u5 cutback

Back on Sunday 28th April, Stagecoach made some revisions to service 5 and associated Monday to Saturday evening only variation u5 between Hull City Centre, Orchard Park and Kingswood. Mostly these were fairly small timing changes, but the evening service Monday to Saturday has seen bigger changes.

The u5 has been cutback in two ways; firstly the extensions to/from Hull Old Town (Market Place) are withdrawn (although the solitary service 5 that starts from the Market Place at 2320 remains), with the u5 using Paragon Interchange as it's City Centre starting point and terminus instead. Secondly the Saturday late evening service has been withdrawn, and therefore as on weekdays the u5 only operates in the early evening. The 5 and u5 have 'swapped' departure times from Kingswood Monday to Saturday, meaning the u5 now operates between 1830 and 2030 from Kingswood Retail Park and from Paragon Interchange between 1910 and 2040. As a result of the late evening u5 withdrawal, the Saturday 5/u5 combined frequency drops from every 15 minutes to half hourly from 2045 leaving Kingswood Retail Park and from 2055 leaving Paragon Interchange. Following the 5/u5 swapping departure times the last service 5 from Kingswood Retail Park is now at 2315 rather than 2300 Monday to Friday, but on Saturdays is now at 2315 rather than 2330.

Evolving in Kingswood

Stagecoach are making changes to their services in the growing Kingswood estate in North Hull from next Sunday, 28th April.

Monday to Saturday daytimes the main services to the residential parts of Kingswood are currently the 6 and 9/9a, which operate as 'cross Kingswood' circulars. Each service operates half hourly. The 6 operates a direct service from Paragon Interchange via Beverley Road and Kingswood Leisure and Retail Parks to Kingswood Health Centre, whilst the 9/9a runs from Paragon Interchange via Garden Village, Leads Road, Bransholme North Point Shopping Centre, Honiton Road, Wawne Road and Kingsbury Way to Kingswood Health Centre.

With the revised network, the 6 continues to operate half hourly as a 'cross Kingswood' circular, but now 'partnered' with service 7 instead. The 6 continues to operate to Kingswood Health Centre then picks up the current 9/9a route via Grosvenor Road and Richmond Lane before using the new Pioneer Way to Wawne Road, which becomes the official terminus for service 6. Half hourly service 7 currently operates between Paragon Interchange and Kingswood Retail Park via Beverley Road, Sutton Park, North Point, Bude Road and Bodmin Road, but after Bodmin Road with the network revision will instead run to Wawne Road/Pioneer Way via Pennine Way in North Bransholme; it continues to operate every half hour. This provides new links from North Bransholme to Kingswood and Beverley Road, but does extend journey times between Sutton Park and Kingswood Retail Park (Bodmin Road has the 11 for direct journeys).

Service 9/9a becomes a 'stand-alone' service (from a customer point of view at least). It will no longer serve Grosvenor Road - replaced by the 6 and saving a minute of journey time - and extends from Kingswood Health Centre to Kingswood Retail Park covering the loss of the through link currently provided by operating as a circular with service 6. Otherwise it remains half hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes. This change removes two buses an hour from Kingsbury Way to Hull City Centre, and the links to both Kingswood Leisure Park and Beverley Road that are provided by the 'circular' working with service 6. However overall the changes provide an extra two services per hour from Runnymede Way, Runnymede Lane (both between Kingswood Retail Park and Health Centre), Kingswood Health Centre and Richmond Lane to both Hull City Centre and North Point, in addition to providing services along the new Pioneer Way whilst still serving Kingsbury Way.

Evenings and Sundays, service 8a currently serves most residential areas of Kingswood. It operates from Paragon Interchange via Beverley Road, Sutton Park, North Point, Honiton Road, Wawne Road, Kingsbury Way, Richmond Lane, Grosvenor Road and Kingswood Health Centre to Kingswood Retail Park; the frequency is half hourly Monday to Saturday evenings and Sunday daytimes, reducing to hourly on Sunday evenings.

Service 7a takes over most of this function from Sunday, operating at the same frequency as the 8a, and following the entirety of the main service 7 route from Paragon Interchange to Wawne Road/Pioneer Way before routing via the service 6 route to terminate at Kingwood Retail Park. I'm not sure why the 'a' suffix is needed for a route extension (as opposed to an en-route variation)? Compared to the 8a, Honiton Road and the section of Wawne Road between Honiton Road and the northern end of Noddle Hill Way become unserved evening and Sundays, as the 7a will be following the main service 7 route via Bodmin Road (though the 7a, unlike the 7, has no Bodmin Road timing point). The 7a will also omit Kingsbury Way in order to serve Pioneer Way, but this will be covered by the 10a instead. One advantage of the 7a over the 8a is the provision of evening and Sunday links from North Bransholme to Beverley Road.

Service 10a presently operates evenings and Sundays as a minor diversion to the main service 10 route between Paragon Interchange, North Point, Bodmin Road, North Bransholme and on some journeys Wawne Village, to serve Kingswood Retail Park. However from Sunday the 10a variation will run between Kingswood Retail Park and North Bransholme via Runnymede Way, Runnymede Lane, Richmond Lane (but not Kingswood Health Centre) and Kingsbury Way. The frequency between Paragon Interchange and North Bransholme remains half hourly Monday to Saturday evenings and Sunday daytimes, reducing to hourly on Sunday evenings; Sunday daytimes hourly services extend to Wawne, as do daily late evening services. The 10a's route change doubles evening and Sunday provision for Runnymede Lane and Richmond Lane.

On the main service 10, weekday peak frequencies reduce inbound to Hull City Centre on weekday mornings from 'frequent intervals' to every 15 minutes, and outbound late afternoon from every 12 to every 15 minutes. The first two Saturday morning departures from North Bransholme gain the weekday early morning diversion via Hull Royal Infirmary and Smith & Nephew.

Replacing the 13

On Sunday 28th April, Stagecoach are revising many of their Hull services, and the changes include the withdrawal of service 13 between Hull Paragon Interchange, Holderness Road, Saltshouse Road, Spring Cottage, Bransholme North Point Shopping Centre, Sutton Park and Orchard Park. The service operates daily daytimes half hourly between Paragon Interchange and North Point, extending to Orchard Park Monday to Friday only. Monday to Saturday hourly off peak services operate as service 13a, serving the eastern part of Howdale Road as opposed to Dunvegan Road on the main 13 route in Spring Cottage, and also Kestrel Avenue and Noddle Hill Way instead off the westernmost part of Howdale Road. 

Monday to Saturday at least though withdrawal is only technically true. Between Paragon Interchange and North Point the 13 and 13a are replaced by the 8 and 8a, and between North Point and Orchard Park service 3 provides a replacement, but with reduced operating hours.

Service 8 currently principally operates between Paragon Interchange and North Point via Beverley Road and Sutton Park half hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes, serving as 'short' workings of the 7 between Paragon Interchange and Kingswood Retail Park. Occasional journeys from North Point start on Wawne Road or in Kingswood, and these extensions will be covered by service 7 from next Sunday. Revised service 8 continues to operate half hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes between Paragon Interchange, Beverley Road, Sutton Park and North Point, and continues to provides a 15 minute frequency over this section along with service 7. The morning peak variation 8x continues as well, via Clough Road and Sutton Fields Industrial Estate, as does the diversion of the first four weekday inbound services from North Point (0455, 0525, 0555 and 0625 departures) via Hull Royal Infirmary and Smith & Nephew - this is now extended to cover the first two Saturday inbound services as well (0555 and 0625 from North Point).

The major change to the 8 however is that it will operate as a circular - at North Point most services will continue to or start from Paragon Interchange via the old service 13 route, creating through links between Beverley Road and Spring Cottage, Saltshouse Road and Holderness Road, as well as new Saturday through services from Sutton Park to these areas. The 'a' variation remains in East Hull, but between Kestrel Avenue and North Point will now route via Biggin Avenue, currently unserved, rather than the section of Wawne Road between the southern end of Noddle Hill Way and Barnstaple Road, which now becomes unserved Monday to Saturday daytime. The first departure from North Point via Salthouse Road Monday to Friday will be at 0707 compared to 0732 on the 13, but the last departure at 1737 as opposed to 1800. The last 'a' variation departure from Paragon Interchange will be at 1400 Monday to Saturday as opposed to 1455 on the 13a, and from North Point at 1437 as opposed to 1530 Monday to Friday with the 13a. On college days one morning service from North Point to Paragon Interchange via Saltshouse Road is dropped, as is one afternoon complete anti-clockwise circular from Paragon Interchange via Saltshouse Road and North Point, but these are largely covered by Wilberforce College service 83.

On service 3, which Monday to Friday daytimes operates every 10 minutes between Greatfield, Paragon Interchange and Orchard Park, two services per hour will omit Orchard Park Tesco in order to extend to North Point via the service 13 route along Ellerburn Avenue, Greenwood Avenue, Sutton Road, Sutton Park and Cheltenham Avenue. This change removes the link from North Point and Sutton Park to Orchard Park Tesco, which the 13 currently uses as it’s Orchard Park terminus, and also the through link from Orchard Park to Spring Cottage and Saltshouse Road. At present departures from North Point to Orchard Park on the 13 are provided between 0747 and 1751, and from Orchard Park to North Point between 0710 and 1738, but on service 3 this will be limited to departures from North Point between 1015 and 1515, and from Orchard Park at 0709 and then between 0939 and 1439, a significant reduction in service. Alternatives involve changing either at Kingswood Retail Park or on Beverley Road.

Elsewhere on service 3 there are Monday to Friday early morning enhancements with a new 0430 from Greatfield to Paragon Interchange, first service currently 0500, and a new 0645 from Paragon Interchange to Orchard Park and North Point, filling a gap in departures from Paragon Interchange to Orchard Park between 0630 and 0700. There is a new 1830 from Greatfield to Paragon Interchange Monday to Saturday, filling a gap between 1815 and 1845. Evening variation 3a now starts with the 1830 rather than 1800 from Orchard Park Monday to Saturday, which is logical as the 1800 largely duplicated the penultimate departure from Paragon Interchange on service 14, which the 3a variation otherwise replaces in the evening.

Returning to replacing service 13, and the Sunday replacement is a diversion to service 11 between Paragon Interchange, North Point and Kingswood, the new 11a. At present the Sunday daytime 13 combines with the 11 to provide four services per hour, fairly well spaced, between Paragon Interchange, Spring Cottage and North Point. This is reduced to just the 11a every half hour with this service revision, which sees a diversion away from the eastern part of Bellfield Avenue to cover Saltshouse Road, and then serve otherwise unserved Middlesex Road. The positive from the 11a is that it will also operate daily evenings, providing a new evening service for Salthouse Road and Middlesex Road.

The only other notable change to service 11 are that like the 8, the first two inbound Saturday services from North Point will follow the diversion via Hull Royal Infirmary and Smith & Nephew. Compared to the old service 11 evening provision, the Monday to Friday 11a will have an extra departure from Kingswood at 2305, whilst the penultimate Monday to Saturday departure from Paragon Interchange at 11a will not serve Lowgate in Hull Old Town as the 11 2300 does, but the 2330 departure will continue to do so.

Hawthorn Avenue in Hull regains a bus service

From Tuesday 23rd April, East Yorkshire service 51 in West Hull, which routes between the Paragon Interchange in Hull City Centre and Sibelius Road, will have a route and timetable change. The 51 is operated under contract to Hull City Council, and operates every 90 minutes Monday to Saturday daytime.

Between Hessle Road and Fiveways the 51 is being re-routed via Hawthorn Avenue and Boothferry Road, as opposed to Askew Avenue. Askew Avenue is also served by the Priory Park Park and Ride operating limited stop into Hull City Centre every 15 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes, reducing to half hourly in the peaks. Since the re-routing of the Park and Ride via Askew Avenue in 2017, the 51 hasn't been needed for travel from Askew Avenue into Hull City Centre or to Hull Royal Infirmary. On the other hand Hawthorn Avenue has been without a service since the 1D was withdrawn in October 2016, so the 51 is a welcome reinstatement of bus services for the road.

The timetable change are fairly minor, partially reflecting the new route is slightly longer and also revising the peak-time timetable. Most notably the Monday to Friday morning peak service from Sibelius Road will depart at 0755 rather than 0805, and the last bus Monday to Saturday from Paragon Interchange will be at 1750 rather than 1735

Route Change in Beverley's Swinemoor Estate

After Easter there will be changes to the route of East Yorkshire's Beverley Town Services 520 and 521 in the Swinemoor Estate. From Tuesday 23rd April between Burden Road and Sigston Road the services will use Springfield Drive rather than Wickwane Road. As a result less of Burden Road and more of Sigston Road will be served. The 520 and 521 are hourly Monday to Saturday one way circular services, combining to operate half hourly over part of their routes, including this section.

Stagecoach 99 Hull to Bridlington

As expected, Stagecoach have won the Bridlington Park and Ride contract; they have a five year deal (2019 to 2023 inclusive) with East Riding of Yorkshire Council to provide the service, which operates for 2019 between 6th April and 3rd November.

At the same time, Stagecoach are introducing service 99 between Hull and Bridlington. The service operates direct between Hull Paragon Interchange and Bridlington via the A165, serving stops along Holderness Road, and in the villages of Skirlaugh and Beeford en-route. In Bridlington the Park and Ride site is served before most services run into Bridlington Bus Station. The 99 operates on the same dates as the Bridlington Park and Ride and has between three and five journeys each way, leaving Hull Interchange at 0745, 0815 (certain dates only) 0945, 1045 and 1645 (certain dates only), and returning from Bridlington at 1315, 1715 and 1845 from the Bus Station, plus 1825 and 2110 from the Park and Ride site on certain dates only.

The 99 would appear to be vehicle and driver positioning/changeover journeys run in service, with a little bit of extra mileage to serve Paragon Interchange and Bridlington Bus Station than would otherwise be needed if run out of service, or in service by the most direct route possible. However despite the apparent reason for it's existence being 'logistical', the 99 may still be off use to Bridlington daytrippers and for that reason it makes sense for Stagecoach to try what they are doing with the 99. It will provide some competition for East Yorkshire's 121 between Hull and Bridlington, although both services use entirely different routes between Paragon Interchange and Bridlington, and also for East Yorkshire's tendered 136 between Beeford and Bridlington.

Humber Flyer/250

I don't post many VOSA registrations these days, but here is a rare exception - a variation to the HF2, the section of Stagecoach's Humber Flyer between Hull, Barton and Humberside Airport:

Registration number: PB0001484/262                                

Licence Number: PB0001484                                
Variation number: 9                                
Status: Registered                                
Service number: HU_HF2, 250                                
Service type: Normal Stopping                                
Start point: Hull Interchange                                
Finish point: Humberside Airport                                
Via:
Date received: 16 Mar 2019                                
Effective date: 28 Apr 2019                                
End date:
Supported by subsidies?: No                                
Local authorities covered by route: East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Kingston upon Hull, North Lincolnshire Council                                
TAOs covered by route: North East of England

Note the service number now includes the 250. The 250 hasn't run for a few years, but was used for much of the 2000's and early 2010's for Barton to Grimsby services via Barrow, Thornton Curtis, Wootton, Ulceby and Immingham. Currently the 'corridor' is served by the subsidised 450 between Barton and Immingham. Last year North Lincolnshire Council wanted to divert the Humber Flyer to include Barrow, Thornton Curtis, Wootton and Ulceby. Then more recently North Lincolnshire Council have proposed cutting the service to Thornton Curtis, Wootton and Ulceby to two days a week.

Maybe I'm putting two and two together and getting five, but is there going to be some sort of integration between the Humber Flyer and the Barton to Ulceby 'corridor'? There doesn't seem to be a long term future for the 450 between Barton and Immingham at the moment, in it's current form at least.

East Yorkshire

Back in June EYMS was sold to Go Ahead and last week announced branding changes, including a new livery, as well as it's fleet investment plans. As part of the branding change, EYMS will be known instead simply as 'East Yorkshire'.

Going forward the label used on this blog will therefore be 'East Yorkshire (Buses)' rather than 'EYMS'. I've added (Buses) on the end to help avoid confusion with the county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, which is sometimes referred to as East Yorkshire.

Goole Town Service Changes

The EYMS operated off peak Goole Town Services 1, 2 and 3 are revised from Monday 4th March to serve the town's Lidl store. The 1, 2 and 3 operate Monday to Saturday under contract to East Riding of Yorkshire Council. Only service 3 will serve Lidl, but the 1, 2 and 3 operate as three interworked services to permit through travel to different parts of the town, for example from Old Goole to the Hospital, or the Fairfield Estate to Lidl, and to accommodate the change all three services drop from every 40 minutes to every 45 minutes.

Service 3 - a clockwise loop around the west and north of Goole - currently splits after leaving Goole Town Centre, with half of journeys operating via Dunhill Road, Grange Road, Kent Road, Newport Street and Clifton Gardens to Oxford Street, while the other half operate via the majority of Boothferry Road, Grosvenor Avenue and Centenary Road to Oxford Road. From Oxford Road all services route via Ilkeston Avenue, Woodfield Road, Goole Hospital, Newclose Lane, Thorntree Lane, Ivy Park Road, Thorntree Lane, Buttermere Road and Pasture Road back into Goole Town Centre.

With next month's changes, all journeys on service 3 will operate via Dunhill Road and Grange Road before routing to Lidl via Anderson Road and then serving Rawcliffe Road. Here a small divergence between alternate journeys remains, will some serving a small part of Boothferry Road and Clifton Gardens, and others Grosvenor Avenue and Centenary Road. The remainder of the route from Oxford Road back into Goole Town Centre is unchanged. Newport Street and part of Kent Road are left unserved, but are fairly close to Boothferry Road, Dunhill Road and Grange Road.

The Monday to Friday peaktime Goole Town Services 4 and 5 are unaffected.

Stagecoach win Bridlington Park and Ride?

Going by the below two VOSA registrations, it would appear that Stagecoach have won the Bridlington Park and Ride contract, and will also be starting a Hull to Bridlington service.

PB0001484/398 Registered
LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR COMPANY LIMITED

Route: Hull Interchange to Bridlington Park and Ride
Service number: HU_99 (99)
Service type: Normal Stopping
Effective date: 06 Apr 2019

PB0001484/397 Registered

LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR COMPANY LIMITED

Route: Bridlington Park and Ride to Bridlington Park and Ride
Service number: HU_88 (88, 99)
Service type: Normal Stopping
Effective date: 06 Apr 2019

Yesterday, EYMS deregistered their Bridlington Park and Ride service


PB0000328/526 Cancelled
EAST YORKSHIRE MOTOR SERVICES LIMITED

Route: Bridlington Park and Ride Site to Town Centre via East Riding Leisure
Service number: BPR (BPR)
Service type: Normal Stopping
Effective date: 06 Apr 2019

North Lincolnshire Council looking to cutback 260 and 450 services

This week Barton Town Council published minutes of it's January 2nd meeting, which contained the following disappointing and concerning item under the heading "correspondence received since issue of the agenda":

"Information from North Lincolnshire Council Public Transport about making savings on the 450 bus service by making changes to the 450 service and looking to incorporating the 260 to help serve some of the villages. The 450 would operate from Barrow to Barton and Brigg via the Low Villages. The 260 at present operates 4 days to Goxhill and New Holland and 1 day to East Halton. They are looking at changing this to 3 days operating to Goxhill and New Holland and 2 days serving Thornton Curtis, Wootton and Ulceby and also East Halton and South Killingholme. A proposed timetable has been forwarded. Any suggestions are welcomed by early in the New Year. "

To expand on and slightly correct the current arrangements stated above, service 260 'The Villager' links the villages of Goxhill, New Holland and Barrow with Barton, as well as East Halton on a Thursday only; the Thursday timetable also includes a service from Victoria House in Barton to the town's Tesco supermarket. Monday to Friday the service is operated by Stagecoach, operating off peak approximately every 60-90 minutes using one vehicle, and is interworked with a schools service from the Caistor Road Estate in Barton to St Peter's Primary School. On Saturday's a single 'timetabled' journey in each direction is provided between Goxhill and Barton by the CallConnect bus.

Service 450 operates between Immingham County Hotel, South Killingholme, Ulceby, Wootton, Thornton Curtis, Barrow, Barton, South Ferriby, Horkstow, Saxby, Bonby, Worlaby, Elsham, Wrawby and Brigg. The route is operated by Stagecoach with four journeys in each direction, albeit on schooldays one service from Brigg terminates at Barton and another is diverted after Barrow to Goxhill. The service requires two vehicles, and I think is interworked with the 552 South Killingholme to Barton Baysgarth School schools service. The 450 itself provides a schools service to Brigg for out of catchment area students.

The exact proposed new timetable has not been included in the Barton Town Council minutes, but would clearly involve cutbacks overall, with the possible exception of East Halton and North Killingholme (located between East Halton and South Killingholme and currently only served by the 552 and CallConnect). It would seem no community will be left unserved however. I presume the intention would be to reduce from a requirement for three vehicles on weekdays to two, at least in school holidays. Unless operated as circular, serving Wootton/Ulceby on one hand, and East Halton on the other, would not be possible without a trip via some very minor roads, but serving all four communities could be done by operating between Barrow and South Killingholme via Wootton/Ulceby in one direction and East Halton in the other.

It's not clear what is proposed for Saturdays. The minutes refer to serving some communities three days a week and others two, implying five day a week services, yet every village east of Barton apart from East Halton and North Killingholme currently has a Saturday bus service. It maybe that the Saturday 260 service isn't being considered as it's operated as part of the CallConnect contract, but that doesn't explain if the plan is to replace/continue the Saturday 450, or not.

In response, Barton Town Council resolved "that a letter be sent to North Lincolnshire Council with the town council’s concerns that the local bus services are to be reduced. As the town council currently support the town bus and it was noted that better information needs to be sought regarding the Call Connect service, the Clerk to invite the Public Transport Development Officer to a forthcoming meeting of the town council to further explain the service".

It is good to see Barton Town Council agree to respond with their concerns to North Lincolnshire Council. Barton Town Council currently contribute towards the 254 Barton Town Service and also fund a schools service within the town from the Caistor Road Estate to Castledyke Primary School. The remainder of the funding for the 254 comes from North Lincolnshire Council but there is no indication that is under threat. Older Barton Town Council minutes indicate that changes may be made to the 254 when Barton Library and Local Link relocates from the town centre to the Baysgarth Leisure Centre later this year.

Some Improvement for South Killingholme

Tomorrow - Monday 21st January - a new 'fixed'/timetabled CallConnect service is being introduced between South Killingholme and Immingham County Hotel, operating Monday to Friday peaktimes. CallConnect is operated by Hornsby Travel on behalf of North Lincolnshire Council. South Killingholme was served by Stagecoach service 5 Monday to Saturday daytimes until earlier this month, providing a service every 20 minutes to Immingham and Grimsby, the places residents of South Killingholme tend to 'look towards' for shops and services. Since then it has been left with the 450 - which doesn't serve Immingham Town Centre or Grimsby - and demand responsive CallConnect services.

On the new timetabled CallConnect service there will be one departure each way, leaving South Killinghome at 0715, arriving at County Hotel at 0725 to connect onto the 0737 service 5 into Grimsby which arrives at 0814, and a return from County Hotel at 1800 which connects out of the 1710 service 5 from Grimsby to County Hotel (arrives at 1745). This reinstates a timetabled service for South Killingholme to Grimsby commuters and students, albeit with a change en-route at County Hotel; the evening service may also be off use for afternoon Grimsby shoppers who can travel into Grimsby using a combination of the 450 and 5 services earlier in the day.

As a quick way to improve the situation for South Killingholme, this new timetabled service is logical. However it does mean the demand responsive CallConnect bus will not be available when it is needed on this fixed service, which isn't ideal. In addition there is still no timetabled link from South Killingholme to Immingham Town Centre - as I posted a couple of weeks ago the 450 could be amended to provide this - and no South Killingholme to Grimsby through service. Arguably more still to be done to replace the 5 in South Killingholme.

Stagecoach 5 and 6 Changes

Today, Sunday 6th January, Stagecoach have revised services 5 and 6 in North East Lincolnshire. Service 5 provides the link between Grimsby and Immingham, whilst service 6 is the main bus into Grimsby from the Wybers Wood Estate.

Until yesterday service 5 routed out of Grimsby via Cromwell Road, Yarborough Road and the full length of Great Coates Road, before serving the edges of Healing and Stallingborough villages on the B1210 prior to arriving in Immingham. In Immingham most Monday to Saturday early morning and daytime journeys had extended to South Killingholme via the oil refineries, with some journeys serving Kiln Lane Industrial Estate, Immingham MIC Plant and the Western Entrance to Immingham Docks at peak times. One peak time journey started in, and two finished in, Habrough village. Monday to Saturday daytimes service 5 operated every 20 minutes, increasing to every 15 minutes at peak times; the first three early morning journeys started in Humberston, operating via Cleethorpes Pier and Riby Square to pick up the main route in Grimsby. Sunday daytimes saw an hourly service between Cleethorpes Pier, Grimsby and Immingham, routing via Grimsby Auditorium/Leisure Centre and The Willows Estate, but not the 'loop' part of Cromwell Road that service 6 uses on The Willows, as opposed than Yarborough Road and the western part of Great Coates Road. Finally the hourly daily evening service followed the same route as on Sunday daytimes, but starting at North Sea Lane terminus, and also serving Wybers Wood Top.

With today's service change, almost all journeys on service 5 will route via The Willows, instead of Yarborough Road and the western part of Great Coates Road. Yarborough Road is also served by service 4, while the western part of Great Coates Road is partly bordered by Grimsby Golf Course and a nature reserve. Routing via The Willows provides Monday to Saturday daytime access to Grimsby Auditorium/Leisure Centre from the service 5 route. All early morning/daytime journeys will serve the Cromwell Road 'loop' within The Willows, with evening services continuing to omit it.

The other big change is that apart from on weekday peaktimes, the 5 will no longer extend past Immingham County Hotel terminus, and the oil refineries, South Killingholme and Habrough are no longer served by service 5. This removes the bus as a commuting option from Grimsby to the oil refineries, and leaves Habrough with the train for public transport (which does include peak time services to Grimsby, replacing what the 5 offered).

Perhaps the most significant loss however is for South Killingholme. South Killingholme maybe in North Lincolnshire, but looks towards Immingham and Grimsby in North East Lincolnshire for shops/services etc. It's not left isolated as the 450 continues to provide a limited Monday to Saturday bus service, but the 450 isn't ideal - it's geared towards travel to Barton, and if you don't mind a journey of over an hour, also serves Brigg. The 450 does run to Immingham too, but only to County Hotel, not the town centre, and has a first arrival at County Hotel off 1100, with a last departure at 1340. Connections to Grimsby on the 5 exist, but offer little time in the town. South Killingholme is also covered by the demand responsive CallConnect, which I think does offer travel to Immingham.

A seemingly easy option to partially address this would be to re-route the 450 via Habrough Church and Immingham Town Centre between South Killingholme and County Hotel. If necessary the 450 could be amended in Barton to save time, and only serve the Market Place once in each direction as opposed to twice in each direction in the current timetable - a legacy from when Barton-Brigg and Barton-Immingham-Grimsby used to be separate services. South Killingholme doesn't need a service every 20 minutes, and probably has only had one because of it's proximity to employment and potential (Able UK) employment sites, it may not even need an hourly service, but I don't think the 450 with it's current timetable and route is sufficient.

The 5m variation to Kiln Lane/MIC Plant as service 5m continues Monday to Friday, but not on Saturdays. Four morning and five afternoon services are provided from Grimsby, with three morning and six afternoon returns from Kiln Lane/MIC Plant - this compares to six morning and two afternoon journeys previously being provided from Grimsby, along with three afternoon returns.

The 'core' Monday to Saturday daytime frequency remains every 20 minutes, including at peak times where a 15 minute frequency had previously been provided. Early morning journeys from Humberston remain, at 0435 (0440 Sat), 0540 and 0640 compared to 0445, 0515 and 0545 previously. The first service from Immingham is now at 0550 rather than 0620, and the first three morning services from Immingham operate via Wybers Wood Estate as service 5w, covering for service 6 now starting later. Early morning services from Grimsby continue to operate via Yarborough Road, as service 5 or 5m, and so do two further morning journeys from Grimsby, and two mid afternoon journeys from Immingham as service 5s - going by the 's' suffix and the times, I presume this is linked to Healing School traffic. Evening and Sundays remain hourly, starting at North Sea Lane in the evening, and at Cleethorpes Pier on Sunday daytimes.

Service 6 continues to link the Wybers Wood Estate and Grimsby Town Centre via The Willows, but has two main changes. The 6 no longer continues beyond Riverhead Exchange to Asda, and the Monday to Saturday daytime service is cut from every 15 minutes to every 20 minutes. Co-ordination with the re-routed service 5 however provides an improved service to The Willows of every 10 minutes. The hourly Sunday daytime service 6 remains, with fairly good co-ordination with service 5 into Grimsby in the morning, and returning in the afternoon, but with abysmal co-ordination for the probably less used morning service from Grimsby and afternoon service from Wybers Wood. From Wybers Wood Top on Sunday afternoons there is a 3 minute gap followed by a 57 minute gap. This timetabling is what happens when trying to co-ordinate an Immingham to Cleethorpes and Wybers Wood to Grimsby service without having lots of driver layover time - and I guess it maybe this arrangement or the Sunday 6 becomes unviable?

Overall a rather mixed picture, and the negatives I'm sure not helped by the decline in Grimsby Town Centre and lack of progress with the Able UK development in Killingholme.

Interconnect 51 Afternoon Improvements

Starting on Monday 7th January, Stagecoach will revise the timetable of generally hourly Monday to Saturday Interconnect service 51 between Grimsby and Louth. The 51A Louth school service is also withdrawn at the same time.

In the morning, the 0855 departure from Louth moves to 0905, increasing the current 90 minute gap after the 0725 departure to 100 minutes.

With the new afternoon timetable, the 1440 departure from Grimsby will be replaced by 1410 and 1510 departures, which also eliminates the current 95 minute gap between 1440 and 1615. On schooldays the 1510 will not serve Grimsby Hospital grounds, but will serve Toll Bar School. In the reverse direction from Louth, the 1600 departure from the Bus Station on Saturdays and in School Holidays will depart instead at 1555, but is withdrawn on schooldays. There is a new 1630 departure from Louth however, Monday to Saturday; on Saturdays and in School Holidays this eliminates a 90 minute gap in departures from Louth. Overall one extra service from Grimsby, and one extra service from Louth on Saturdays and in School Holidays.

Interconnect 53 Timetable Change

Stagecoach will revise the timetable of Monday to Saturday Interconnect service 53 between Grimsby, Caistor, Market Rasen and Lincoln from Monday 7th January. The 1540 departure from Grimsby will now operate at 1610, and the final 1750 departure from Lincoln will also depart 30 minutes later, at 1820.

Stagecoach 25 to serve Market Rasen

From Tuesday 8th January, Stagecoach service 25 between Ludford and Grimsby will be extended to start/finish in Market Rasen. The route operates on Tuesday and Friday, providing a shopping link into Grimsby. As a result the service shall now leave Market Rasen at 0930, arriving into Grimsby at 1050, as opposed to 1025 currently, with the return departing Grimsby Riverhead Exchange slightly earlier at 1330 rather than 1340. In Ludford the service shall serve a new stop on Bain Rise, where the bus will turnaround, as opposed to existing stops by the Black Horse pub.

Market Rasen's main service to/from Grimsby is the Monday to Saturday 53. There is a 0942 departure from Market Rasen, arriving into Grimsby at 1037, so the morning 25 is unlikely to get much use for Market Rasen to Grimsby travel. In the return direction, the 1330 departure from Grimsby sits nicely in a gap in service 53 departures between 1240 and 1440. I presume though the Market Rasen extension is primarily to support schoolday interworking with a De Aston School service?

Christmas and New Year Bus Services 2018/2019

Below is the annual summary of Christmas and New Year bus services in the Humber region. Operators covered are:

• Arriva Yorkshire
• CallConnect services in North Lincolnshire
• EYMS
• First South Yorkshire
• First York
• Hornsby Travel
• Isle Coaches
• Stagecoach
• Transdev York

Services provided by these operators outside of the region are not covered in this post. If anyone has information for other operators, please post a comment and I will update this post. Please check exact details before travelling as this is only a summary.

Christmas Eve:

• A Saturday service with an early evening finish will be provided by First South Yorkshire, First York and Stagecoach
• Stagecoach 260 (Barton Villager) will operate a normal Monday service
• A normal Monday service with an early evening finish will be provided by Arriva Yorkshire, EYMS, Hornsby Travel (except CallConnect) and Isle Coaches.
• CallConnect's demand responsive service in North Lincolnshire will operate a Saturday service (between 8am an 6pm). The 'timetabled' weekday CallConnect 59 service between Wroot and Blaxton will not operate
• Transdev York evening service 10 to Stamford Bridge will not operate

Christmas Day:
No Services

Boxing Day:
Limited daytime services will operate on certain routes only in the Hull Area (the same provision as 2017 except for service 64 renumbered to service 63 following service changes earlier in the year):
 
EYMS:
34: Hull-Willerby - Hourly
56: Hull-Longhill-Asda Bilton - Hourly
63: Hull-Cottingham-Castle Hill Hospital - Hourly
66: Hull-Hessle - Hourly
115: Hull-Avenues-Cottingham-Castle Hill Hospital - Hourly (circular with 154)
154: Hull-Willerby-Castle Hill Hospital - Hourly (circular with 115)
Stagecoach:
1: Hull-Boothferry Estate - Hourly
2: Hull-Boothferry Estate - Hourly
3: Orchard Park-Hull-Greatfield - Half Hourly
4: Orchard Park-Hull-Bilton Grange - Hourly
5: Hull-Orchard Park-Kingswood - Half Hourly
8: Hull-Sutton Park-North Point - Hourly
10: Hull-North Point-North Bransholme - Hourly
11: Hull-North Point-Kingswood - Hourly
12: Hull-North Point - Hourly
13: Hull-North Point - Hourly
14: Hull-Greatfield - Hourly

Thursday 27th:

• A Saturday service will be provided by Arriva Yorkshire, EYMS, First South Yorkshire, First York, Stagecoach and Transdev York
• EYMS 360/361 (Goole-Scunthorpe) will operate a normal Thursday service
• EYMS service 63 will have an extra journey from Hull to Castle Hill Hospital at 0615, returning at 0702
• EYMS Saturday only service Nightbus 106 will not operate, nor will Monday, Wednesday and Saturday only service 143.
• EYMS Friday and Saturday evening only journeys on routes 18, 45, 46, 75, 121 and X47 shall not operate (i.e. a normal Thursday evening service will operate)
• Stagecoach 10 (Scunthorpe Town Service), 161 (Market Rasen-Brigg-Lakeside) and 260 (Barton Villager) will operate a normal Thursday service
• A normal Thursday service will be provided by Hornsby Travel (except CallConnect) and Isle Coaches
• CallConnect's demand responsive service in North Lincolnshire will operate a Saturday service (between 8am an 6pm). The 'timetabled' weekday CallConnect 59 service between Wroot and Blaxton will not operate

Friday 28th:

• A Saturday service will be provided by Arriva Yorkshire, EYMS, First South Yorkshire, First York, Stagecoach and Transdev York
• EYMS 88 (Rawcliffe Bridge-Goole), 197 (Pocklington Town Service) and 360/361 (Goole-Scunthorpe) will operate a normal Friday service
• EYMS service 63 will have an extra journey from Hull to Castle Hill Hospital at 0615, returning at 0702
• EYMS Saturday only service Nightbus 106 will not operate, nor will Monday, Wednesday and Saturday only service 143.
• Stagecoach 10 (Scunthorpe Town Service), 25 (Ludford-Grimsby) and 260 (Barton Villager) will operate a normal Friday service
• A normal Friday service will be provided by Hornsby Travel (except CallConnect) and Isle Coaches
• CallConnect's demand responsive service in North Lincolnshire will operate a Saturday service (between 8am an 6pm). The 'timetabled' weekday CallConnect 59 service between Wroot and Blaxton will not operate, nor will the Friday only 'timetabled' CallConnect 55 (Appleby-Scunthorpe) and 58 (Wroot-Epworth) services

Saturday 29th:
Normal Saturday Services. (As a side note this means the Saturday CallConnect 260 will be the only 'timetabled' CallConnect service in North Lincolnshire over the Christmas/New Year period).

Sunday 30th:
Normal Sunday Services

New Years Eve:

• A Saturday service with an early evening finish will be provided by Arriva Yorkshire, EYMS, First South Yorkshire, First York and Stagecoach
• EYMS 88 (Rawcliffe Bridge-Goole), 143 (North Ferriby-Beverley) and 360/361 (Goole-Scunthorpe) will operate a normal Monday service
• EYMS service 63 will have an extra journey from Hull to Castle Hill Hospital at 0615, returning at 0702
• Stagecoach 260 (Barton Villager) will operate a normal Monday service
• A normal Monday service with an early evening finish will be provided by Hornsby Travel (except CallConnect) and Isle Coaches
• CallConnect's demand responsive service in North Lincolnshire will operate a Saturday service (between 8am an 6pm). The 'timetabled' weekday CallConnect 59 service between Wroot and Blaxton will not operate
• Transdev York evening service 10 to Stamford Bridge will not operate

New Years Day:
No Services

Wednesday 2nd January:
Back to normal, except for First South Yorkshire who will operate a Saturday service on Wednesday 2nd, Thursday 3rd and Friday 4th January, before resuming normal services on Saturday 5th January.

CallConnect 25A to be withdrawn

The 'fixed'/'timetabled' CallConnect service 25A between Binbrook and Waltham will be withdrawn after operation on Friday 21st December. (Lincolnshire County Council list the withdrawal as effective from Wednesday 2nd January, but as CallConnect will largely be operating a Saturday service between 24th and 31st December, the actual end date is earlier). Service 25A was introduced in July to replace the previous peak time service 25 between Binbrook and Grimsby, and operates on weekdays only, connecting to/from service 10 at Waltham for travel to/from Grimsby. The morning journey leaves Binbrook at 0740, with a 1755 return from Waltham. Lincolnshire County Council simply advise passengers to instead 'Book with CallConnect!' (i.e. the main demand responsive CallConnect service).

simplibus North Lincolnshire

On Monday 29th October, the local bus network in Scunthorpe was relaunched as 'simplibus North Lincolnshire'. This follows on from Stagecoach launching the simplibus concept of 'low' route numbers and new branding/marketing in Grimsby/Cleethorpes, Hull, Lincoln and Newark. simplibus in Scunthorpe has two interesting differences however - it's name, and the involvement of a second operator.

Until Scunthorpe, the simplibus network has been named after the main town(s) or city being served, even if the network extends outside of the main urban area. For example the 5 in the simpibus Grimsby and Cleethorpes network extends to Immingham, a separate town not part of the same urban area, and onwards to the village of South Killingholme in North Lincolnshire, in a different council area to Grimsby and Cleethorpes. In Lincoln the simplibus network covers outlying villages such as Welton. However there is no simplibus Scunthorpe, it's simplibus North Lincolnshire, and as explained below it's not as if the network extends into multiple parts of North Lincolnshire, it's contained within the Scunthorpe urban area apart from one route to Brigg and some occasional extensions of another route to East Butterwick. In that sense it's very similar to simplibus Grimsby and Cleethorpes. In many ways it doesn't matter if it's simplibus Scunthorpe or simplibus North Lincolnshire, but the name caught my attention.

Hornsby Travel are also involved in the new network, despite simplibus being a Stagecoach brand. Hornsby and Stagecoach (and Road Car before Stagecoach) have co-operated for some time within Scunthorpe, with mutual ticket acceptance and a joint town service leaflet, and by working together it presents a joined up cohesive network to customers and potential customers despite there being two operators of town services in Scunthorpe. 'simpli' it's a logical approach, and it doesn't prevent competition, for example along Spilsby Road and Angerstein Road in the Riddings estate.

The revised network contains 13 services numbered 1 to 12 and 1A. The Scunthorpe town network had been a 'mish-mash' of routes from two previous network recasts last decade, and some routes added or changed at other times.

Route 1 - Stagecoach

The 31 (anti-clockwise) and 32 (clockwise) circulars that cover Scunthorpe Bus Station, Frodingham, Ashby, parts of the Riddings estate, Westcliff, Tesco, Scunthorpe Hospital and Scunthorpe Bus Station, operating every 20 minutes in each direction Monday to Saturday daytimes, are now known as service 1 and use the same number in each direction. Other than the renumbering there are no major changes, there are some minor retimings, and a new later last anti-clockwise departure from Scunthorpe Bus Station at 1755 rather than at 1735 as previously.

Route 1A - Stagecoach

The 1A is the Monday to Saturday Evening/Sunday replacement for the 31A/32A circulars, that like their daytime counterparts now use the same number in each direction. The route is unchanged from the 31A/32A, covering most of the Monday to Saturday daytime 1 plus some additional areas, and so is the frequency, off hourly daily evenings, half hourly Sunday daytimes, in each direction.

Monday to Saturday evening clockwise departures from Scunthorpe Bus Station however change from 1800/1830/1930/2030/2130/2230/2330 Fri and Sat only to 1810/1910/2010/2110/2210/2310 - a slightly reduced early evening service and an earlier last bus Friday/Saturday but a later last bus Monday to Thursday. The Monday to Saturday evening anti-clockwise service is also slightly reduced from 1800/1830/1930/2030/2130/2230/2330 Fri and Sat only departures from Scunthorpe Bus Station to 1840/1940/2040/2140/2310 departures, again the positive is a later last departure Monday to Thursday. For Riddings and Ashby these changes do provide a half hourly service to/from Scunthorpe Bus Station as the journey time is approximately the same whichever way round the circular you travel. Sunday daytime services are retimed, while Sunday evenings are similar to the new Monday to Saturday evening timetable, but omit Tesco.

Route 2 - Stagecoach

New route 2 is largely the replacement for service 34 between Scunthorpe Bus Station, Westcliff, Riddings, Yaddlethorpe, Ashby and Lakeside, but now operates as a circular back to Scunthorpe Bus Station. It uses the same route number in both directions.

In the Westcliff estate the 'loop' around Plymouth Road and Bristol Road is dropped, leaving Plymouth Road to service 1 and Bristol Road unserved. Rather than serving Swinburne Road along with service 1, the 2 now serves Scotter Road and Lichfield Avenue, previously unserved (apart from the 16?). Taken together all the overlap between the 31/32 and 33/34 that previously existed in Westcliff is removed with the new 1, 2 and 3 services.

The other major change is to the eastern part of the service. Service 34 operated from Ashby via Fulbeck Road and Bellingham Road to Lakeside, whereas the 2 operates from Ashby via Fulbeck Road and then direct to Lakeside, before serving Bellingham Road and extending to/from Scunthorpe Bus Station via Queensway, Ashby Road and Station Road. This change provides a far more direct service from Bellingham Road and Fulbeck Road into Scunthorpe, restores a regular service to Station Road, and provides more options for travel to Scunthorpe Bus Station for those in the centre part of the circular route. Personally I would have used the old service 10 route however via Healey Road and Sandhouse Crescent, the unique sections of which remain unserved, rather than Queensway, which I don't think has any bus stops on it.

The frequency of service 2 is mostly hourly Monday to Saturday, off peak matching what the 34 offered, but less frequent at peak times - this is covered by the new service 3 however.

Route 3 - Stagecoach

The 3 replaces services 11 and 33, but with a new bit in the middle! Service 11 had operated from Scunthorpe Bus Station via Ashby Road, Ashby Town Centre, Bottesford Road and Cambridge Avenue to Yaddlethorpe where it covered Ogilvy Drive and Valley View Drive in Bottesford before returning to Ashby and Scunthorpe. The 33 were Scunthorpe to Westcliff 'shorts' of the 34.

New service 3 is a circular, following the service 2 route from Scunthorpe Bus Station through Westcliff, Bridges Road, Manor Farm Road, Manby Road and Quebec Road before diverging to pick up most of the service 11 route via Ogilvy Drive, Messingham Road, Valley View Drive, Cambridge Avenue, Bottesford Road, Ashby and Ashby Road back to Scunthorpe Bus Station. Two small parts of the old 11 route are unserved, Moorwell Road between High Leys Road and Messingham Road, and Manor Road between Messingham Road and Valley View Drive.

Service 3 operates hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes. For Westcliff the 2/3 provide an off peak bus every half hour rather than every 20 minutes on the 33/34, but for everywhere else it's positive or no change. Bridges Road, Manor Farm Road, Manby Road and Quebec Road go from hourly on the 34 to half hourly on the 2/3, and from Quebec Road at least when accounting for the possibility of using the circular both ways it could be considered there are now 4 buses an hour to/from Scunthorpe Bus Station. Similarly when accounting for the possibility of travelling in either direction, the frequency from Ogilvy Drive and Valley View Drive is now two buses an hour into Scunthorpe Bus Station, compared to hourly on service 11.

Route 4 - Hornsby Mon-Sat, Stagecoach Sun

Existing service 4 between Scunthorpe, Ashby, Broughton and Brigg is included in the network with no change to it's times or route. Whilst superficially an 'out of town' service, it does have some use for local travel within Scunthorpe as well, starting far earlier in the morning than any other service on weekdays, serving Foxhills Industrial Estate, linking Ashby Road to Lakeside Retail Park, serving Timberland on a Saturday, and providing the only evening service and part of the limited Sunday service along Ashby Road.

Route 5 - Hornsby

This is what was service 22 between Scunthorpe Bus Station, Priory Lane, Ashby, Timberland and Lakeside Retail Park. Other than the renumbering the service is unaltered, and operates every hour Monday to Friday.

Route 6 - Hornsby and Stagecoach

If it's not broke, don't fix it! Service 6 survives a full network recast for the second time I believe, and continues to operate every 10 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes between Scunthorpe and Ashby, split between Hornsby and Stagecoach.

Route 7 - Stagecoach

This is the old service 37 in North Scunthorpe, operating hourly Monday to Saturday daytime between Scunthorpe Bus Station, Scunthorpe Hospital, Hilton Avenue, Dewsbury Avenue, Speedwell Crescent and Skppingdale Retail Park. The main change is that services now continues as a service 8 at Skippingdale Retail Park, and vice versa. The last departure from Scunthorpe Bus Station is now at 1755 rather than 1720. A two hour gap now exists Monday to Friday in departures from Scunthorpe Bus Station between 1455 and 1655.

Route 8 - Stagecoach

The 8 is an improved version of the 38 between Scunthorpe Bus Station, Scunthorpe Hospital and Crosby, but now extended to Skippingdale Retail Park via Speedwell Crescent, giving two buses an hour to these areas. The frequency remains hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes. The last bus from Scunthorpe Bus Station is now at 1725 rather than 1755, but the 1755 service 7 from Scunthorpe Bus Station to Skippingdale Retail Park returns as a service 8 via Crosby.

Route 9 - Hornsby

Service 9 between Scunthorpe Bus Station and Scunthorpe Hospital is unchanged, operating every 20 minutes Monday to Friday daytimes and with a limited Saturday daytime service.

Route 10 - Stagecoach

The Tuesday and Friday Parklands-Brumby Wood Lane-Scunthorpe and Thursday Parklands-Brumby Wood Lane-Ashby service is renumbered from service 16 but otherwise unchanged.

Personally I wouldn't have even changed the number - 16 isn't that far out of the 'sequence' (and there is a precedent for an unused number - 15 in the simplibus Hull network), leaving service 10 for future use (there will be a need to serve the new Lincolnshire Lakes development once built for example). Also this route isn't part of the core network, but a tendered service aimed at a small number of users/potential users away from the core network - it doesn't even make it onto the network map!

Route 11 - Stagecoach

This is early morning service 13 renumbered. Again I'm dubious of the need for this renumbering, for the same reasons as noted above.

Route 12 - Hornsby

Service 12 between Scunthorpe Bus Station, Brumby, Ashby, Asda, Burringham and East Butterwick continues unchanged, operating between Scunthorpe Bus Station and Asda every half hour Monday to Friday and hourly on Saturdays, with less frequent extensions to Burringham and East Butterwick.