East Riding Operator Changes

Various services in the East Riding of Yorkshire changed operators week commencing Monday 6th September, following tendering by East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

The following services passed from York Pullman to East Yorkshire:

• 195: Allerthorpe to Pocklington - Tuesday Only, 1 journey in each direction (Pocklington shoppers service)
• 196: Aughton to York - Thursday Only, 1 journey in each direction (York shoppers service)
• 199: Huggate to Pocklington - Tuesday Only, 1 journey in each direction (Pocklington shoppers service)

The following service passed from Stagecoach to East Yorkshire:

• 242: Hedon to Beverley - Monday to Saturday, 1 journey in each direction (primarily a Beverley shoppers service)

The following services passed from East Yorkshire to Stagecoach:

• 79: Hull to Hedon - The 0700 and 1600 journeys from Hull to Hedon and the 0739 (previously 0740) from Hedon to Hull Monday to Friday Only. Remaining journeys remain operated by East Yorkshire, however the Saturday 0700 from Hull and 0740 from Hedon have been withdrawn (the Saturday 1600 from Hull remains and is still operated by East Yorkshire but retimed to 1550).
• 173: Withernsea to Hull - Saturday Only, 1 journey in each direction (Hull shoppers service)
• 277: Hull to Hedon - The 1644 (retimed from 1639) from Hedon to Hull Monday to Friday Only (on Saturdays East Yorkshire continue to operate a similar timed service, departing Hedon at 1629). All other journeys also continue to be operated by East Yorkshire.

The following service passed from East Yorkshire to Acklams Coaches:

• 180: Beverley to Cottingham - Monday to Saturday, approximately every 90 minutes

Probably as a result of the 242 passing to East Yorkshire, Stagecoach have also withdrawn the 123 from Beverley to Bransholme North Point Shopping Centre via Kingswood Retail Park. This also operated once daily Monday to Saturday and the primary purpose appeared to be to get the 242 vehicle and driver back to Hull rather than wait in Beverley for the return 242 journey - however in the process of doing that, it did offer a Kingswood shoppers service and also extended to Wilberforce College for 'half-day' students during college term times.

121 September Changes

Service 121 between Hull, Beverley, Driffield and Bridlington was included in East Yorkshire's service changes on 5th September, though only with relatively minor alterations being made. The service remains hourly daily daytimes with a limited evening service. In addition to some minor retimings, the key changes were:

• The introduction of a new Monday to Friday only 0530 from Hull to Beverley, 45 minutes earlier than the previous first Hull to Beverley service on the X46, and 60 minutes earlier than the previous first 121. This is probably getting around to reflecting the 2019 closure of Beverley depot, with Hull depot needing to get a bus to Beverley for early morning departures from the County Town, but it is a welcome addition to the timetable.
• The 0705 from Beverley to Hull is withdrawn Monday to Friday, but not on Saturdays, and is replaced by a service 122 journey at 0700 from Beverley.
• The Monday to Friday 0820 Beverley to Bridlington is replaced by a 0725 Hull to Bridlington journey.
• The daily 1835 Hull to Nafferton is withdrawn, apart from the Hull to Beverley section of route on Sundays, leaving a 125 minute gap between the 1730 and 1935 departures from Hull. There is a 1830 X46 from Hull to Beverley Monday to Saturday as an alternative on the southern section of the route.
• The daily 1951 return from Nafferton to Hull has also been removed from the timetable, leaving a similar 2 hour gap, with a 2030 service 23 from Beverley replacing the southern portion of this journey Monday to Saturday; on Sundays the closest replacement is a 2015 X47 from Beverley to Hull.

I will review the Hull to Beverley timetable across all routes in more detail in a future post.

Beverley Parklands Service Withdrawn

Yesterday - Saturday 4th September - Acklams Coaches Beverley Town Service 6 operated for the last time. The 6 was a short route, from Beverley Bus Station via Flemingate, Beckside and Hull Road to Beverley Parklands. Three journeys operated from Beverley Parklands at 0925, 1117 and 1417 Monday to Saturday, with returns at 1105 and 1405. East Yorkshire's 23 serves Flemingate, Beckside and Hull Road every hour Monday to Saturday, with their new B1 and B2 providing two further indirect services per hour to Beverley Town Centre from Hull Road. Beverley Parklands is now however without a bus service.

Introducing East Yorkshire's New Service 25

As part of it's changes to services in the Beverley area, East Yorkshire are introducing new service 25 between Hessle and Hornsea from Sunday 5th September. The 25 is a merger of the current 80 between Hessle, Anlaby, Willerby, Cottingham and Beverley with the Beverley to Hornsea section of the to be withdrawn 246 between Hull, Beverley and Hornsea. At first I thought it a rather odd combination - there's not significant demand for travel between Hessle and Hornsea - but there is some sense to it:

• The 80 is a route which is a bit too long to complete in under an hour, whilst Beverley to Hornsea takes around 45 minutes, a nice combination for a just under two hour journey time each way. 
• The 246 arguably doesn't achieve much as a cross Beverley service Monday to Saturday daytimes with it's current timetable, unless you are catching it in Routh or Tickton villages. From Hornsea waiting for the 240 20 minutes after a 246 gets you into Hull 2 minutes earlier, whilst from Hull the 246 departs just 5 minutes after the 240. For those travelling from the Hornsea area to destinations between Hull and Beverley a new same bus 'cross-Hull' link will be available from the 24 onto the new 23 service. Tickton is being put into the Beverley fare zone, so that's some consolation for the loss of daytime Hull links.
• The 25 does link the Hornsea area to Castle Hill Hospital, and there maybe some limited daytrip demand from Hessle, Anlaby, Willerby and Cottingham to Hornsea in the Summer.

Another key change here is that unlike the 80, the 25 will serve Lincoln Way in Beverley, currently covered by Acklams Beverley Town Service 522. 

Monday to Saturday daytimes the 25 is hourly, matching the current 80 frequency and that off the 246 between Beverley and Hornsea. There is a slight reduction in Monday to Friday morning buses from Hornsea to Beverley, with 246 departures at 0600, 0630, 0720 replaced by 25's at 0605 and 0750, whilst the first bus on Saturdays is later at 0700 rather than 0630. On the positive side, the first bus from Beverley to Hornsea on Saturdays will be at 0735 rather than 0820.

The limited Monday to Saturday evening service provided by the 246 between Beverley and Hornsea continues with the 25, and the 'spirit' of the 246 continues here as some evening 25's operate a 'cross-Beverley' service to Hull, operating as new service 23 between Beverley and Hull. From Hornsea to Beverley the last bus will be at 2150 rather than 1855, but from Beverley Monday to Thursday the last Hornsea departure will be at 2110 rather than 2330. The late departure remains, 10 minutes later at 2340, on Friday and Saturday nights.

As with the 24, some of these morning and evening changes maybe reflecting the closure of Hornsea depot three years ago - since then the timetable indicates a lot of early and late 'dead-running' to and from Hornsea, which from next week will be reduced.

Finally for the first time since 2018, there will be a Sunday Beverley to Hornsea service with the new 25, operating every two hours during the daytime.

The 240 drops it's 0.

Next Sunday - 5th September - East Yorkshire will be renumbering their 240 service between Hornsea and Hull as service 24. 

Times are revised throughout the day, but it remains hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes and at these times operates as a through service in Hull onto Beverley as new route 23. I'd be surprised if this link got much use, given Stagecoach's 4 covers much of the same route within the Hull City boundaries far more frequently, but it does replace the connection from the Hornsea area to Woodmansey, Dunswell and Beverley Road lost with the 246's withdrawal (more on that in a later post). 

Another key change Monday to Saturday daytimes is that the 24 is perfectly co-ordinated with new service 25 between Hornsea and Leven to offer a half hourly service over this section - at present services 240 and 246 (which the 25 replaces over this section) have either 20 or 40 minute intervals between them each hour.

Monday to Saturday mornings the first service from Hull is now at 0630 rather than 0835 and on Saturday mornings the first service from Hornsea to Hull is also earlier at 0630 rather than 0715. Monday to Saturday evenings there is a new 2000 from Hornsea into Hull - currently no service between 1830 and 2155 - but the last service of the day at 2155 is replaced by a service 25 at 2150 via Beverley. Earlier services from Hull and the 2000 from Hornsea are possibly adjusting the timetable - in a good way - to reflect the closure of Hornsea depot 3 years ago, something that wasn't done at the time (there will still need to be some 'out of service' journeys to and from Hornsea with the new timetable, but less than before).

On Sundays there is major enhancement from three to six journeys - a two hourly daytime service - that oddly I've not see East Yorkshire highlight in their publicity for their September service changes. 

X46 and X47 Changes

From Sunday 5th September, East Yorkshire's X46 and X47 services, from Hull to York via Beverley, Market Weighton and Pocklington, will have a revised route in York City Centre. Rather than operate the 'direct' route via Piccadilly, they will instead serve James Street (same as the service 8 Park and Ride inbound route) and The Stonebow before crossing the River Ouse to the Station. Services from York Station will also pick up at Clifford Street before The Stonebow. East Yorkshire's announcement state this is to avoid 'congestion around the old Piccadilly stop'. One advantage now for Pocklington to York passengers is that both the 45+46 service group and the X46+X47 services all serve The Stonebow rather than being split between there and Piccadilly.

Many journeys are also slightly retimed. Notably Monday to Saturday the 0720 from Beverley to Hull now starts back in Pocklington at 0635 (0640 Sat), providing a first service 35 minutes earlier from Pocklington than currently available (1 hour earlier on Saturdays). In the opposite direction, the 1810 from Hull to Beverley becomes an extended 1830 Hull to Pocklington service.

New Hedon Town Service

On Wednesday 14th July, a new Hedon Town Service, numbered as route 84, commenced for a six month pilot. The service is operated by Holderness Area Rural Transport (HART) on Wednesdays - Hedon Market Day. Service 84 is initially being funded by East Riding of Yorkshire Council, with Hedon Town Council potentially funding any continuation beyond the pilot period.

There are two journeys around Hedon, one in the morning and another early afternoon. The route covers Magdalen Lane, the Inmans Estate, St Anthony's Park, St Nicholas Gate, Acklam Road, then a 'double run' via Thorn Road and Cleeve Road to Cromwell Road and back, before serving Haven Basin Road, Sheriff Highway, the Westlands Estate and Hedon Town Centre. A full route map and timetable is available here.

The 84 will be interworked with HART's CB3 service from Roos and Burton Pidsea to Hedon, Preston and Asda Bilton.

Wren Kitchens Shift Changes lead to Bus Service Changes

Back on Monday 14th June, Stagecoach amended services 250, 255 and 350 - plus introduced new service 355 - in response to revised shift times at Wren Kitchens in Barton. There were some further changes on 21st and 27th June, creating the provision described as below. Whilst the changes are primarily for the benefit of Wren Kitchens staff, they do have some positives and negatives for other travellers. 

The 250 Humber Flyer between Hull, Barton, Grimsby and Cleethorpes is least changed, and between Barton and Cleethorpes is unchanged at all. The only amendment has been to alter the Monday to Saturday 0723 Barton to Hull 'short' to operate as a service 255 instead, omitting Barton Interchange, Butts Road and Pasture Road, though removing the anomaly of this 250 journey operating a different route around Barton compared to every other service 250 journey.

Service 255 between Hull, Barton Market Place and Wren Kitchens is unsurprisingly the most altered. Starting with Monday to Saturdays from Hull:

• The 0450 from the Beverley Road/Clough Road junction to Wren Kitchens now starts back in North Bransholme at 0420, operating via the 2/10 route to North Point then as per the service 7/8 route via Sutton Park to Beverley Road. This provides a first departure from North Bransholme into Hull 5 minutes earlier than the first service 2 at 0425. From North Point on the route via Sutton Park, the 0435 departure is significantly earlier than the first service 8 at 0553.
• The 0550 from the Beverley Road/Clough Road junction to Wren Kitchens continues to operate, as does the 0805 from Paragon Interchange to Wren Kitchens.
• The 1410 from Beverley Road/Clough Road to Wren Kitchens has been withdrawn - this along with a couple of later afternoon changes removes the last elements of the 15 minute frequency between Hull and Barton introduced by Stagecoach in 2019, but withdrawn when COVID-19 hit and never restored beyond when needed for Wren Kitchens shift changes. Hopefully this returns in the future.
• The Monday to Friday 1550 from Paragon Interchange to Wren Kitchens now starts from Beverley Road/Clough Road at 1530, leaving Paragon Interchange at 1545.
• The Saturday only 1630 from Paragon Interchange to Wren Kitchens is withdrawn.
• The 1730 from Paragon Interchange to Wren Kitchens is now replaced by a 1645 from Beverley Road/Clough Road, unfortunately leaving Paragon Interchange at 1700, the same time as a service 250.
• The 1830 from Paragon Interchange to Wren Kitchens continues to operate.
• The 2330 from Paragon Interchange to Wren Kitchens is withdrawn, leaving the last service from Hull to Barton being at 2020 - this is another disappointing element of the change, driven by Wren Kitchens no longer having a midnight shift end. Hopefully the pre COVID-19 service 350 evening service gets reinstated soon, including a 2330 from Hull on Saturdays.

In the reverse direction from Wren Kitchens in Barton Monday to Saturday:

• The Monday to Thursday 0350 from Wren Kitchens to Beverley Road/Clough Road now operates at 0335 - I would have thought this service operated Tuesday to Friday mornings based on the job adverts I have seen for the 1645-0330 shift at Wren being Monday to Thursday, but Stagecoach's timetable suggests otherwise.
• There is a new 0620 from Wren Kitchens to Beverley Road/Clough Road, providing a 12 minute earlier first arrival into Paragon Interchange than previously available from Barton (ignoring the above very earlier journey!).
• There is a new 0720 from Wren Kitchens to Paragon Interchange, replacing a service 250 journey as noted earlier.
• The 0848 from Wren Kitchens to Paragon Interchange now operates at 0850.
• The 1550 from Wren Kitchens to Beverley Road/Clough Road is withdrawn.
• The 1710 from Wren Kitchens to Beverley Road/Clough Road no longer operates on Saturdays.
• There is a new 1750 from Wren Kitchens to Beverley Road/Clough Road, which along with a service 350 change provides a service from Wren for 1730 finishers.
• The 1920 from Wren Kitchens to Beverley Road/Clough Road continues to operate.
• The 0020 from Wren Kitchens to Beverley Road/Clough Road is withdrawn.

Sundays see a very significant increase in services on route 255, in part probably driven by no service 250 and fewer service 350's providing little opportunity to divert existing services via Wren Kitchens.

The 0450 from Beverley Road/Clough Road to Wren Kitchens is extended to start at North Bransholme at 0420 as per all other days of the week, providing a service 3 hours 55 minutes before the first service 2A of the day from North Bransholme. There are then new journeys at 0550 from Beverley Road/Clough Road to Wren Kitchens, and at 0805 from Paragon Interchange. Later in the day there is a new 1500 from Beverley Road/Clough Road to Wren Kitchens, which unfortunately leaves Paragon Interchange just 15 minutes before a 350 to Barton. However following this is one of the biggest improvements to the Hull to Barton service, new journeys from Paragon Interchange to Wren Kitchens at 1630, 1700, 1730 and 1830, the 1700 starting back at Beverley Road/Clough Road at 1645. The 350 has a three hour gap on Sundays between 1530 and 1830, so the 1630, 1700 and 1730 are very welcome additions to the timetable.

From Wren Kitchens on Sundays there are new morning departures at 0620, 0720 and 0850, the first of which operates to Beverley Road/Clough Road, the latter two terminating at Paragon Interchange. The first Sunday morning service from Barton Market Place to Paragon Interchange was previously at 0953, so another gain for the wider public here. There are then later new journeys from Wren Kitchens at 1610, 1723, 1750 and 1820, the first two terminating at Paragon Interchange, the latter two extending to Beverley Road/Clough Road. The 1920 from Wren Kitchens to Beverley Road/Clough Road continues to operate.

Moving onto Humber Fastcat service 350 and the core Monday to Saturday half hourly daytime pattern is unchanged, with alterations focused around peak times Monday to Saturday. Monday to Friday only, the 0815 from Scunthorpe is retimed to 0755 and diverted via Wren Kitchens in Barton, whilst the 1545 from Scunthorpe also diverts via Wren Kitchens Monday to Friday only. Monday to Saturday, the 1645 from Scunthorpe is retimed to 1655 and diverted via Wren Kitchens, whilst from Hull the 1745 to Scunthorpe diverts via Wren Kitchens and the 1825 is retimed to 1835 and also diverted via Wren Kitchens.

Finally limited new service 355 has been added between Scunthorpe and Wren Kitchens in Barton, following the 350 route between Scunthorpe and Barton Market Place. From Scunthorpe Bus Station there is a daily 0455, plus an extra 1655 on Sundays - this later service also fills a gap in service 350 departures between 1510 and 1810. From Barton Wren Kitchens the 355 operates to Scunthorpe at 0335 Monday to Thursday, 0620 Monday, Saturday and Sunday, 1710 Monday to Friday, plus 1820 and 1920 on Sundays. It is a shame the 0620 doesn't operate Tuesday to Friday as well, as it provides a potentially useful 36 minute earlier first arrival into Scunthorpe compared to the 350. 

Interestingly whenever I see the 0455 on weekdays, it is often operated by an Enviro 400 MMC, so I suspect maybe operated by Hull depot, running out of service to Barton for the 0335 to Scunthorpe, then the 0455 back to Barton and out of service back over the bridge.

In terms of the bigger picture, it's great that Stagecoach and Wren are working together to get more staff using buses. Sometimes it helps the wider Hull to Barton or Barton to Scunthorpe provision, sometimes not, but I'm sure overall it's strengthening the 'corridor'. Even with the end of social distancing, certain 255 journeys are needing a duplicate double decker to cater for demand.

(Not worth a separate post, but also good to see two new bus stops installed on Falkland Way in Barton, outside the Wren Kitchens entrance but also serving the new housing estate opposite).

Return of the Withernsea Town Service

Last month, on Monday 5th July, a new Withernsea Town Service was introduced. Service 70 is operated by East Hull Community Transport on behalf of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, financed by central government bus funding and the council's leisure service. It is the first town service in Withernsea since the previous service was cut in April 2018 during cutbacks to tendered bus services in the East Riding. Service 70 operates on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays every hour around the town during the morning and early afternoon, with later afternoon journeys on Wednesdays only to coincide with activities at Withernsea Leisure Centre.

Stagecoach 99 to Bridlington returns

Stagecoach's part-positioning, part day-out, route 99 between Hull and Bridlington resumed today, 24th July, for a short two month operating season until 26th September. Operating weekends and school holidays, departures leave Hull Paragon Interchange at 0815, 0945 and 1145, returning from Bridlington Bus Station at 1725 and 2045. This is somewhat scaled back from 2019 when the 99 operated daily from 6th April to 3rd November with between three and five journeys in each direction, but it's good to see the service resume.

Megabus replaces the X62

In June, Stagecoach commenced a new Megabus link between Hull and Leeds, mostly as part of various longer journeys. Taken from bustimes.org timetables, there are either four or five journeys each day, spaced over the whole day and suitable for commuting as well as leisure - although I suspect I've missed a Tuesday and Wednesday journey from Leeds in the below:

From Hull Paragon Interchange

0700 M15 (Not Sunday), extends beyond Leeds to London via Manchester, Birmingham, Reading and Heathrow Airport

0900 M36 (Saturday Only)

0935 M12 (Not Saturday), starts at the University of Hull at 0900 and extends beyond Leeds to London via Meadowhall and Leicester Fosse Park

1155 M36 (Tuesday, Wednesday only)

1215 M36 (Not Tuesday and Wednesday), extends beyond Leeds to Bristol via Manchester, Manchester Airport and Birmingham

1515 M36, starts at the University of Hull at 1445, and extends beyond Leeds (apart from Tuesday and Wednesday) to Coventry via Manchester, Newcastle Under Lyme and Birmingham

1745 M36, operates via Goole Airmyn Road and extends beyond Leeds to Manchester

From Leeds City Bus Station

0705 M36 (Not Sunday), operates via Goole Airmyn Road and extends to the University of Hull Monday to Friday only

1010 M36, starts from Manchester

1240 M36, starts from Cardiff (Not Tuesday and  Wednesday), operating via Bristol (starting point on Tuesday and Wednesday), Birmingham and Manchester, and extends to the University of Hull

1610 M36 (Not Tuesday and Wednesday), starts from Bristol, operating via Birmingham, Newcastle Under Lyme and Manchester

1735 M12, starts from London Friday and Sunday only, operating via Leicester Fosse Park and Meadowhall - otherwise commences in Leeds - and extends to the University of Hull on all days of the week

Journey times between Hull and Leeds are 75 minutes off peak. As can be seen, the new Megabus links also serve the student market at the University of Hull, where Megabus may have an advantage over the train or National Express in that students can board at the University rather than needing to travel into the City Centre.

A 'short' market (for a coach service) between Hull and Leeds - and even more so between Hull and Goole - isn't one I'd necessarily associate with Megabus. Other than when they initially started, in England at least, Megabus has largely focused on longer distance markets. Whilst most journeys do form part of a longer distance network, there are also some shorter workings, a Goole diversion at commuting times and some of the longer distance destinations offered are 'one-directional', indicating end to end demand isn't the primary target.

What seems to be happening here is an attempt to combine some off Stagecoach's X62 passenger base between Hull and Leeds, with some longer distance demand from Hull (hence the use of Megabus over a 'short distance') plus an attempt to get some Hull commuter traffic. As per the Stagecoach East Midlands twitter feed last month, the X62 isn't coming back now the new Megabus services have started. It was suspended in March 2020 due to COVID-19 and never resumed.

The X62 offered three journeys between Hull and Leeds Monday to Friday, four on Saturdays and two on Sundays, with a timetable focused on serving the Junction 32 retail and leisure complex and Leeds daytrippers. End to end journey times were just under two hours due to serving North Ferriby, Brough, Goole Airmyn Road, Eggborough and Junction 32 en-route.

Megabus provides a better timetable between Hull and Leeds, with notably faster journey times, but for the intermediate destinations the X62 is essentially withdrawn without replacement (as Megabus in Goole is aimed at the Hull commuter market instead). Brough has the train to Leeds as an alternative (but Goole's train to Junction 32 and Leeds is also aimed at commuters rather than daytrippers). I'm surprised Junction 32 isn't being served by Megabus as it would 'double up' as a 'parkway' type stop for Castleford and Pontefract, plus is located just of the M62, so would only be a minor diversion.

A new service for Hessle, North Ferriby and Swanland

A new service started in the East Riding of Yorkshire this week - the 150 - restoring links from North Ferriby and Swanland to Hessle. The 150 is operated by East Yorkshire and is funded by East Riding of Yorkshire Council. 

In more detail, the service operates from Hessle Sainsburys to Hessle Square then serves Hessle Cemetery Corner, Barrow Road and Ferriby Road before operating a large one-way loop via Ferriby High Road, North Ferriby Station, Melton Business Park, North Ferriby High Street, Swanland, the A164 and Heads Lane back to Hessle Ferriby Road and as per the outbound route to Sainsburys. An hourly service, with lunch break, is provided Tuesday and Thursday, mornings and early afternoon (four journeys to and four journeys from Hessle).

The North Ferriby and Swanland to Sainsbury's link is new, or at least hasn't been provided for many years. The link to Hessle Square from the two villages hasn't been available since the 180 was withdrawn in early May 2018; albeit North Ferriby did also have an all day service to Ferriby Road in Hessle, on the very outskirts of the town centre, until 2nd January this year. For the section of route via North Ferriby Station, this means their non-schools bus service goes from three to five days a week - the 143 providing a Beverley link on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Whilst the main focus seems to be on North Ferriby and Swanland, the 150 also provides some useful links in Hessle, such as Barrow Lane to Sainsburys.

Hopefully the 150 does well, as it fills in some gaps not covered by the 'core' network in the area.

Stagecoach halve Scunthorpe Sunday Daytime Town Service

With effect from Sunday 4th July, Stagecoach are reducing the Sunday daytime frequency of Scunthorpe's only Sunday Town Service, circular route 1A. The 1A will reduce from half hourly to hourly in each direction. One small positive however, is that the first clockwise service will depart Scunthorpe Bus Station at 0830 rather than 0900.

Times of other journeys on services 1 and 1A are also slightly revised from the same date.

Alford gains a second Tuesday bus to Grimsby

Grayscroft Coaches Tuesday 'Shopper' Service 28 from Sandilands to Grimsby, via Sutton on Sea, Mablethorpe and Louth returns on Tuesday 20th April, after being suspended due to COVID-19. Upon restarting it will be extended to start and finish in Alford, operating via Bilsby and Markby to Sandilands, before picking up it's existing route. 

Both Alford and Bilsby have a faster and more direct alternative to Grimsby on Tuesdays, with Hunts Coaches service 44, so only for Markby is this a new Grimsby link. The 28's Alford extension does complement the main 96A service between Mablethorpe and Alford for local travel, but I wonder if it's primary purpose is to reduce 'dead-running' for interworked Alford schools services? Whatever the reason, it's a minor improvement so welcome news.

Bridlington to Flamborough Summer Improvements

On Sunday 18th April, East Yorkshire will commence an hourly Sunday daytime service on route 14 between Bridlington and Flamborough, operating until Sunday 31st October. The timetable matches the Monday to Saturday year round provision, minus the first two morning services in each direction.

The Beachcomber Blue open top service between Bridlington and Flamborough also returns from Saturday 17th April to Sunday 31st October - an extended season compared to 2019 which operated from 25th May to 1st September. Beachcomber Blue operates every weekend and school holiday. Rather than providing the previous two hourly service that also extends beyond Bridlington Town Centre to John Bull World of Rock, the Beachcomber Blue will instead operate hourly between Bridlington and Flamborough, providing a half hourly frequency with service 14. Be aware though, to benefit from the 30 minute frequency, the East Yorkshire publicity leaflet implies you need a Beachcomber day ticket (£5 adult or £3 child and concessions) rather than a standard return ticket (£4 adult or £2 under 16) that is restricted to service 14. 

Clearly these changes are designed to attract Summer tourists, but may also be useful for locals, particularly the Sunday daytime 14. 

North Lincolnshire Retendering and Changing Fortunes

Two previously Hornsby Travel operated North Lincolnshire Council tenders have passed to Stagecoach. Service 90 between Scunthorpe and Crowle made the switch on Thursday 1st April, whilst service 35 between Scunthorpe and Amcotts was operated by Hornsby for the final time yesterday (Saturday 3rd April), before Stagecoach take over on Tuesday (6th April). Both routes continue on the same timetable with Stagecoach that Hornsby had been operating.

A few years ago, Stagecoach's 'out of town' services from Scunthorpe were limited to the Interconnect 100 (& 101) to Gainsborough and Lincoln, 103 Cliffsider to Lincoln, 350 Humber Fastcat to Hull and the evening peak 399 to Westwoodside. However through tender wins from Hornsby it has added the 4's Sunday service to Brigg, the 60 to Whitton and now the 35 and 90. Whilst Hornsby, East Yorkshire and Isle Coaches still have a presence, Stagecoach have clearly  become the main 'out of town' operator in Scunthorpe again.

Hornsby on the other hand have contracted their 'out of town' and non-Scunthorpe services. In addition to the tender losses to Stagecoach, they have also lost the North Lincolnshire demand responsive service to East Yorkshire and have a reduced network in the Brigg area due to council cutbacks. What is left is now limited to the 4 and X4 to Brigg (and Barnetby on the X4) plus the Barton and Brigg Town Services (and some school and college routes).

Service 1C returns

After a retendering exercise by Hull City Council, East Yorkshire operated services 21 and 51 were withdrawn on Saturday 27th February, and replaced by Stagecoach operated services 1C and 5A on Monday 1st March.

Service 21 had operated between Hull Paragon Interchange, Wilberforce Drive, Freetown Way, Caroline Street, Cannon Street, Bridlington Avenue, Fountain Road, Beverley Road, Mizzen Road, Compass Road and Kingswood Retail Park. The 21 operated every 90 minutes off peak Monday to Saturday increasing to hourly at peaktimes, but omitting Kingswood.

Meanwhile service 51 linked Hull Paragon Interchange, Hull Royal Infirmary, Rawling Way, Hessle Road, Boulevard, Selby Street, St Georges Road, Hessle Road, Hawthorn Avenue, Boothferry Road, Fiveways, Pickering Road, Anlaby Road, Anlaby Park Road North and Sibelius Road. The 51 operated every 90 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes, peak and off peak.

The principle replacement for the 21 and 51 is the Monday to Saturday offpeak 1C, which apart from some variations in Hull City Centre and not serving Kingswood, is a merger of the 21 and 51; not serving Kingswood is unfortunate but would require either a lower frequency or increased vehicle requirement. In Hull City Centre the 1C operates from Sibelius Road direct to Paragon Interchange then as per the 51 route, whilst from Mizzen Road the 1C operates from Alfred Gelder Street via Carr Lane, not serving Bond Street or Paragon Interchange. The 1C number has been used before between Sibelius Road and Compass Road (and Kingswood), back in EYMS days, although arguably in West Hull the current 1C routing has more in common with Stagecoach's service 2 than service 1.

Service 1C operates every two hours but with some extra journeys, departures from Sibelius Road are at 0900, 1000 (to Paragon Interchange only), 1100 and 1300 along with an extra 1435 from Paragon Interchange to Compass Road. From Mizzen Road the 1C departs at 0900, 1000, 1200 and 1400. The 1C requires one vehicle all day and a second first thing in the morning and again mid-afternoon, a reduction from the 21 and 51 each requiring a vehicle all day.

There is no peak time replacement for the 21 along Bridlington Avenue, or for the 51. Parts of the 51 route along Rawling Way, Hessle Road, Boothferry Road, Anlaby Road and Anlaby Park Road are served by other services, and some other sections of route are within walking distance of these roads. Mizzen Road and Compass Road are served by new service 5A, which is a variant of existing service 5 'shorts' between Hull and Orchard Park extending to Compass Road rather than Orchard Park Tesco. Based on the 8th March timetable, departures leave Paragon Interchange at 0730, 1534, 1634 and 1734 Monday to Friday and 0730, 1533, 1633 and 1733 Saturdays. From Mizzen Road the 5A departs at 0715 and 0810 Monday to Friday and 0713 and 0803 Saturdays. 

The 5A appears to use 'slack' in peaktime timetables to serve Compass Road without increasing the peak vehicle requirement. Sadly such 'slack' does not appear to be available off peak at the moment, as in order to serve Mizzen Road and Compass Road, Hull City Council are subsidising the 1C along most of Beverley Road that is otherwise very well served by commercial routes. This subsidy could be used instead to increase frequency between Sibelius Road and Bridlington Avenue, or to serve unserved or underserved roads such as North Road and Askew Avenue in West Hull.

Overall, whilst there maybe hourly rather than 90 minute frequencies for parts of the day and there is through connectivity provided from Beverley Road to Hull Royal Infirmary, these changes are a reduction in service. Hull City Council were considering reducing services to 4 days a week however, so it could have been worse.

New East Hull Services 40 and 41

Hull City Council tendered service 50 was withdrawn after operation on Saturday 27th February, following around 25 years of operation across various routes, but always including Hull City Centre and East Hull. It was initially numbered service 70 and also briefly had a spell as service 58. The 50 latterly was operated by East Yorkshire and linked Hull Paragon Interchange, Holderness Road Shops, Laburnum Avenue, James Reckitt Avenue, Ings Road, Maybury Road, Jalland Lodge, Maybury Road again, Broadway Drive and Holderness Road Morrisons. Four journeys were provided in each direction on a 90 minute frequency Monday to Saturday mornings and early afternoon.

Following retendering the contract was won by Stagecoach and two new services were introduced as a replacement - 40 and 41. I say replacement, but the 40 doesn't do much to replace the 50, rather it reinstates useful links that haven't been provided recently.

The 40 operates as a circular from Holderness Road Morrisons. Going anti clockwise it serves Ings Road, Cavendish Road, Lambwath Road, James Reckitt Avenue (Garden Village), Mount Pleasant and Holderness Road shops. There are four anti-clockwise and three clockwise journeys Monday to Saturday daytimes. The section of Ings Road between James Reckitt Avenue and Cavendish Road has been unserved apart from the 677 Cranswick Foods workers service since the 9 was withdrawn early in the COVID-19 pandemic last year, whilst Lambwath Road has been unserved since then. The section of James Reckitt Avenue served by the 40 also has service 12a, but unlike the 12a, the 40 offers links to the main Holderness Road shopping area and to Morrisons, so has a clear purpose alongside the 12a.

The 41 also operates from Holderness Road Morrisons, via Portobello Street to Broadway Drive then back onto Portobello Street and as per service 14 before replacing the 50 along parts of Staveley Road, Marfleet Lane (Jalland Lodge), Maybury Road and Broadway Drive back to Morrisons. An hourly service is provided Monday to Saturday daytimes, with one 90 minute gap. For Jalland Lodge, Maybury Road and Broadway Drive, through links to Hull City Centre and Holderness Road shops have been traded for increased frequency and a slightly later afternoon service - connections are available to other services on Holderness Road.

The section of James Reckitt Avenue between Ings Road and Gillshill Road is now unserved, as is Laburnum Avenue. James Reckitt Avenue passengers will need to walk to either Ings Road, the stops near the James Reckitt Avenue and Gillshill Road junction, or through East Park to Holderness Road. Laburnum Avenue passengers will need to walk to James Reckitt Avenue or Holderness Road for alternative services.

There are clearly a few positives here, probably more than the negatives. Maybe the 50 could have been retained on a Saturday though, with the 40 and 41 operating weekdays only. That would have avoided any roads becoming unserved and retain all previously provided through links. My other suggestion would be that as the combined 40 and 41 timetable has 17 minutes layover per hour, the 40 could perhaps make a 'double run' along currently unserved Chamberlain Road, using the roundabout at the junction with Stoneferry Road to turnaround - something the 50 and 70 used to do earlier in their history.

JustGo

Back on Monday 7th September 2020, the mostly demand responsive CallConnect service in North Lincolnshire was largely replaced by new fully demand responsive service, JustGo. CallConnect had operated in North Lincolnshire in partnership with Lincolnshire County Council, whose brand it is, with most services being operated by Hornsby Travel. JustGo is operated by East Yorkshire from their Elloughton depot and I presume the change is down to a routine retendering exercise by North Lincolnshire Council. JustGo operates Monday to Saturday daytimes, as with CallConnect.

JustGo has some important differences from CallConnect however. CallConnect requires registration and then for journeys to be booked by phone or on their website (an app has just been introduced in the Gainsborough area however). JustGo on the other hand has had an app available since launch in September, with phone booking also available. CallConnect was pay on bus, whereas JustGo has app or phone payments. Concessionary passes can be registered on the JustGo app or by phone when booking. 

With CallConnect, North Lincolnshire was divided into zones, with no travel possible from one zone to another. JustGo has done away with these divisions, making journeys such as Saxby to Scunthorpe Hospital possible, although it has added some new divides. 

Initially JustGo was quite simple - travel anywhere within rural North Lincolnshire or to and from, but not within, the Scunthorpe, Ashby and Bottesford urban area. One problem with that - the potential to abstract revenue from, and undermine, frequent commercial timetabled services. See the example here of it initially being possible to book a journey from Scunthorpe to Brigg despite an hourly commercial service being provided by Hornsby Travel (and an extra subsidised service every two hours). So a few weeks after launch, four more zones were added, in which travel exclusively within them is prohibited - Scunthorpe to Barton, Scunthorpe to Brigg, Scunthorpe to Messingham and Barton to Ulceby. As with the Scunthorpe Urban area, travel in and out of these zones is allowed, and they are fairly tightly defined around the routes of timetabled services, so whilst Scunthorpe Town Centre is included, Scunthorpe Hospital isn't. Therefore Winterton to Scunthorpe Bus Station by JustGo quite rightly isn't allowed as there is a half hourly timetabled bus instead, but Winterton to Scunthorpe Hospital, not otherwise possible without a connection, sensibly is permitted. 

I do wonder if these additional zones are a downside of apps and automation? A person with knowledge of the bus network could use that knowledge to direct travellers onto a timetabled service if available - I presume that is what CallConnect did - whereas for an app to do so presumably requires some IT work?

Whilst the FAQ section of the JustGo website doesn't allude to this, the rural area of North Lincolnshire served by JustGo does stretch slightly beyond the council boundary according to the JustGo website map. Immingham - nearest town for villages like South Killingholme - and Habrough - rail connections available - in North East Lincolnshire are included, as are Brocklesby, Great Limber and Keelby in Lincolnshire County Council's area - possibly 'compensation' to Great Limber for the 250 being rerouted away to replace a North Lincolnshire Council tendered service? Brigg Garden Centre, technically also in Lincolnshire County Council's area is included and Blaxton in South Yorkshire is also covered, providing connections onto First service 57f to Doncaster. These are all sensible extensions beyond the North Lincolnshire boundary. Could Misterton in Nottinghamshire be another worthwhile extension, for bus connections to Gainsborough and Retford? Maybe Doncaster Sheffield Airport as well for employment links?

CallConnect in North Lincolnshire used to provide some timetabled services, with the demand responsive bus 'borrowed' to operate a scheduled service. These were:

• 55: Santon-Appleby-Dragonby-Scunthorpe - Friday Only
• 58: Wroot-Sandtoft-Epworth - Friday Only
• 59: Wroot-Blaxton - Monday to Friday
• 260: Goxhill-New Holland-Barrow-Barton - Saturday Only

Each operated one journey in each direction, designed for shopping purposes, but were withdrawn with the start of JustGo. Aside from schools and college services, the villages and hamlets of Appleby, Sandtoft, Santon and Wroot no longer have a timetabled bus service, whilst Dragonby residents need to walk to the A1077. The 260 has a weekday service operated by Stagecoach; much of Barrow additionally has the 250 to Barton (plus Hull, Grimsby and Cleethorpes) whilst Goxhill and New Holland have a rail service to Barton (and Grimsby and Cleethorpes) as an alternative, albeit the stations are only conveniently sited for parts of each village - likewise Barton station is only well located for some shops in Barton Town Centre.

These withdrawals are disappointing. I wonder if they are down to the lack of cash handling on JustGo vehicles? Borrowing a demand responsive vehicle seems like a good way to provide a 'no pre-booking required' timetabled service when no other financially sensible options are available.

JustGo hasn't quite meant the end of CallConnect in North Lincolnshire. As happened before North Lincolnshire Council got involved with CallConnect, the Lincolnshire County Council service extends into North Lincolnshire where sensible. The Caistor CallConnect service area includes Brigg, Barnetby, Hibaldstow and Humberside Airport, for shopping, rail links, doctors and employment, as well as Cadney and Howsham villages. The Gainsborough CallConnect includes Kirton in Lindsey, which acts as the local small town for some villages in the Lincolnshire County Council area.

Significant Improvements for Hull Marina and Humber View

East Yorkshire service 178 between Hull Paragon Interchange, Hull Marina, the western part of South Bridge Road (Humber View sheltered housing) and Hull Paragon Interchange was withdrawn at the end of January after just four weeks of operation. The 178 had operated every 1-2 hours Monday to Saturday daytimes. Replacement came in the form of amended Stagecoach services 16 and 20 on Monday 8th February.

Service 16 between Hull Paragon Interchange, Victoria Dock, Mount Pleasant Asda and the Preston Road Estate now makes a short detour in each direction via Humber View. The 16 continues to provide an hourly Monday to Saturday service, so for the western part of South Bridge Road this is a frequency enhancement and comes with a link to Asda as well. The area is within walking distance, at least without bags of shopping, of the City Centre and alternative services, so I can only imagine it's Humber View that is generating demand here.

Service 20 - Priory Park Park and Ride - has replaced the 178 in the Marina area. Previously it had looped around the city centre from Anlaby Road via Ferensway, Albion Street, Bond Street, George Street, Wilberforce Drive, Alfred Gelder Street and Carr Lane back to Anlaby Road. Now from Bond Street the 20 operates in the opposite direction along Alfred Gelder Street then serves the Marina area before routing direct to Paragon Interchange via Castle Street and Ferensway. From Paragon Interchange the 20 returns to Anlaby Road via Park Street. Service 20 continues to operate every 20 minutes Monday to Saturday.

The 20's new route provides a vastly improved frequency between the Ferensway and St Stephen's area of the city centre and the Marina area, as well as a park and ride service for the Marina area without having to walk to Alfred Gelder Street or Carr Lane. It also provides an extra three buses per hour from Paragon Interchange to Hull Royal Infirmary that are direct and don't operate via the city centre loop. However it does come with the drawback of longer journey times from parts of the city centre - Monument Bridge (between Alfred Gelder Street and Carr Lane) to Priory Park was timed for 15 minutes previously, but Alfred Gelder Street to Priory Park is now 28 minutes. Additionally George Street, Wilberforce Drive and Carr Lane are now unserved, though fairly close to alternative stops on Alfred Gelder Street, or in the case of the western end of Carr Lane, at Paragon Interchange.

152 Extended, 153 Truncated

East Yorkshire revised services 151, 152 and 153 on Sunday 3rd January. There have since been some further temporary COVID-19 related changes, but this post is based on the 3rd January changes. Service 151 was the least changed, continuing to link Hull Paragon Interchange, Anlaby Road, Anlaby, Kirk Ella, Willerby Square and Willerby Parkway. 

Service 152 has been extended; still running the same route as the 151 between Hull and Anlaby but rather then looping via Lowfield Road (with waiting time), Beverley Road and Wilson Street in Anlaby back to Anlaby Centre and Hull, Monday to Saturday the 152 is now extended to Bridgehead Business Park in Hessle. The 152 operates to Hessle via Lowfield Road and returns via Wilson Street, so passengers from Lowfield Road to Hull need to walk to either Anlaby Centre or Beverley Road - the layout in Anlaby prevents a service from Hessle serving Lowfield Road, the main Red Lion bus stop in Anlaby Centre and Hull Road in the village. After Anlaby, the Monday to Saturday 152 routes to Darleys Roundabout, and then serves 155's former route in Hessle along Beverley Road, Swanland Road, Barrow Lane and Ferriby Road to Home Farm, before terminating at Bridgehead Business Park. On the return from Bridgehead Business Park, the 152 operates via Boothferry Road and Heads Lane to Ferriby Road instead off Home Farm.

Finally Service 153 between Hull, Anlaby Road, Anlaby, Kirk Ella, Swanland, North Ferriby and Melton Business Park (plus evening and Sunday extensions further westwards) is now truncated to operate between Hull and Swanland only. The new 55 replaces at Melton Business Park, but otherwise the Swanland to North Ferriby link is lost and North Ferriby to Hull is reduced from two to one services per hour. Additionally the Church Road, New Walk, Parkfield Avenue, Nunburnholme Avenue and Corby Park areas of North Ferriby no longer have a bus to Hull and are only served by the 143 to Beverley three days a week and by school buses - the area is served by North Ferriby railway station however.

The main Monday to Saturday daytime service pattern of the 151, 152 and 153 each operating hourly continues, providing a 20 minute frequency between Hull and Anlaby. Monday to Friday peaktime 151's are now 152's, removing morning peak services from Church Lane and School Lane in Kirk Ella and reducing provision elsewhere in the village. The flipside is increased links to Bridgehead Business Park - the 152 is not a very direct route from the centre of Hull at least but it maybe useful for any commuters from Anlaby, Anlaby Common and Anlaby Park. The 55 and 66B provide more direct services to Hull and the 250, 255 and 350 stop within walking distance on Boothferry Road and the Humber Bridge Northern Approach, though business park passengers may need to cross the busy Humber Bridge roundabout. The bus stop at the business park does also provide a useful off road layby for waiting.

Service 151 is enhanced in the evening Monday to Saturday however, moving to a full hourly service; the 1905 152 and 2255 153 from Hull both become service 151's instead. Swanland has lost it's limited evening service.

On Sundays the 153 remains hourly daytimes with the 152 hourly in the evening (and one morning journey). As with the rest of the week, the 153 is now Hull to Swanland only but the 152 is following it's previous Lowfield Road & Wilson Street loop, not extending to Hessle.

Introducing the 55 and X5

On Sunday 3rd January, East Yorkshire extensively revised their services along the A63 corridor out of Hull towards Brough and Goole. In this post I will focus on services that extend west of Melton Business Park.

Previously the main services along the corridor were the 155 and X55. The 155 operated out of Hull Paragon Interchange via Anlaby Road and Boothferry Road as far as Darleys Roundabout, then via Beverley Road, Swanland Road, Barrow Lane and Ferriby Road in Hessle, North Ferriby High Street and Melton Road, Melton and Welton Villages, Brough, Elloughton, Brantingham (early morning and evening journeys only), South Cave, North Cave, Newport, Gilberdyke, Eastrington, Howden, Goole Hospital to Goole Town Centre. The slightly quicker X55 took the same route out of Hull as far as Darleys Roundabout, then continued along Boothferry Road via Bridgehead Business Park to join the A63 to Brough then largely as the 155 to Goole, but not serving Brantingham at all and with some route variations in Goole. There was also a limited 155A that operated via Anlaby instead of Boothferry Road, additionally served Melton Business Park and also served Brantingham. Finally to add into the mix was a small number of service 153 journeys that extended west of Melton Business Park; one Monday to Saturday evening service from Elloughton via Brough, Welton, Melton, to Melton Business Park then as the main 153 route to Hull via North Ferriby, one Monday to Saturday evening return, that extended beyond Elloughton to Brantingham and South Cave, and two hourly Sunday daytime extensions to Melton and Welton.

Monday to Saturday daytimes the core pattern was the 155 hourly between Hull and Elloughton and the X55 hourly between Hull and South Cave, extending two hourly to Goole. The 155 picked up most early morning and late afternoon Goole extensions and also provided a limited evening service alongside the previously mentioned 153. The 155A variation provided two morning peak journeys from Hull, an early morning service from North Cave and a single afternoon journey from Goole, Monday to Friday only. On Sundays the 155 provided four journeys between Hull and South Cave during the daytime.

Now everything has changed. The 153 no longer operates in this area, and the 155 and X55 have been replaced by new services 55 and X5, along with a change to the 152. The 155A remains but with some changes to it's western termini. 

The 55 follows the X55 route out of Hull, serving Bridgehead Business Park - service 152 picks up the 155’s old route in Hessle (more in a future post) - before routing via North Ferriby High Street and Melton Road, Melton Business Park (replacing the 153), Melton, Welton, Brough, Elloughton, South Cave and as per the old 155 route to Goole. Brantingham is not served at all by the 55. Service 55 operates hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes between Hull and Gilberdyke. The Gilberdyke to Goole section has four services to Goole and three from Goole Monday to Friday and two each way on Saturdays. The 55 operates hourly early evening between Hull and Elloughton but there is no late evening service. On Sundays, five journeys operate in each direction between Hull and Gilberdyke.

The X5 is a new coach operated service between Hull and Goole. It operates direct from Paragon Interchange in Hull, omitting other City Centre stops, then via Hull Royal Infirmary, Rawling Way and the A63 to Brough and Elloughton. It's then back onto the A63 to Newport, Gilberdyke - serving the B1230 only and not running into the village - Howden and Goole (but not Goole Hospital). Aside from Hull City Centre, the route in Gilberdyke and the extension to Goole, it is rather reminiscent of the original X55 Petuaria Express. The X5 operates five times a day Monday to Friday and four on Saturdays. Although the X5 is advertised as limited stop, as far as i can tell it stops at all stops it passes; limited stop is presumably a reference to the sections of the A63 and B1230 without stops.

It maybe that timetables and frequencies are being 'depressed' by COVID-19, but overall this seems like a step backwards if it reflects the longer term service provision planned by East Yorkshire. Hull to Brough and Elloughton has gone from an almost half hourly service Monday to Saturday, to an hourly service plus four or five fast coaches. Eastrington is reduced from approximately two hourly to 2-4 services per day, with links to Goole Hospital similarly reduced. Hull to South Cave journey times are increased from 51 to 61 minutes. There is also no late evening service at all, so the last departure from Hull is at 1710 to North Cave, 1730 to Gilberdyke, Howden and Goole, 1810 to South Cave and at 2010 to Elloughton, as opposed to 1800 to Goole, 1950 to North Cave, Gilberdyke and Howden and 2255 to Elloughton and South Cave.

There are certainly some positives here which should be acknowledged. Newport and Gilberdyke increase from a two hourly service Monday to Saturday daytimes to hourly plus an occasional fast coach. North Cave gains an hourly rather than two hourly service. Journey times from Hull to Melton and Welton reduce by three minutes. There is a new Monday to Friday 0530 from Elloughton to Hull, previous first service 0633. The early evening service between Hull and Elloughton is increased to hourly rather than 1800 then 1950. On Sundays there is an extra journey, and now a Sunday service from North Cave, Newport and Gilberdyke (Melton and Welton have lost the 153, but it was arguably a 'relic' from when it was the X55 rather than 155 that operated on a Sunday).

It's the X5 which seems most questionable to me, certainly west of Elloughton. Between Hull, Brough and Elloughton, offering one fast and one slow service has it's advantages and disadvantages compared to two less differentiated services. Given the housing growth in Brough, and the railway station being located away from 55 and X5 routes, there is potential here post COVID-19. In Howden, the X5 will have more use as the main service into Goole, and also it's railway station is a significant distance outside of the town.

Taking Gilberdyke however and whilst the X5 is being positioned as a fast Hull link, assuming the pre COVID-19 rail timetable is reinstated, it will be up against two trains per hour, one taking 19 minutes versus 37 on on the X5. Unless there are significant price differentials, how can the X5, or the X5 and 55 combined compete - senior citizen pass holders aside? Rail will have the frequency and speed advantage. It's a similar story in Goole. Two trains per hour to Hull pre COVID-19, the fastest taking 29 minutes as opposed to an hour on the X5. Plus while the X62 doesn't serve Goole Town Centre and the route also had to support the Goole to Leeds section, when Stagecoach tried to provide a more comprehensive fast service on the X62 between Hull and Goole, it failed.

The short lived 74 returns - as the X7

Between Hull and Withernsea there is the main bus 'corridor' via Hedon and along the A1033, plus two 'diversions'; one via Holderness Road and Southcoates Lane in Hull and one via the village off Burstwick. Monday to Saturday daytimes two services per hour can be sustained along the main 'corridor', leaving a choice - share the two 'diversions' out between the two services each hour, or put both diversions on the same hourly journey and run the other hourly journey as a faster service. Since EYMS/East Yorkshire became the sole operator on the corridor, the former has usually been the preference.

In July 2011, the latter was however tried briefly. Service 74 operated between Hull, Hedon and Keyingham (on the A1033), omitting Holderness Road and Burstwick, hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes, with some afternoon journeys extending to Withernsea. Alongside this was hourly service 75 between Hull, Holderness Road, Hedon, Burstwick, Keyingham and Withernsea. By October 2011, the corridor had reverted back Monday to Saturday daytimes to an hourly 76 via Holderness Road but not Burstwick and an hourly 77 via Burstwick but not Holderness Road. 

Fast forward over 9 years and on Monday 4th January 2021, East Yorkshire have decided to try again with the one faster and one slower service each hour Monday to Saturday daytimes. Service 75 now operates during this period, as well as continuing in the peaks, evenings and on Sundays, as the slower service via Holderness Road and Burstwick, whilst the faster service omitting both these areas is numbered X7. Services 76 and 77 are withdrawn, which also has the effect of simplifying from three (75/76/77) to two (75/X7) service numbers. Unlike in 2011, all journeys operate between Hull and Withernsea apart from an early morning Hull to Hedon 'short'. For Withernsea this means that rather than a 78 minute journey time on the 77 and an 81 minute journey time on service 76 to Hull, there is now a 73 minute journey time on the X7 and an 86 minute journey time on the 75. 

Good News for Paull and Preston

East Yorkshire revised services 78 and 79 between Hull, Victoria Dock, Hedon Road, Hedon Town Centre and the Inmans Estate in Hedon from Monday 4th January.

Previously, in addition to the locations above which are served by both services, the 78 additionally served Hull Marina and the western part of South Bridge Road in Victoria Dock, whilst the 79 routed via the village of Paull. Together the two routes operated hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes, with the majority of services operating as a 78. With the 78 and 79 having unique sections at different parts to the other, in most of Victoria Dock and along Hedon Road there was no even interval hourly frequency, but from both Hull Paragon Interchange and Hedon Thorn Road Corner the 78 and 79 provided departures every 20 minutes combined with services 76 and 77.

The 78 has now been rerouted away from Hull Marina and the western part of South Bridge Road, but instead serves the village of Preston, which otherwise only has the 277 every 95-150 minutes into Hull (plus 1 journey each way on a Saturday on service 173 and Stagecoach's Cranswick Foods workers service 677). The 79 continues it's same route via Paull. The new timetable retains the combined hourly service Monday to Saturday daytimes, with each route now operating every two hours, giving Paull a small increase in services. With the 78 and 79's unique sections of route now both being between Hedon Road and Hedon Town Centre, Victoria Dock and Hedon Road gain an even interval service, and the 78 is quicker between Hull City Centre and these areas. The 20 minute frequency from Hull Interchange is retained, now in conjunction with services X7 and 75 (more on these soon), however from Hedon Thorn Road Corner it's now a 15-15-30 minute split across the hour for departures into Hull.

These changes are a clear improvement for Paull and Preston and to a lesser extent, an enhancement for Victoria Dock and Hedon Road.

Hull Marina and the western part of South Bridge Road are now covered by new service 178, which operates as a circular from Paragon Interchange to the Marina, South Bridge Road and back to the Interchange. The 178 operates Monday to Saturday with departures from Paragon Interchange at 0725 (Not Sat), 0915, 1115, 1215, 1415, 1515 and 1720.

An extra journey for the 88

On Monday 4th January, service 88 between Goole, Airmyn, Rawcliffe and Rawcliffe Bridge gained a slightly enhanced timetable, with an extra journey in each direction. The 88 is operated by East Yorkshire and runs Monday to Friday. Departures from Goole North Street altered from 0905, 1205 and 1505 to 0905, 1105, 1305 and 1505, and from Rawcliffe Bridge changed from 0930, 1230 and 1530 to 0930, 1130, 1330 and 1530; the middle two terminating at Goole Interchange rather than North Street. The pdf timetable now refers to 'Some journeys are provided with the financial support of East Riding of Yorkshire Council' so I wonder if this could be a commercial enhancement as I'm sure the 88 has been fully subsidised ever since it was withdrawn from Thorne?

Isle Coaches Update

Since late March, Isle Coaches service 399 between Scunthorpe, the Isle of Axholme and Doncaster has not operated on Saturdays, just Monday to Friday. As previously mentioned the evening peak Scunthorpe to Westwoodside and return tendered journeys operated by Stagecoach continue to operate on Saturdays. Additionally the 1600 departure from Scunthorpe currently terminates at Westwoodside, rather than continuing to Doncaster.

As far as Isle Coaches service 291 between Owston Ferry on the Isle of Axholme and Doncaster is concerned, it was suspended for much of the Spring and Summer before returning to a reduced timetable. Quite what that reduced timetable is, I don't know. According to the Travel South Yorkshire pdf timetable, the 291 resumed on 21st September 2020, and according to both it and bustimes.org (source Traveline National Dataset) there are journeys at 0900 and 1210 from Owston Ferry Monday to Friday, returning from Doncaster at 1100 Tuesday and Friday only and at 1520 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays only. The unbalanced days of operation in each direction seem exceptionally unlikely to me. The North Lincolnshire Council website states the 291 resumed on 25th August 2020 on Tuesdays and Fridays only, departing Owston Ferry at 0900 and 1205 and Doncaster at 1100 and 1520. Isle Coaches don't have a website to verify what the actual current timetable is. Pre COVID-19, the 291 had operate three journeys to Doncaster and four from Doncaster Monday to Saturday, including an evening peak service. The tendered morning peak 57f from Epworth to Doncaster, operated by First, continues to operate Monday to Saturday.

It remains to be seen once things return to normal whether the 399 returns on a Saturday and if the 291 goes back to normal. If they don't though some anomalies that have occurred could do with being addressed. Monday to Friday there is currently a morning peak service from the Isle of Axholme to Doncaster, but no evening peak return; Monday and Thursday at least the only service from Doncaster back to the Isle is the 1200 399 departure, and Tuesday and Friday at least the last service is the 1520 291. If an evening peak service is not to be provided, then are there better uses for the morning peak subsidy - maybe provision for South Killingholme or Kirmington villages, or Saturday daytime services in the Isle of Axholme? That brings me to the next anomaly - a tendered Saturday morning peak service from the Isle to Doncaster with no evening return, a tendered evening peak service from Scunthorpe to the Isle and return without an equivalent morning service, but no daytime provision. Would the subsidy not be better used for a Saturday daytime shopping service from the Isle to either Scunthorpe or Doncaster? 

Hornsby Changes and Withdrawals - Services 4, X4, 94 and C4

Finishing my look at Hornsby Travel services post the COVID-19 disruption of 2020, time to look at services 4, X4, 94 and C4 in the Brigg area.

The main service 4 between Scunthorpe, Ashby, Lakeside Retail Park, Broughton and Brigg remains hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes, though there has been some reductions in the early mornings and evenings, as well as a minor early afternoon improvement, compared to the pre COVID-19 timetable.

The 0430 and 0630 Monday to Friday direct journeys from the Hornsby depot in Ashby to Brigg no longer operate, whilst the Monday to Friday 0450 from Brigg to Foxhills Industrial Estate north of Scunthorpe starts at Lakeside Retail Park instead, with the first service from Brigg to Scunthorpe now at 0630 weekdays. The Monday to Friday 0640 and 0740 Lakeside Retail Park to Foxhills no longer operate, the former replaced by retiming the 0650 from Brigg to Foxhills to operate twenty minutes earlier; additionally the 0730 and 0830 from Scunthorpe to Brigg no longer start back at Foxhills Monday to Friday.

The Monday to Friday early afternoon Foxhills service has been separated from the main Scunthorpe to Brigg service, operating as Lakeside to Foxhills and return. This provides an extra service between Scunthorpe and Lakeside, and permits the 1230 from Brigg to serve Town Hill in Broughton, whilst the 1435 from Scunthorpe is retimed to 1430 and also now serves Town Hill. 

The Monday to Friday 1715 from Foxhills to Brigg now serves the main route via Town Hill in Broughton instead of Scawby, which is covered by diverting the 1700 X4 from Scunthorpe via the village. From Brigg the 1730 departure Monday to Saturday now runs through to Scunthorpe Bus Station rather than terminating at the Hornsby depot in Ashby.

The evening service has been removed almost entirely, though whether this will return when the evening economy opens up and hospital visiting becomes easier remains to be seen. As a result the last Scunthorpe to Brigg service is at 1830 Monday to Saturday rather than 2010 Saturday and 2225 Monday to Friday, whilst from Brigg the last service to Scunthorpe is at 1730 rather than 2050 Monday to Saturday, and to the Hornsby depot at 1910 Monday to Saturday rather than 2050 Saturday and 2305 Monday to Friday. The one evening service still provided is at 2215 Monday to Friday from Foxhills to the Hornsby depot, extending to Lakeside on request.

The Stagecoach operated Sunday service 4 has resumed it's pre COVID-19 timetable.

The faster Monday to Friday X4 has been reduced from hourly between Scunthorpe and Brigg to approximately every two hours, with all journeys routing via Scawby instead off just alternate services. East of Brigg all journeys continue to Wrawby and Barnetby Top before doing a loop via Melton Ross and Barnetby village back to Barnetby Top. The approximately two hourly frequency is maintained compared to pre COVID-19, but over a slightly shorter operating day, with the first Brigg arrival from Barnetby now at 0905 rather than 0755.

Humberside Airport and Kirmington have been removed from the X4 entirely; in combination with the withdrawal of the C4, Kirmington is left without a scheduled bus service, whilst in combination with the C4's withdrawal and the 250's rerouting, so is Humberside Airport. This change reduces the round trip time from Scunthorpe from 2 hours 25 minutes to 1 hour and 29 minutes, as a result of slack timing between Barnetby and Kirmington, and eliminating a 15 minute layover in Kirmington.

Pre COVID-19, when the X4 didn't operate through to Kirmington, it operated as a short Scunthorpe to Brigg service then operated as a through service to route 94. The shorts have gone, and so has the North Lincolnshire Council tendered service 94. Operating approximately every two hours, the 94 linked Brigg and Kirton in Lindsey Monday to Friday via Scawby, Hibaldstow and Redbourne and also incorporated the Kirton town service. There is no replacement for the 94 with most passengers needing to use the demand responsive JustGo service instead. Scawby does have the X4, so the 94's withdrawal here is unlikely to be hugely significant, but the only timetabled bus left for Hibaldstow and Redbourne, due to the C4 also being withdrawn, is the Thursday only Lincolnshire County Council tendered 161 to Brigg and Lakeside. The Nookings area of Hibaldstow is left unserved. Kirton retains the 103 between Scunthorpe and Lincoln.

As alluded to, the C4 has been withdrawn as well. The C4 was the North Lincolnshire Council tendered Saturday provision for the X4 route between Brigg and Kirmington and the 94 between Brigg and Redbourne, with four journeys to Kirmington and two to Redbourne, though some were effectively positioning journeys. The C4 was suspended last March, but did return between Barnetby, Brigg and Redbourne over the Summer. Barnetby, Wrawby (in combination with the 450's withdrawal) and Scawby (in combination with the evening 4's withdrawal) are now without a Saturday timetabled bus service, though Barnetby does have the train. The Saturday situation in these three villages is far from the biggest issue resulting from these changes, but maybe the easiest to fix - could the Brigg Town Service be amended to provide a limited Saturday service to some or all of these villages; the 91 Brigg Town Service did serve Wrawby for a number of years. 

In addition could the Brigg Town Service maybe also serve Hibaldstow, say on a Tuesday to avoid duplicating the 161? Currently Cadney and Howsham, population 459 in 2011, have a three day a week service on Brigg Town Service 92 whilst Hibaldstow, population 2433 has a one day a week service. I appreciate the 92 also serves Brigg Garden Centre but even still, provision feels a bit 'uneven' here.

Barton Town Service Update

When the 254 Barton Town Service returned from it's COVID-19 suspension in August, it did so with a new - and much better - timetable. The 254 is operated by Hornsby Travel under contract to North Lincolnshire Council and with some funding contributed by Barton Town Council. It operates every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

In May 2019 the service was significantly altered following the move of Barton Library from the town centre to Baysgarth Leisure Centre, with the resulting service being what I called a convoluted mess. It was slightly improved in December 2019 and also revised to include Lidl.

Now the 254 is operating an almost consistent circuit of Barton on every journey. Every service leaves Tesco and operates direct to the Market Place and Barrow Road before serving the Caistor Road Estate via Meadow Drive, Caistor Road, Eastfield Road (turn round at the end) and Caistor Road. The service then routes via Preston Lane and Brigg Road to the Leisure Centre, before double backing down Brigg Road to Holydyke and then turns onto Bowmandale. From Bowmandale the route goes via Millfields and Forkedale to Lidl, then via Warrendale, Tofts Road, Ferriby Road, Holydyke, Market Place, Whitecross Street and Burgate to the High Street. All but two journeys then go to Tesco, but the other two serve Westfield Road and West Accridge en-route. Departures from Tesco are at 0915, 1015, 1115, 1230, 1315 and 1400 (to Baysgarth Leisure Centre only).

Is the new timetable and route perfect? No. The Caistor Road Estate to Tesco for example involves going via Baysgarth Leisure Centre, Lidl and the Town Centre. Westfield Road to the Market Place involves a 24 minute wait at Tesco. Tesco to Westfield Road requires a half hour tour of Barton en-route. The simplification has also slightly reduced the number of services in parts of the town, for example Westfield Road has two rather than three services per day.

However at least it's more simple. For example the December 2019 timetable had six services via Forkedale; the 0936 went via the Market Place and Westfield Road to Tesco, the 1017 via the Market Place to Tesco, the 1117 and 1317 via the Market Place, Caistor Road Estate, Leisure Centre, Market Place again and Westfield Road to Tesco, the 1232 via the Market Place, Caistor Road Estate, Leisure Centre and Market Place again to Tesco, but not Westfield Road, and the 1412 was a part route journey that went to the Market Place and Caistor Road Estate before terminating at the Leisure Centre. Now from Forkedale it's 0936, 1036, 1136, 1251 and 1336 to Tesco, the 0936 and 1136 via the Market Place and Westfield Road and the others via the Market Place but not Westfield Road. 

The timetable is trade off between offering a clockface service - provided in the morning - and making efficient use of the vehicle and driver - as done at lunchtime following the drivers break between 1151 and 1230. A roundtrip from Tesco has a journey time of 32 minutes excluding Westfield Road or 36 minutes including Westfield Road - too long for a half hourly service with one vehicle, not ideal for an hourly service (the morning timetable includes a 24 and a 28 minute layover at Tesco).

There are a couple of changes I think it would be worthwhile to make to this new route and timetable. Firstly between Caistor Road and the Leisure Centre, to serve the Market Place rather than Preston Lane; this would probably add a couple of minutes to the timetable, but would offer a direct service from the Caistor Road Estate to the Market Place, and from the Market Place to Bowmandale, Millfields, Forkedale, Warrendale and Tofts Road. If time needed to be made up, then the Leisure Centre could be served by double backing from the Bowmandale/Millfields roundabout, rather than double backing along Brigg Road which I doubt generates much custom. Secondly I would include Westfield Road on all journeys since it wouldn't prevent the 45 minute interval lunchtime frequency.

Service 35 Autumn Changes

Last December, North Lincolnshire Council tendered service 35 between Scunthorpe, Keadby and Amcotts - operated by Hornsby Travel - was revised to operate hourly from Scunthorpe Monday to Saturday daytimes. I can't recall if the service was suspended in the Spring due to COVID-19 or not, but over the Summer it was operating every two hours. 

In September a new timetable was introduced, restoring the hourly frequency between Scunthorpe and Keadby, but not extending to Amcotts on any journeys, and omitting Scunthorpe Hospital. In some respects this was a positive, omitting Scunthorpe Hospital saves three minutes outbound from Scunthorpe, and not serving Amcotts on some journeys enabled an even interval service in each direction. However it left Amcotts with the demand responsive JustGo North Lincs service as it's only off peak provision, and removed the link to Scunthorpe Hospital from parts of Keadby (other parts of the 35 route are also served by the 90 and 361 that do serve the Hospital).

October saw a partial 'u-turn' as Amcotts was restored to the timetable on four journeys in each direction (three on Saturdays), and as was the case pre COVID-19, it came at the expense of an even interval service from Keadby to Scunthorpe. I'd argue that loss is worth it though, as it provides an easy, and presumably cost effective, off peak timetabled service for Amcotts. 

Hornsby Service 9 Update

Hornsby Monday to Friday circular service 9 between Scunthorpe Bus Station and Scunthorpe Hospital is currently operating to a reduced peaktime timetable, compared to what was provided pre COVID-19. The 9 had operated every 20 minutes between 0700 and 0900 then half hourly until 1600 before resuming a 20 minute frequency until 1840 - however presently it is operating half hourly between 0800 and 1800.

Hornsby Travel: What's Operating Normally or Almost Normally

Whilst the Hornsby Travel network is substantially revised compared to their pre COVID-19 offering, some services are currently operating to their pre COVID-19 timetables:

• 13: Scunthorpe Town Service (College Days Only Service)
• 91: Brigg Town Service
• 92: Brigg-Howsham

Service 90 between Scunthorpe and Crowle is operating to it's pre COVID-19 timetable Monday to Friday, but is retimed by up to 15 minutes on Saturdays; additionally Saturday inbound journeys to Scunthorpe Bus Station that serve the Hospital now use Cliff Gardens as on weekdays, rather than Church Lane. 

Meanwhile Scunthorpe Town Service 12 is only slightly altered; journeys run 5 minutes later and the first service from Ashfield into Scunthorpe is not currently operating on Saturdays. 

Christmas and New Year Update - Deja Vu

Stagecoach have today updated their Christmas publicity and sadly it's a repeat of last year - Stagecoach not initially announcing all the exemptions to their Saturday service provision on the normal weekdays between Christmas and New Year. It is rather disappointing to see the same issues reoccur and doesn't help travellers plan or support patronage.

As a result of a revised Christmas pdf leaflet added to the Stagecoach website today, the 260 Barton Villager will run as normal on 29th/30th/31st December, and so will Scunthorpe service 10 on the 29th and 31st December - the latter service having been reinstated until the end of the year as per a VOSA registration last week, not that it's listed in the latest timetables section of the Stagecoach website. 

Historically a normal weekday service would be provided in North Lincolnshire on the normal weekdays between Christmas and New Year, and that is the provision offered by Hornsby Travel and that still seems to be attached to tendered service contracts. However in recent years Stagecoach have adopted a Saturday service for their commercial operations in line with other parts of their East Midlands region - not a big deal considering how little Stagecoach commercial Saturday and College Holiday timetables vary in the area. This disparity though between Stagecoach's commercial provision and their tendered service requirements is potentially what led to the initial incorrect publicity being issued. In contrast the initial Stagecoach Lincoln leaflet did manage to list all exemptions to the main Saturday service.

Christmas and New Year Bus Services 2020/2021

Below is my annual summary of Christmas and New Year bus services across the Humber Region. The following operators are included, but not their services outside the region:

• Arriva Yorkshire
• CallConnect
• East Yorkshire (including JustGo)
• First South Yorkshire
• First York
• Grayscroft Coaches
• Hornsby Travel
• Stagecoach 
• York Pullman

Please check exact details before travelling as I have only summarised here, or for any occasions were publicity is incorrect (it's happened before!). If you have any further information for other operators, or to correct any details listed here, please post a comment.

UPDATED 21/12/20 REGARDING SERVICES 10 AND 260.

Monday 21st December to Christmas Eve:

Normal services, except First South Yorkshire who will be operating a Saturday service. 

Christmas Eve:

Normal services, except for CallConnect and First South Yorkshire who will be operating a Saturday service. Services will finish at approximately 2000.

Christmas Day:

No services.

Boxing Day:

Daytime services will operate on selected routes in Hull and East Yorkshire. 

This year, as opposed to special timetables, Stagecoach have opted for a Sunday service between 0900 and 1800 on all 'local' routes within Hull, which results in a notable uplift in Boxing Day services:

• The 1 and 2A in West Hull go from hourly last year to half hourly this year.
• The 6 operates for the first time on Boxing Day, albeit in part serving as a replacement for the 10a.
• Sutton Park goes from one bus per hour last year on service 8 to three across services 2A and 8.
• North Branshome goes from an hourly 10a last year to a half hourly 2A and hourly 6 this year.
• The 12 goes from hourly last year, as the 12a, to half hourly this year.

The 11 drops from a half hourly 11a last year to hourly this year, but service 8 provides a second hourly frequency over part of the route.

East Yorkshire will be operating the following daytime services (same pattern as last year):

• 12: Bridlington-Scarborough - Every two hours
• 34: Hull-Willerby - Hourly
• 56: Hull-Asda Bilton - Hourly
• 63: Hull-Castle Hill Hospital - Hourly
• 66: Hull-Hessle - Hourly
• 75: Hull-Withernsea - Every two hours, with an extra morning journey to Hull and an extra afternoon journey from Hull.
• 104: Hull-Castle Hill Hospital - Hourly
• 121: Hull-Bridlington - Every two hours
• 154: Hull-Castle Hill Hospital - Hourly
• X46: Hull-York - Every two hours
• X47: Pocklington-York - Every two hours

Sunday 27th December:

Normal service.

Bank Holiday Monday 28th December:

Sunday service, except for First York who will provide a Saturday service with extra early morning journeys.

Tuesday 29th December:

Predominantly a Saturday service, with the following exceptions:

• Hornsby Travel will operate a normal Tuesday service.
• East Yorkshire services 88 (Goole-Rawcliffe Bridge) and 360/361 (Goole-Scunthorpe) will operate as normal, as will JustGo North Lincolnshire.
• Stagecoach services 10 (Ashby Parklands-Scunthorpe), 25 (Market Rasen-Grimsby) and 260 (Barton Villager) will operate as normal.
• York Pullman services 195 (Allerthorpe-Pocklington) and 199 (Huggate-Pocklington) will operate as normal.
• First York will operate extra early morning journeys.
• East Yorkshire service 143 (North Ferriby-Beverley) will not operate (it wouldn't normally operate on a Tuesday, but would on a Saturday).
• Grayscroft Coaches Tuesday service 28 (Sandilands-Grimsby) will not operate.
• East Yorkshire services 18/75/121/X47 Friday and Saturday only evening journeys will not operate (normal Tuesday evening journeys on the 75/121/X47 will however).

(Hunts Coaches usual Tuesday service to Grimsby is not operating due to COVID-19 restrictions).

Wednesday 30th December:

Predominantly a Saturday service, with the following exceptions:

• Hornsby Travel will operate a normal Wednesday service.
• East Yorkshire services 88 (Goole-Rawcliffe Bridge) and 360/361 (Goole-Scunthorpe) will operate as normal, as will JustGo North Lincolnshire.
• Stagecoach service 260 (Barton Villager) will operate as normal.
• First York will operate extra early morning journeys.
• East Yorkshire services 18/75/121/X47 Friday and Saturday only evening journeys will not operate (normal Wednesday evening journeys on the 75/121/X47 will however).

New Years Eve:

Predominately a Saturday service finishing at approximately 2000, with the following exceptions:

• Hornsby Travel will operate a normal Thursday service.
• East Yorkshire services 88 (Goole-Rawcliffe Bridge) and 360/361 (Goole-Scunthorpe) will operate as normal, as will JustGo North Lincolnshire.
• Stagecoach services 10 (Ashby Parklands-Ashby), 161 (Market Rasen-Lakeside) and 260 (Barton Villager) will operate as normal.
• York Pullman service 196 (Aughton-York) will operate as normal.
• First York will operate extra early morning journeys.
• East Yorkshire service 143 (North Ferriby-Beverley) will not operate (it wouldn't normally operate on a Thursday, but would on a Saturday).

New Years Day:

No services (train services will be operating however, in many instances to a normal Friday timetable apart from early morning services).

Saturday 2nd January:

Services return to normal.

Scunthorpe Town Service 6 remains on reduced frequency

Completing my review of Stagecoach services, and starting my review of Hornsby Travel services, Scunthorpe Town Service 6 between Scunthorpe Bus Station and Ashby has not yet returned to it's pre COVID-19 frequency. Rather than each operator operating every 20 minutes for a combined 10 minute frequency Monday to Saturday daytimes, each operator currently provides a half hourly service on the route, for a combined 15 minute frequency.

Scunthorpe 1 Reduced and 2 Dropped

The biggest COVID-19 impact to Stagecoach's network in Scunthorpe has been to town circular routes 1 and 2, the latter of which has been dropped entirely.

Starting with service 1 and it is currently operating every half hour in each direction Monday to Saturday daytimes, down from every 20 minutes in each direction pre-COVID-19. Additionally it now serves Lakeside Retail Park and Bellingham Road, replacing service 2. The change increases journey times on the 1 by 5 minutes in each direction, but the link to Lakeside Retail Park may well be useful for some, and Bellingham Road benefits significantly. It goes from being served by an hourly circular in each direction Monday to Saturday daytimes with no morning peak service, to a half hourly circular in each direction Monday to Saturday daytimes, including a morning peak service (though it is not served by the first two morning anti-clockwise journeys, which also omit Lakeside); unlike the 2, the 1 also provides links to Gallagher Retail Park on the other side of Scunthorpe, and indirectly a service to Scunthorpe Hospital. So some positives despite the 1's frequency cut - I guess time will tell if the reduced frequency is permanent or not

Now to the 2, which had operated hourly in each direction Monday to Saturday daytimes. Going anti-clockwise, the 2 operated from the Bus Station via Ashby Road, West Common Lane, Scotter Road, Lichfield Avenue, Bridges Road, Manor Farm Road, Willoughby Road, Manby Road, Quebec Road, Moorwell Road, High Leys Road, Enderby Road, Willoughby Road, Chancel Road, Bottesford Road, Ashby High Street, Fulbeck Road, Queensway, Lakeside Retail Park, Bellingham Road, Queensway, Ashby Road and Station Road back to Scunthorpe Bus Station.

The western section of the route between Scunthorpe Bus Station and High Leys Road/Ogilvy Road is also covered by service 3, as is Chancel Road between Cambridge Avenue and Bottesford Lane, so here the overall service falls from a half hourly circular in each direction over services 2 and 3 to an hourly circular in each direction on service 3 only - a significant drop, but could be worse, examples coming up! Quebec Road, Moorwell Road and parts of High Leys Road now join Cemetery Road in Brumby with having double the number of services on a Sunday daytime with service 1A, compared to the Monday to Saturday daytime provision. Talking of the 1A, this evening and Sunday service is now the only service for most of High Leys Road and parts of Enderby Road, joining parts of Burringham Road, Manor Road and East Common Lane with this 'distinction'. Chancel Road between Messingham Road and Cambridge Avenue now only has the 1A and early morning 11, whilst Willoughby Road between Enderby Road and Messingham Road is left only with the early morning 11. Bottesford Road retains the 3 and 4 Monday to Saturday daytimes, but Fulbeck Road is left unserved, whilst Station Road is now only served by college services, early morning service 11, weekday services 360 and 361 from, but not to, Scunthorpe Bus Station and one morning extension of the 350 to Scunthorpe Station.

Scunthorpe Service 10 Withdrawn

In October, North Lincolnshire Council tendered service 10, operated by Stagecoach, was withdrawn (I can't recall for sure but I think 9th October was the last day of operation). The 10 operated on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, with differences each day; on a Tuesday the 10 linked Ashby Parklands, Glover Road and Brumby Wood Lane to Scunthorpe Bus Station, on a Thursday it linked these areas to Ashby High Street and on a Friday it provided a link to Scunthorpe Bus Station again, but also served Burringham. On each day one morning trip to Scunthorpe or Ashby was provided along with a lunchtime roundtrip from either Scunthorpe or Ashby.

As a result Burringham, Ashby Parklands and Brumby Wood Lane no longer have a scheduled bus service, whilst Glover Road is only served by college services. The JustGo demand responsive service provides an alternative for Burringham and Ashby Parklands, but cannot be used for journeys within the Scunthorpe Urban area, so is not an option for Glover Road or Brumby Wood Lane to the centre's of either Scunthorpe or Ashby. For some on Glover Road the 3 on West Common Lane would be an alternative option to use.