry Burton

Service 180 is otherwise operated by Stagecoach between Cottingham, Skidby and Beverley. Prior to the 1900, the last Stagecoach operated departure from Skidby to Beverley is at 1637. From Beverley, the last Stagecoach 180 is at 1715.

The new evening 180 could have even more purpose by serving Cottingham as per the daytime route. Cottingham lost it's evening service to/from Beverley last Spring when the X47 was routed away, whilst the last daytime service from Cottingham to Beverley is at 1817 Fri/1809 Sat on service 25 and from Beverley to Cottingham at 1715 Fri/1820 Sat. 

I've looked on bustimes.org to see if a Cottingham extension would be possible for the inbound service to Beverley. On Friday 8th March, bus 0769 arrived in Hessle on the 25 at 1821 before running 'dead' to Skidby for the 1900. Today (Saturday 9th March), bus 0362 arrived in Beverley on the 25 at 1835 before running 'dead' to Skidby for the 1900. In the Friday example a Cottingham start seems easy enough - superficially at least; on Saturday's probably not possible without changing the interworking. An extension of the 2230 to Cottingham would require the 2315 service 142 to be retimed slightly later. 

With Cottingham also having bars and restaurants itself - plus visiting at Castle Hill Hospital - it does strike me that the new evening 180 has potential for a more extensive timetable. 

Moving onto the 142, for the which the limited Monday to Saturday daytime service operates an extended route beyond Cherry Burton to Middleton and Bainton. The Friday timetable in particular now is rather unusual - 1150, 1350, 1930 and 2315 from Beverley and 1007, 1307 and 1940 from Cherry Burton. Saturdays also have a 1600 from Beverley and 1657 from Cherry Burton. Clearly the new evening 142's serve a clear purpose, to give Molescroft and Cherry Burton residents the option for an evening out in Beverley. However it is perhaps a legitimate question to ask whether the funding being used would be better spent funding a late afternoon weekday service instead?

Finally, the 525; the main daytime service serves the Swinemoor Estate as well as Holme Church Lane and Flemingate, whereas the new evening jouneys omit the Swinemoor Estate and instead operate direct from Beverley Station to Holme Church Lane via Grovehill Road. I presume this is related to anti-social behaviour issues on the Swinemoor Estate? Timetable wise it's another odd one - 0930, hourly to 1530, 1600 then 2000, 2100 and 2200. A four hour gap and no early evening service into Beverley. It feels like the new evening 525's are a way to 'pass time' before taking the village passengers back home again. Plus once again, if there is money to spend on improving the 525, a later daytime service Monday to Saturday feels like a better option.

Overall the intent is good - encourage people to spend an evening in Beverley by bus. However the 'execution' doesn't feel quite right and there are arguably bigger priorities in the Beverley bus network during the late afternoon period.

New Sunday Service on the 136

Five weeks ago on Sunday 28th January, East Yorkshire operated service 136 between Driffield, Skipsea and Bridlington gained a Sunday service, to add to it's approximately every 3 hours Monday to Saturday daytime service. The new Sunday service is funded by East Riding of Yorkshire Council's Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus funding allocation, with 0915, 1415 and 1655 departures from Bridlington, and 1025, 1530 and 1805 departures from Driffield. 

The new service is welcome, and provides the only Sunday bus service for Wansford, North Frodingham and Beeford, as well as new Sunday links to Driffield from Barmston, Lissett, Ulrome and Skipsea.

Between Bridlington and Skipsea the route is also served by daily Bridlington to Hornsea service 130, and unfortunately coordination between the 130 and 136 on a Sunday is poor, just like it already is Monday to Saturday. The Humber Transport Summary Timetables page now has a combined timetable, but as the main example, on a Sunday afternoon there are services from Bridlington to Skipsea at 1415, 1445, 1655 and 1715. To be fair, the Sunday morning timetable is better co-ordinated, and passengers may not be evenly spread across the day, but even still, a 30 minute gap followed by a 130 minute gap followed by a 20 minute gap is poor. 

On paper, with the 130 and 136 both having a similar end to end journey time, Bridlington to Skipsea could have a daily service every 90 minutes combined, without increasing the vehicle requirement. In the real world, it wouldn't be that perfect - the need to accommodate schools interworking on the 130 for example - but surely it must be possible to improve on the current situation? 

Pocklington to Driffield Reinstated

Returning now to East Yorkshire's recent changes, and the Pocklington to Driffield link was reinstated - in a very limited way - on Thursday 1st February with new service 544. The 544 operates Thursdays only between the two towns via Warter, North Dalton, Bainton (Wolds Village stop on the outskirts only), Tibthorpe and Kirkburn. There are 0930 and 1240 departures from Pocklington and 1015 and 1325 departures from Driffield, giving passengers either 3 hours 15 minutes in Driffield on market day, or 1 hour 45 minutes in Pocklington.

The 544 has been attributed to the East Riding of Yorkshire Council's Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus funding, but from the wording in their press release, it would seem that is only for the 0930 and 1325 Driffield market day links; the 1015 and 1240 may well be commercially operated, which if so would be a good use of otherwise 'dead' time.

New Thursday off-peak shopping service to Driffield. Departing Pocklington 0930, Warter 0942, North Dalton 0949, Tibthorpe 0955, arriving in Driffield at 1010. Returning at 1325 from Driffield. 
In addition East Yorkshire buses will run a service from Driffield to Pocklington. Departing Driffield 1015, Tibthorpe 1030, North Dalton 1036, Warter 1043, arriving in Pocklington at 1055. Returning at 1240 from Pocklington. 

North Dalton, Bainton and Kirkburn have a regular Monday to Saturday off peak link to Driffield on service 145, so it seems like the main purpose is to link Pocklington, Warter and Tibthorpe to Driffield. Warter is otherwise only served by the Tuesday only 199, whilst the 544 is Tibthorpe's only bus service.

Extra Sunday Services on the 350

When does an enhancement leave you wanting more? When the vehicle requirement of a route increases for just one extra journey each way, on a service that could do with more additions than just that.

On Sunday 18th February, Stagecoach added a new 0755 Sunday service 350 from Ashby to Hull via Scunthorpe and Barton, offering an 0925 first arrival into Hull. The new journey is supported by North Lincolnshire's Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus funding allocation. Stagecoach have then added a new 0930 Hull to Ashby. These additions are very welcome, particularly the earlier first arrival into Hull. Overall there are now seven services each way on a Sunday, on a very unbalanced timetable with three hour gaps at certain times of the day - 0755, 0855, 0955, 1255, 1455, 1755 and 1955 from Ashby; 0830, 0930, 1030, 1330, 1530, 1830 and 1930 from Hull.

These extra journeys now increase the Sunday vehicle requirement of the 350 to 3 - 1 from East Yorkshire (unchanged) and 2 from Stagecoach's Scunthorpe depot. However the notional 2nd Stagecoach vehicle finishes it's day at 1051. It is a bit disappointing that the opportunity hasn't been taken to do more with it. On a Sunday, three vehicles could provide an hourly all day service. Even if there was no desire to go that far, the current three hour gaps in the Sunday timetable could have been reduced. 

My frustration aside, I did take a trip on the first run of the new 0755. It's obviously unknown how representative this will turn out to be, but for the record, I and one other boarded at Barton Market Place, 1 got off and 10 were already on board. At Barton Interchange a further three boarded for a total of 15 heading across the Humber Bridge. Briefly observing the 0830 from Hull at Barton Interchange, it only looked to have two or three on board. 

Once over the bridge, one got off at Wingfield Farm on Boothferry Road, 1 on at Fiveways, 1 off at the North Road stop on Boothferry Road, 1 on at the Wheeler Street stop on Anlaby Road, 2 off and 1 on at Wenlock Barracks, 1 off and 2 on at the MKM Stadium and finally 2 on at Hull Royal Infirmary. On arrival at Paragon Interchange in Hull there looked to be 5 waiting for the 0930. Overall quite encouraging for an inaugural run on a damp February Sunday. There looked to be 2 people in Tesco uniform so potentially some commuter travel as part of the passenger mix.

Not wanting to wait until the 1330 to go home, that meant returning on the 1030. The inbound arrival at Paragon Interchange I counted 36 passengers get off. 16 boarded the 1030 at Paragon Interchange and 1 more at the first stop on Anlaby Road after turning off Park Street. 1 got off at Hull Royal Infirmary, 1 boarded opposite the East Yorkshire depot, 2 boarded at the Anlaby Road Sandringham Street stop and 3 at the Anlaby Road Wheeler Street stop. Once turning onto Boothferry Road, 3 got off at Wistow Grove, 1 off at Fiveways, 1 on at Costello Stadium, 1 on at Darleys Roundabout and 1 off at Wingfield Farm. In Barton there was 1 off and 1 on at the Ferriby Road Forkedale stop, 5 off and 3 on at the Interchange and then me off on Butts Road. Again encouraging numbers for the time of day and direction of travel.

For the record, as part of the same change to the 350, Stagecoach no longer divert via Wren Kitchens in Barton on Saturdays. Rather than reduce journey times on the affected journeys, buses wait time in Barton to avoid deviation from the Monday to Friday timetable.

More enhancements coming to North Lincolnshire's bus network

I'm taking a brief break from reviewing East Yorkshire's January changes this weekend, to cover a couple of other things.

This batch of improvements might not be fully implemented yet, but more enhancements are coming to the North Lincolnshire bus network. The minutes of the North Lincolnshire Enhanced Bus Partnership on 17th January contains the following:

New Proposals 

AB ran through the new BSIP+ funding proposals to be agreed by the Board. Discussions took place and the following proposals were fully supported. 

Additional Journeys on Service 350 New timetable for evening services from Scunthorpe Bus Station to Hull hourly commencing at 17:45. Last return journey from Hull at 23:00. Service will run Monday to Saturday. 

Board agreed that there may be the need for an additional evening journey on service 350 in the future to run at 21:30 from Hull and return at 23:00 from Scunthorpe, Monday to Saturday. 

Addition evening journeys on Service 103 Additional teatime service Monday to Saturday on 103 to Kirton in Lindsey at 18:00 and return at 18:30. Extra Friday and Saturday services to Kirton between 19:10 and 21:50. 

Additional teatime journey on Service 57 from Doncaster Teatime service from Doncaster to Isle of Axholme. This will extend the 17:39 from Doncaster to Epworth via the same route as the morning service. 

Provision of Service 6 on Sundays To run service 6 on Sundays hourly between Scunthorpe bus station and Ashby. To commence at 09:00 from Scunthorpe bus station and return. Last bus from Scunthorpe bus station at 17:00. 

Provision of Service 260 on Saturdays Run the 260 service between Immingham and Barton on Saturdays. This will be the same timetable as Monday to Friday.

Extension of Service 4 on Saturdays To include Normanby Hall into service 4 from Easter until 31st October. Discussion took place around the price of parking at Normanby Hall and consideration to be given to possibly running promotions with Normanby Hall in the future. 

Provision of Services 7 and 8 on Sundays To run services 7 and 8 on Sundays between Scunthorpe bus station and Skippingdale retail park on a Sunday.

Proposals Deferred until next meeting 

Sunday service to Normanby Hall Discussion took place around whether a service was required on a Sunday. AB told the meeting that the footfall for Normanby Hall on a Sunday was a lot higher than that of a Saturday. KRob believed that by running the bus service on a Saturday the footfall would increase. This is something that could be monitored via operator information. Operators to work out the costs for running a Sunday service and revisit at the next meeting. 

Additional journeys on Service 35 To run two extra journeys to Amcotts on a Saturday. One at 08:00 and one at 17:30 from Scunthorpe Bus Station and return. Currently the first bus is 09:00 and the last bus 15:00. Current 35 tender to be renewed 1 April 2024. There is currently no 360 service on a Saturday. Discussion took place around options for the proposal. One option is for NLC to contact East Riding Council to see if they would be willing to price for a Saturday 360 service to be funded from BSIP+ funding for at least a year. The other option is for operators to tender for service 35 and run the current timetable or include the extra runs on a Saturday. Deferred until next meeting.  

I should point out that at a subsequent meeting on 15th February, it was agreed to use up to 10% of BSIP+ funding to maintain existing services. That may mean some of the above proposals don't get implemented. However from this weeks updates to the Vehicle Operating Licensing database, enhancements to the 103 and 350 are coming at Easter - maybe other routes too, but it's not always clear from the summary of change provided. The evening peak Doncaster to Epworth service was also included in First's recent consultation for their proposed April service changes.

(There are also a lot of interesting changes to the Stagecoach network in Hull due at Easter).

Return of the 144

Some of you may recall former EYMS service 144. It started in December 2008 as a Tuesday and Friday 'shopper' service from North Ferriby to Beverley via Swanland, Kirk Ella, Willerby and Cottingham. In February 2012 it was extended to start in Elloughton, also serving Brough, Welton and Melton before picking up the existing route at North Ferriby; a Thursday journey was also added. The route ended in July 2013 though when service 180, operating between Hessle and Beverley at the time, was extended to become a Swanland to Beverley via Hessle service.

Fast forward 10 and a half years, and the 144 is back, in a slightly different form. The route recommenced on Tuesday 30th January, operated by East Yorkshire and funded from East Riding of Yorkshire Council's Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus allocation.

This time the 144 starts in South Cave (West End) before serving Elloughton, Brough, Welton, Melton, North Ferriby (including the Station area) and Swanland. From Swanland the 144 then routes to Beverley direct, serving only the Skidby Roundabout and Bentley Lane End stops in between. Willerby and Cottingham are presumably omitted to avoid extracting revenue from the commercial service 25. The new 144 departs South Cave at 0930, arriving into Beverley at 1030, with the return leaving Beverley at 1300. It operates Tuesdays and Thursdays only.

The 144 restores the link from Swanland to Beverley, last provided by the 180 in May 2018 (albeit arguably only usable for such a journey on Saturdays). South Cave, Elloughton, Brough, Welton, Melton and North Ferriby are already linked to Beverley on service 143, albeit on Monday, Wednesday and Saturdays only. The 144's return now gives them a five day a week Beverley link.

150 goes 5 Days a Week

Another beneficiary of East Riding of Yorkshire Council's Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus funding has been service 150, operated by East Yorkshire. The 150 is a morning and early afternoon local service from Hessle Sainsburys to Hessle Square, from where it then operates a large clockwise 'rectangle' via North Ferriby, Swanland and Anlaby back to Hessle Square and Sainsburys. As well as being a shopping service to Hessle and Sainsburys, it also serves a GP Practice in Anlaby used by North Ferriby and Swanland residents. Previously the 150 operated Tuesday and Thursday only, but since Monday 29th January, has become a Monday to Friday service.

Sunday Buses Return to Easington

Since Sunday 28th January, service 71 between Withernsea and Easington has gained a Sunday service. The route is operated by East Yorkshire with financial support from East Riding of Yorkshire Council, and the new Sunday journeys are funded from the council's Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus funding.

There are four daytime journeys in each direction on a two hourly frequency. All Sunday journeys operate via Holmpton, unlike Monday to Saturdays where some serve Patrington instead. There is a lot of layover in the new Sunday timetable, 30 minutes in Withernsea and 34 minutes in Easington, although the service is due to be extended (presumably on a seasonal basis) to Kilnsea and The Spurn Discovery Centre from Easter.

Going through my timetable collection, this is the first Sunday service to Easington since some time between 2003 and 2006. In the early 00's, service 71 had three Sunday journeys year round between Withernsea and Easington, supplemented by Summer service 73 from Withernsea to Kilnsea and Spurn via Patrington and Easington.

Better Evening buses between Hull and Withernsea

East Yorkshire's service 75 between Hull, Hedon and Withernsea has had an improved evening timetable since Monday 29th January, thanks to East Riding of Yorkshire Council's Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus funding.

The 1847 Withernsea to Hull and 2010 Hull to Withernsea now operate Monday to Saturday rather than Friday and Saturday only; this fills a two hour gap in the Monday to Thursday evening service. Meanwhile there are new 2047 Withernsea to Hull and 2210 Hull to Withernsea services Monday to Saturday, filling another two hour gap from Withernsea and a 1 hour 50 minute gap in departures from Hull. Overall the Monday to Saturday evening service is now hourly, with Sunday evenings remaining two hourly.

Hull Services 56 and 57 Frequency Increase

East Yorkshire revised service 56 and 57 on Sunday 28th January, primarily to increase their frequency. Both services run a common route from Bilton Asda via Longhill, Holderness Road and Hull Paragon Interchange to Hull Royal Infirmary, were they split; the 56 extends via Albert Avenue to Wymersley Road, whilst the 57 runs via Hessle Road and Summergroves Way to Hessle Square.

Both services had been running every half hour Monday to Saturday daytimes for a combined frequency of every 15 minutes, albeit with some 35 minute gaps on Saturdays (20 minute gaps on the combined section). Now both services are increased to every 20 minutes, with an every 10 minute frequency on the joint route; a couple of 25 minute gaps do exist on Saturday afternoons. Overall this is a significant increase, and a welcome one as the Holderness Road and Hessle Road corridors, especialy the latter, have felt underserved over the past year or two, whilst every 20 minutes provides much more flexibility for Wymersley Road area passengers.

Service 66 Frequency Increase

East Yorkshire introduced changes across many routes in their network yesterday - Sunday 28th January. Overall these are a mix of East Riding of Yorkshire Council Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus funded enhancements, and commercially driven alterations. It is with a commercial change that I will begin.

Service 66 between Hull Paragon Interchange and Hessle Square via Hull Royal Infirmary, Fiveways and the Boothferry Estate has been increased to operate every 15 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes, up from every 20 minutes Monday to Friday daytimes and a horrible every 20-25 minutes on Saturday daytimes. Evenings and Sundays remain hourly. 

This isn't a return to the pre-COVID service level, but it's much better than this time last week!