Isle Shopper to be withdrawn

North Lincolnshire Council are currently consulting over proposals to withdraw the two day a week Isle Shopper network, based around Epworth and extending to Crowle and Wroot. Subsidy is over £7 per passenger journey (the becnhmark is £3) and usage is low. With such high subsidy being required, it is not surprising withdrawal is being considered, but it would lead to some local links being sadly lost.

Wolds Villager cutbacks

From 31st January 2011, North Lincolnshire Council operated service 68 'Wolds Villager' between Brigg, Wrawby, Barnetby and Kirmington will have it's Saturday service withdrawn, as well as the last two weekday journeys. The service is not expectionally well used, and North Lincolnshire Council have also had isues with their bus fleet and staffing, as noted on the 260 Villager post. Operation by a commercial operator was considered, but the tender prices were more expensive than 'in-house' operation.

From September 2011, costs potentially could be lowered through interworking with a schools service, though the council report does warn that "it will become more difficult to justify the cost" of the service medium term.

On Saturdays Stagecoach service 366 will still retain links to Brigg (and Scunthorpe) from the Villages concerned, so the 68 Saturday withdrawal seems a sensible saving to make. Again though, has an opportunity been missed to make further savings? An extension to Ulceby could allow the Thursday 366 to be withdrawn. Parts of the Brigg Town Service could also be incorporated into the 68, which could be diverted via Churchill Avenue or Woodbine Avenue in Brigg for example.

Stagecoach to takeover 260 Villager

From 31st January 2011, Stagecoach East Midlands will take over operation of weekday service 260, the 'Villager' bus service that links Barrow, Goxhill, New Holland and East Halton (Thursday only) to Barton. There is also a Thursdays only link to Victoria House in Barton, as well as a schools service in Barton operated as part of the same diagram. The service is currently operated directly by North Lincolnshire Council.

In the current climate of spending cuts, you may think this is an attempt to make savings. However the cost of the service will actually rise, short term at least. Instead the motivation for contracting the service out is the age, and therefore increasing unreliability, of the North Lincolnshire Council bus fleet, as well as difficulties covering abscences from the council's small pool of bus drivers.

After putting the 260 out to tender, North Lincolnshire Council received two bids, with the winning bid being from Stagecoach. No mention of who the other bidder was, but I suspect Hornsby Travel (operators of the Barton Town Service), or less likely either Holloways Coaches or Johnsons. Stagecoach bid was for £38.729 per year, or £1.08 per passenger journey (including the interworked schools service). This is apparently higher than the council's current costs, but under the council 'limit' of £3 per passenger journey subsidy and can be offset by savings elsewhere. The contract will for five and half years, and the current timetable will be only slightly modified. No mention of what Stagecoach depot will operate the service.

Clearly the aim here is for a more reliable service and with less of a burden in terms of vehicles on the council. However have opportunities been missed, especially in terms of making savings that inevitably will have to be made next year? My idea to integrate the 260 with the Barton Town Service potentially could produce some signficant savings, eliminating the three day a week town service contract without any substantial changes in the level of service provision. In their defence, North Lincolnshire Council have not yet confirmed future budgets, but it won't be long before cuts have to be contemplated.

North Lincolnshire Council report

Stagecoach Grimsby Cleethorpes 366 Split

From the VOSA website it looks like the Saturday service on route 366 operated by Stagecoach Grimsby Cleethorpes between Goxhill, Barrow, Ulceby, Brigg and Scunthorpe, is being technically split into two sections; Goxhill-Ulceby and Ulceby-Scunthorpe, in the new year.

VOSA - Bus Registration Search Results: "PB0000163/51 - GRIMSBY CLEETHORPES TRANSPORT CO LTD T/A STAGECOACH GRIMSBY CLEETHORPES, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Scunthorpe and Ulceby given service number 366 effective from 04-Jan-2011. To amend Timetable.
PB0000163/58 - GRIMSBY CLEETHORPES TRANSPORT CO LTD T/A STAGECOACH GRIMSBY CLEETHORPES, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Registration Accepted by SN
Starting Point: Ulceby
Finish Point: Goxhill
Via:
Service Number: 366G
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 08-JAN-2011
Other Details: New Service to provide connections between Ulceby and Goxhill on Saturdyas only."

This means that Stagecoach's Grimsby depot only have summer Sunday service X51 (Grimsby-Louth-Skegness) that remains under EU driver hour regulations (due to the length of the route). The X51 could easily be 'technically split' into two sections at Louth if desired. Over recent years the amount of EU drivers hours work at Grimsby has been reduced, with the Interconnect 3 transferred to Lincoln depot (and then later split itself at Market Rasen) while the Humber Flyer has been technically split at Humberside Airport, and a previous evening peak service 250/45B service from Barton having a diversion via New Holland and Goxhill withdrawn, bringing it into domestic driver hours regulations.

With the conditions attached to EU driver hours compared to domestic rules, splitting routes makes commercial sense, though perhaps a bit confusing at first for passengers. It does show though how a 'well meaning' European rule is adding bureaucracy and complexity to the bus industry.

Whats hapenning to Sunday services 356, 400 and 401?

North Yorkshire County Council appears to be going ahead with it's planned withdrawal of financial support for evening and Sunday bus services within the county, including Monday to Saturday evening journeys between Goole and Selby. This is one of many evening and Sunday supported services operated by Arriva Yorkshire's Selby depot, and as a result Arriva has announced that Selby depot will be closed in the evening Monday to Saturday, and except for the main York service, also on Sundays.

That implies that the Sunday service between Selby, Snaith and Goole on services 400/401, and the interworked 356 between Goole and Swinefleet, are to be withdrawn. But on Sundays these are funded by East Riding of Yorkshire Council, not North Yorkshire County Council and therefore were not proposed for withdrawal in the North Yorkshire consultation. So what is the status of these Sunday services? Withdrawn? Staying? Going to another operator?

Lincolnshire County Council Bus Cuts

Not the first, won't be the last, but Lincolnshire County Council is planning to make cuts to the bus services it supports. This could affect cross-boundary routes into North and North East Lincolnshire.

These cuts are as result of reduced council funding following the comprehensive spending review.

Stagecoach Hull 46/49 Changes

From Tuesday 4th January Stagecoach in Hull are making revisions to services 46 and 49 which link Hull City Centre with Hull Marina (46 only), Victoria Dock Estate and parts of East Hull including Marfleet (service 46) and Bilton Grange (service 49). The timetable is revised while morning and afternoon peak journeys into Hull City Centre will operate via Drypool Bridge to reduce delays as either service 46D or 49D. This is instead of the usual route via Myton Bridge, the Marina (46 only) and Hull Old Town.

New Timetable
Route Map

Stagecoach Scunthorpe area Christmas and New Year 2010-11

Stagecoach have released Christmas and New Year service plans for their Scunthorpe area services:

Christmas Eve - Normal Friday service with early finish
Christmas Day/Boxing Day - No services
Bank Holidays Monday 27th/Tuesday 28th - Sunday service
Wednesday 29th/Thursday 30th - Normal service
New Years Eve - Normal Friday service with early finish
New Years Day - No services
Sunday 2nd/Bank Holiday Monday 3rd - Sunday service

Stagecoach Leaflet

Stagecoach Grimsby Cleethorpes Christmas/New Year 2010-11

Stagecoach Grimsby Cleethorpes have released details of their Christmas and New Year service plans:

Christmas Eve - Normal Friday service with early finish
Christmas Day/Boxing Day - No Services
Bank Holidays Monday 27th/Tuesday 28th - Sunday service
Wednesday 29th - Saturday service on all routes except services Interconnect 3 (Grimsby-Lincoln-Newark), 25 (Grimsby-Binbrook), 51 (Grimsby-Louth) and 150 (Grimsby-East Halton) which will have operate a normal weekday service. Service 366 shall not operate
Thursday 30th - As the 29th but the 366 (Ulceby-Brigg) shall operate a normal Thursday service
New Years Eve - As the 29th with an early finish
New Years Day - No services
Sunday 2nd/Bank Holiday Monday 3rd - Sunday services

Stagecoach leaflet

NB - Stagecoach services 250 (Grimsby-Barton) and 450 (Barton-Brigg) shall be operating a normal weekday service on the 29th/30th/31st according to Stagecoach however the School Holidays weekday service is the same as the Saturday service. I suspect North Lincolnshire Council requires a weekday service on these tendered routes on these days, but why confuse the customer by saying these services are an exception to the general operating pattern when they aren't?

Where is the rail replacement bus?

As you will you know, there has been a lot of snow and ice recently, and a lot of it is still about. It's still causing problems for bus and train services. I'm a bit reluctant to start saying when services should be suspended and when they shouldn't - professionals should generally do that. But some things don't add up.

Currently the Northern Rail Cleethorpes-Barton train service remains suspended. No idea why, but presume there is a good reason. However what I can't understand is the lack of replacement buses. Some of the smaller communities maybe inaccessible still - I note the 260 Villager bus is not serving Goxhill currently - however buses are running in Barton, Grimsby and Cleethorpes. The 260 is reaching New Holland. The 250 bus is operating again now so there is a bus to Ulceby. While for most of last week a replacement bus was impractical, by now it is a clear a replacement bus could run to some stations. So why isn't there one?

Stagecoach Hull Christmas/New Year 2010/11

Stagecoach Hull have released details of their Christmas/New Year 2010-11 service plans.

Christmas Eve - Normal Friday service until 2000
Christmas Day - No Service
Boxing Day - usual special hourly services on routes 1/2/13/14/15/28/30/32/42/43/51/54
Bank Holidays 27th/28th - Sunday service
Wednesday 29th/Thursday 30th - Saturday service with no nightbuses (not that it affects Stagecoach Hull operated journeys but the 350 is operating a weekday timetable according to EYMS)
New Years Eve - Saturday service until 2000 (350 weekday timetable until 2000) then special nightbus service service operating again this year from 2100 to 0300
New Years Day - As Boxing Day this year (in recent years there have been no New Years Day services)
Sunday 2nd/Bank Holiday Monday 3rd - Sunday service

I presume Hull City Council are funding both EYMS and Stagecoach New Years Day services, which are a welcome development.

Stagecoach leaflet.

EYMS Christmas/New Year 2011 Full Details

Following on from this post, EYMS have now released detailed service information for Christmas and New Year. The only significant point is the usual Boxing Day hourly services on the 34 (Hull-Willerby), 64 (Hull-Cottingham-Castle Hill-Cottingham) and 56 (Hull-Longhill) will operate on New Years Day as well this year.

Stagecoach Hull Nightbus changes

Stagecoach Hull are making revisions to the Nightbus network from this coming Friday (26th November) night. The N32 to Bransholme and N43 to Greatfield and Bilton Grange will now start at the Welly Club on Beverley Road and operate via Ferensway (Paragon Square stop), Carr Lane, Alfred Gelder Street and Lowgate within Hull City Centre. Currently these services start outside the Hull Truck Theatre on Ferensway

The N15 to Orchard Park and Kingswood will now operate via Beverley Road (for the Welly Club) and Queens Road instead of the daytime route of Spring Bank and Princes Avenue (this will be Queens Road only bus service). The N51 will now serve Kingswood, as the daytime 51 does, rather than North Bransholme, leaving North Bransholme without a night bus service. The N2 to Hessle is unchanged.

Stagecoach announcement

New times and network map

New vehicles for Stagecoach Hull Service 30?

Come across this which indicate 9 new vehicles are due for Stagecoach Hull service 30 between Hull, Bransholme and North Bransholme. It is currently operated by Dennis Trident low floor double deckers, but like most 'frequento' routes in Hull sees quite a few Olympian operated journeys.

Sweyne Coaches

Something that happenned earlier in the year, but not yet mentioned on here, was a revision by Sweyne Coaches of their weekday services on route 357 between Scunthorpe and Goole (the Saturday service seems unchanged).

There are now 4 different services, the 357, 360, 361 and 362. The 357 and 360 appear to follow the same route, operating Scunthorpe-Amcotts-Goole (confusing when the Saturday 357 operates via Crowle). The 361 covers the weekday journeys via Crowle and the 362 short Swinefleet-Goole journeys, most of which now operate via Goole Tesco.

The timetable has been improved with a roughly two hourly Scunthorpe-Goole service and an extra Swinefleet-Goole service every two hours. A welcome improvement to this rural service which previously had an irregular weekday service, though perhaps the service numbers need rethinking.

Illogical

It may have been out four months already, but I picked up the July 2010 East Riding Public Transport Guide earlier in the week. Well done to East Riding of Yorkshire Council for publishing one timetable booklet for the whole county, but the biggest thing that struck me is how illogical it is.

The weirdest thing is how certain services are listed separately from other services they are meant to be co-ordinated with. Take for example the 60/60A/61/62/64 corridor between Hull, Setting Dyke and Cottingham. The idea is that they provide a 12 minute frequency Mon-Sat daytime between Hull and Priory Road. Yet the East Riding publication lists the 60/60A, 61/62 and 64 in separate timetables. And that isn't just madness for the main daytime service - it means the 2 return Sunday morning 61 journeys are separate from the Sunday 64 journeys. Not user friendly at all. Sometimes composite timetables can be confusing for complex corridors with multiple variations so the East Riding format may well be useful for residents of Cottingham Parkway, but for most users the format used in the East Riding guide is just confusing.

And the above corridor isn't the only example of this either.

Some other oddities include the 180/182 being included twice - once with some 61, 143 and 523 journeys serving Walkington and again later on their own (a similar thing happens with services 173-5) while the Humber Flyer timetable only covers te Hull-Humberside Airport section, not even mentioning the service continues to Cleethorpes.

Maybe the East Riding need to take a look at Derbyshire for how to do clear, user friendly bus timetables, since the East Riding effort is sadly rather poor.

EYMS Christmas/New Year 2010/11

It's very early, but the latest EYMS newsletter has their outline service plans for the Christmas and New Year Period.

Friday 24th (Christmas Eve) - Normal Friday service with early finish
Christmas Day - No service
Boxing Day - Special service in Hull
Bank Holidays Monday 27th/Tuesday 28th - Sunday service
Wednesday 29th/Thursday 30th - Saturday service with a few exceptions (normally involves the 350 Humber Fastcat and services only operating once or twice a week)
Friday 31st - Saturday service with a few exceptions and an early finish
New Years Day - Special service in Hull (I can't recall any New Years Day services in Hull in recent years)
Sunday 2nd/Bank Holiday Monday 3rd - Sunday service

Then back to normal

EYMS: Fare increases and Service Cuts Likely

EYMS has revealed to the Hull Daily Mail that fare increases of up to 10% and cutbacks to rural and low frequency routes are likely. Staff redundancies cannot also be ruled out. This is down to cuts in concessionary fare payments, of which details are expected in December from local councils. Additionally the cut in BSOG (Bus Service Operators Grant) will increase costs from 2012. EYMS fears their losses could be £2.25 million a year, compared to a £600,000 profit last year.

Stagecoach have said they have no immediate plans for fare increases or service reductions.

X62 via Clive Sullivan Way

As well as being diverted to serve North Ferriby and Hut Green/Eggborough, from 1st November Stagecoach's X62 (Hull-Brough-Goole-Leeds) shall also be diverted via Clive Sullivan Way instead of operating via Anlaby Road and Boothferry Road. Hull Royal Infirmary shall continue to be served.

However Stagecoach have been unusually poor in providing details of the North Ferriby and Eggborough diversions with no information as to what stops in these villages will be served. While containing other errors, West Yorkshire's Metro at least has some street names for the North Ferriby and Hut Green stops.

Also I take it that between Goole and Hut Green/Eggborough the X62 will operate on the M62 and not via Snaith?

'New' service 6 in Grimsby

The trial reinstated service for part of Weelsby Road in Grimsby will be a 'new' service 6, operating three times a day Monday to Saturday from Grimsby Bus Station to Grimsby Hospital via Hainton Avenue, Weelsby Road and Nuns Corner. Service 6 will be operated by Stagecoach Grimsby Cleethorpes with funding from North East Lincolnshire Council.

I use 'new' in inverted commas because I'm sure there has been a service 6 in Grimsby a few years ago. Not sure if it operated via Hainton Avenue or Weelsby Road though.

Hybrids for the 57

EYMS CEO Peter Shipp has told Route One magazine that his company intends to use 8 new hybrid buses to replace the current double deckers used on service 57 between Longhill, Hull City Centre and Hessle. The route currently has a need for 8 double deckers and 6 single deckers.

It was announced last week that EYMS had won a share of the Department for Transport's green bus fund to purchase 8 hybrid vehicles.

Stagecoach Barton website

Those of you familiar with the Stagecoach UK Bus website will know at the top right hand side is a list of place names that can be selected to take you to the relevant local website. I have just noted today Barton has been added to the list. Great, but it takes you to the Grimsby-Cleethorpes website which has no mention of the main Stagecoach service to Barton, the Humber Fastcat (nor does it mention the 360 college service to Scunthorpe). Not exactly ideal, any customer unfamiliar with the Stagecoach network in Barton wouldn't know they could get to Scunthorpe. Even those with a knowledge of the network could be left confused looking for the Humber Fastcat timetable.

Neither the Hull not Scunthorpe websites cover all the Stagecoach services to serve Barton either, so it's not really a solution to redirect the Barton link to them. If Stagecoach want a Barton website they are going to have to make one, rather than just redirect to another. Shouldn't be that hard to add a few links to the standard template used. But even if they don't do that, I don't think the current Grimsby-Cleethorpes site redirect works.

Trial 'reinstated' service in Grimsby

The Grimsby Telegraph reports that North East Lincolnshire Council have arranged with Stagecoach Grimsby-Cleethorpes to 'reinstate' a bus service around Hainton Avenue and Weelsby Road in Grimsby, lost when the Interconnect 3 was altered earlier in the year. No word on what form the replacement, which will be on a 6 month trial, will take. Earlier in the year Stagecoach were looking at diverting the 51 to Louth via the area.

I use the word reinstate in inverted commas, since the Humber Flyer still serves Hainton Avenue, so it is only a small part of Weelsby Road currently without a service.

EYMS Beverley Area Changes

As expected, EYMS are making service changes from 1st November in the Beverley Area. The changes are minor, with retimings of a morning service on the 182 (Hessle-Beverley) and a couple of afternoon town service journeys (on the 521 and 523) now running Saturday only.

EYMS win Green Bus Fund money

EYMS have been awarded £794,400 to fund 8 new hybrid or electric buses from the Department for Transport's Green Bus Fund. Would be interested to see what route these are intended for.

X62 to North Ferriby and Hut Green

A commentator on this blog post says Stagecoach's X62 (Hull-Brough-Goole-Leeds) will be serving North Ferriby and Hut Green (near Eggborough Power Station) from November.

New X55 Saturday service

The November changes to the X55 Petuaria Express will involve a Saturday service on the Gilberdyke-Brough-Hull service.

The current weekday service is also carrying over 1000 passengers a week. An anonymous commentator on the original blog post says this is about 10 passengers per journey, including 'against peak' journies which will bring the average down. Thanks to the same commentator for alerting me to the above news, originally posted on the EYMS website.

Service 110 Funding Status Correction

You may remember my rather critical post about the re-introduction of service 109 in the Cottingham area at the start of September. In that I stated Stagecoach's service 110 was a tendered service. However having picked up a paper timetable for the 110, it is important to note it only receives council financial support for the diversion into the Bricknell Avenue Estate, otherwise it is commercial.

This doesn't stop the 109 being a wasteful duplicate for the 110... (the original post discusses why the 109 is pointless in detail).

Humber Flyer, and Barton buses to Hull

This morning I travelled to Hull on the 0807 Humber Flyer from Barton Market Place to Hull. What struck me was how quiet it was, considering it was the main peak time service from Grimsby to Hull. There was around 30 passengers travelling over the Humber Bridge, of which around a third boarded in Barton and could have used the Humber Fastcat instead. Indeed from a couple of glimpses of the 0815 Humber Fastcat from Barton Market Place to Hull that I saw, it wasn't busy either.

Now this was just one day, but surely a Thursday in late September should be rather typical of loadings (not being school holidays)? Assuming they were typical it raises two points:

1. It's not surprising the Humber Flyer has struggled in recent years if a key peak journey isn't very full
2. Are Stagecoach risking loosing Barton-Hull passengers on the Humber Fastcat in order to improve the viability of the politically sensitive Humber Flyer? I have expressed concerns over Humber Fastcat passenger figures before. While I am very happy to see 3 Barton-hull buses an hour, an unsustainable frequency isn't going to be good news long term. My fear is that the current frequency is unsustainable unless a marketing effort is made to attract car users.

X55 November Changes

EYMS will be making changes to service X55 'Petuaria Express' between Gilberdyke, Brough and Hull in mid-November. The service was introduced in April. From the VOSA website:

VOSA - Bus Registration Search Results: "PB0000328/360 - EAST YORKSHIRE MOTOR SERVICES LTD, 252 ANLABY ROAD, HULL, HU3 2RS
Variation Accepted: Operating between Hull Interchange and Gilberdyke, Village given service number X55 effective from 15-Nov-2010. To amend Timetable."

X62 November Changes

Today the VOSA website reveals Stagecoach Hull will be amending the X62 (Hull-Brough-Goole-Leeds) service from November 1st.

EYMS Beverley November Changes

The VOSA website shows EYMS planning to make changes to Beverley town services 520/1/3 from 1st November, as well as service 182 to Hessle.

Stagecoach Grimsby Cleethorpes September Changes

In addition to the Humber Flyer, Stagecoach Grimsby-Cleethorpes are also making slight revisions to other services from Monday 6th September.

In addition to the morning peak change to the 45 (Immingham-Grimsby) noted last month, the 45B from Grimsby to Barton finally disappears, having been cancelled apart from one journey in April. Instead the current 1740 45B from Grimsby on weekdays becomes a 45H operating via Habrough and terminating at Ulceby. (Thanks to a comment on the morning peak changes blog post for noticing this).

The 450 (Barton-Brigg) also sees a slight schooldays change while Stagecoach in Lincolnshire's Lincoln depot operated Interconnect 3 between Grimsby and Lincoln also has a revised timetable.

Humber Flyer Changes

From Monday (6th September) Stagecoach's Humber Flyer (Hull-Barton-Humberside Airport-Grimsby-Cleethorpes) will see changes. As I posted last month the service will now terminate at Cleethorpes Pier not Pleasure Island. However instead of an extended wait at Humberside Airport, the service will now operate via the Market Place in Barton, resulting in a fully revised timetable between Cleethorpes and Barton. Times remain the same between Barton and Hull. Oddly the Stagecoach announcement does not mention the new route in Barton.

This change has a major advantage in that it now serves more of Barton, but on the other hand it does increase the journey time for non-Barton passengers.

The change also raises an interesting issue again - are Stagecoach wanting to attract Hull-Barton passengers onto the Humber Flyer or not? On one hand it would seem so - mostly co-ordinated timetable with the Humber Fastcat, same stand in Hull Interchange and now identical route in Barton. Yet there is no publicity for the co-ordinated service and perhaps most crucially no inter availability of tickets between the Humber Flyer and Stagecoach operated Humber Fastcat journeys.

The Barton diversion of the Humber Flyer doesn't seem exceptionally well used from my observations. Stagecoach really need to promote it, not just for travel to Hull, but also for links to North East Lincolnshire. Lets hope Monday's change also sees some promotion. A few posters on the Humber Fastcat buses would be a start in raising awareness amongst Barton customers. Not exactly a hard or expensive thing to do.

Stagecoach Hull's Other September Changes

In addition to the 10 and 110 changes, plus the new 123 and takeover of the 242 contract, Stagecoach Hull are making other more minor changes to their network on Monday 6th September.

Satellite monitoring has allowed Stagecoach to monitor services better and a result timetables are being altered to be more reliable - resulting changes affect the 1, 2, 13, 14, 15, 28, 32, 42, 43, 51 and 54.

There are also some enhancements planned. Monday to Saturday evening frequencies on the 13A/14A and 42 increase to half hourly, making this the minimum evening frequency on all core routes. The 15 minute evening frequency on the 15 will operate until 2100 while the Saturday daytime frequency will be restored to operate every 10 minutes, reversing an April 2009 cut. Monday to Friday afternoon 43B/54B journeys now operate as normal 43/54's as a through service.

Furthermore while not officially announced, the new service 30 timetable shows 3 new weekday evening peak short journeys from Hull Bowl on Holwell Road in to Hull City Centre - I guess to serve Sutton Fields Industrial Estate. Meanwhile the final two departures on service 30 from Hull Interchange at 2240 and 2320 daily are now numbered 30W. In the past the W suffix indicated an extension to Wawne. There is nothing to say this is happening in the timetable, but unless it is a mistake in the timetable, why else the renumbering?

Finally an interesting end to the press release on the changes: "This is only the beginning. More information soon". The beginning of what? Better reliability as the changes intend or something more? Could it just be referring to the as yet officially announced 123/242. Or further frequency increases planned for the future? Or new services? Or new investment in the fleet (maybe all frequento services to actually be low floor operated)?

Hull Circular (Service 10) enhancements

From Monday (6th September) Stagecoach Hull are making some changes to their troubled service 10 (Hull Circular), the second time in a year. But these changes seem to be positive for once.

Firstly the service will now serve Falkland Road in Greatfield, restoring links to the Preston Road Medical Centre lost in changes last year when service 40 was withdrawn. For a small time penalty, a 'quick win' here.

Perhaps more significant are changes to the peak time service. Firstly it is pleasing to note these changes are enhancements. The evening peak clockwise service and morning peak anti-clockwise services will become 10A's with a revised route. In West Hull they will operate via Cottingham Road, Hull University and Cranbrook Avenue, omitting Orchard Park. In East Hull they will operate via Leads Road, Sutton Road, Ings Road and Bellfield Avenue instead of Sutton Village - a route taken by the Hull Circular in the past.

The aim of the changes is to link East Hull to Hull University in the morning and return in the evening. While Orchard Park looses out in the peaks, I would suspect it generates more custom for the circular in daytime providing access to places such as Ennerdale Leisure Centre and North Point Shopping Centre, as well as for visiting friends and relatives in other parts of the city. But I am slightly baffled why the 10 is serving Sutton but the 10A Ings Estate? Is it the time saving routing via the university that allows Ings Estate to be served by the 10A but not the 10?

Whatever the reason though the 10A runs anti clockwise (East to West Hull) at 0730 and 0800 from Hull Interchange Monday to Friday (currently service 10 journeys). Clockwise the current 'short' journeys at 1625 and 1725 from Hull Interchange to the Bricknell Estate now extend as service 10A's back to Hull Interchange via East Hull. There is also a new 1717 Hull University-East Hull-Hull Interchange 10A to provide a half hourly frequency in the evening peak.

One slight cutback however; the 1600 service 10 Monday to Friday operating anti clockwise appears to be withdrawn, leaving an early last departure of 1515 from Hull Interchange on weekdays. The 1615 on Saturdays remains. Full new 10/10A timetable.

The 109 returns - as the most pointless service ever?

From Monday 6th September service 109 returns, again operated by EYMS. It last ran between August last year and February this year Monday to Saturday mornings/early afternoons between the Bricknell Estate, Cottingham, St Margarets Avenue and Castle Hill Hospital. In February Stagecoach's 110 between Hull, Bricknell Estate, Cottingham and Castle Hill was rerouted to serve St Margarets Avenue as a replacement. The 110 was also diverted via New Village Road and Cottingham Station to replace the Cottingham Station-Castle Hill Hospital link lost by changes to EYMS service 154.

The new 109 is slightly different. It operates Cottingham Station-Cottingham Green-St Margarets Avenue-Castle Hill Hospital and return, then Cottingham Station-New Village Road-Bricknell Estate and return. The service operates between 0925 and 1715. The timetable is available here. At the same time Stagecoach's 110 will no longer serve New Village Road or Cottingham Station, but will continue to serve St Margarets Avenue retaining the daytime link into Hull.

So whats the issue? Firstly a couple of relatively minor points - New Village Road is left with just the two hourly EYMS service 60 into Hull when it currently also has the hourly 110, and 109 passengers from Bricknell Estate to Cottingham and Castle Hill have a 10 minute wait at Cottingham Station.

However far more important is the total lack of co-ordination between the 109 and 110. The hourly 109 leaves Bricknell Avenue for Castle Hill 10 minutes before the hourly 110 but by Cottingham Green the gap has closed to 8 minutes (with the 110 having overtaken the 110). From Castle Hill the gap is even worse - one, yes one, minute.

Additionally I can't see the need for extra capacity between the Bricknell Estate and Cottingham. At the start of the noughties such a link was just provided two mornings a week (service 31B), so I can't see that a standalone service 109 is needed in addition to the 110 which has a wider role in linking Chanterland Avenue and the wider Stagecoach Hull network to Castle Hill.

The 110 is funded by Hull City and East Yorkshire Council's, and I suspect the 109 will be as well (it was when it last operated), so this is a huge waste of taxpayers money. The changes offer nothing new and the three minute time saving on the 110 simply becomes additional recovery time at Castle Hill. What is wrong with the current 110 route - it effectively serves Bricknell Estate, New Village Road, Cottingham Station and St Margarets Avenue in one hourly service providing to links to Castle Hill, Cottingham and Hull Centres. The 109 is just duplication and with council cutbacks inevitable, what communities could end up seeing cutbacks in services because of this.

I would love to know the rationale for the new 109, because it sure ain't obvious.

The 123 - Not exactly as expected - but better?

Predictions on this blog of Stagecoach entering the Hull-Beverley market against EYMS have been proved wrong. Their new service 123 doesn't go into Hull City Centre at all.

The new 123 is instead a new Monday-Saturday shopping link from Beverley, Woodmansey and Dunswell to Kingswood and Bransholme's North Point Shopping Centre, using time where the vehicle from the newly won 242 contract (currently operated by EYMS) would otherwise just be doing nothing in Beverley. It might be a simple idea - but it is just the sort of idea that can improve the network with little effort and Stagecoach should be comended for giving the service a try.

Some may wonder why a Beverley resident would wish to visit North Point in particular when they have a very good selection of shops in their town centre. Well it's nice to have a change and visit somewhere different every now and then. Furthermore by interworking with the 242, the costs incurred by Stagecoach will be lower than for a stand alone service - which should reduce the break even point of the service.

Also of note is that on College Days the service will be extended to Wilberforce College, which should be useful for those students wanting a lie in, or to go home early. Do Stagecoach operate morning/evening services from Beverley to Wilberforce College?

New 123/242 timetable. Starts 6th September.

While Stagecoach don't seem too interested in trunk routes outside of Hull, it's interesting to see them go after 'between school time' contracts such as the 242 in the East Riding. This is the sort of thing Veolia used to do, and should help provide some competition for EYMS for this type of contract. And could it lead to Stagecoach going after other tenders in the East Riding that could viably be worked out of it's Hull depot?

One final note - neither the 242 or the 123 are mentioned in the new Hull Bus Guide. The 242 hardly serves Hull, while the 123 isn't really designed for Hull residents, but I'm surprised they didn't even get a footnote or something similar.

Trentside Traveller

To find out about wider Stagecoach East Midlands September changes, and indeed to keep up to date with the latest developments in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, please check out the Trentside Traveller Blog.

Off interest to this area maybe a discussion about services between Brigg and Lincoln.

Service 909 to Doncaster no more

As expected, Stagecoach are revising their 909/910 (Brigg-Scunthorpe-Crowle-Garthorpe) services from 6th September, with the Scunthorpe-Doncaster part of service 909 withdrawn. This was introduced as an hourly service last November before being cut back to 3 return daytime journeys in April. An attempt to restore bus links that clearly didn't work, though at least Stagecoach gave it ago. There continues to be two Scunthorpe-Doncaster train services an hour - which is probably a large part of the reason for Stagecoach's failure.

Other changes include the withdrawal of the Saturday Scawby diversion to service 909 - New timetable. Service 101 (Scunthorpe-Gainsborough) also sees a minor change.

The withdrawal of the remaining 909 Doncaster, plus the loss of tenders to Hornsby, is going to affect Scunthorpe depot's workload. The 94/95 tender required one bus all day, while the loss of the service 16 tender, plus the 909 cutbacks, will reduce utilisation of the fleet in between school/college services. This isn't too significant, but neither is it great news for a depot that seems largely starved of investment. The Scunthorpe town service network has seen gradual cutbacks over the past few years, and 4 new MAN/Enviro 300's for the Humber Fastcat 350 aside, the depot has not seen any vehicles delivered since Road Car days. With large scale fleet renewal going to be needed in the next few years to meet Disability Discrimination Act deadlines can Scunthorpe depot justify the investment, even if cascaded vehicles are used? While I'm certainly not trying to concern or worry anyone, a look at fleet types and ages at Scunthorpe compared to other Stagecoach East Midlands depots and it's easy to see how the depot's fleet is not as modern as elsehwere.

(As a side note are Scunthorpe depot's Spryte's and Solo's DDA compliant?)

Stagecoach enter Beverley-Hull market

Probably just positioning and schools journeys, but some very limited competition for EYMS anyway

VOSA - Bus Registration Search Results: "PB0001987/291 - CLEVELAND TRANSIT LTD T/A STAGECOACH NORTHEAST, ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, NORTH BRIDGE STREET, SUNDERLAND, SR5 1AQ
Registration Accepted by SN
Starting Point: Beverley Bus Station
Finish Point: Hull - Wilberforce College
Via:
Service Number: 123
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 06-SEP-2010
Other Details: Monday to Saturday up to three journeys per day. Extended to Wilberforce College on School Days only."

EYMS Extra Saturday buses to York

EYMS are adding extra journeys on two routes into York on Saturdays from 5th September

Service 196
0900 Bubwith to York
1305 Bubwith to York
1130 York to Bubwith
1600 York to Bubwith

Service 747
0730 Pocklington to York
1710 York to Pocklington

From the same date there are also minor changes to services 33/34/44, 62, 152 and 154 in the Hull area.

Stagecoach to Beverley and Hedon!

The VOSA website reveals that Stagecoach Hull are to operate a service between Hedon and Beverley - their only public (as opposed to schools) service to either Hedon or Beverley, and their only public service not to at least operate partially within the Hull City boundary.

VOSA - Bus Registration Search Results: "PB0001987/290 - CLEVELAND TRANSIT LTD T/A STAGECOACH NORTHEAST, ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, NORTH BRIDGE STREET, SUNDERLAND, SR5 1AQ
Registration Accepted by SN
Starting Point: Hedon
Finish Point: Beverley
Via:
Service Number: 242
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 06-SEP-2010
Other Details: Monday to Saturday - Two journeys per day."

The 242 is currently an East Yorkshire Council tendered service operated once each way between Hedon and Beverley Monday to Saturday daytimes.

109 Deja vu?

Not exactly the same as the old 109, but similar...

VOSA - Bus Registration Search Results: "PB0000328/366 - EAST YORKSHIRE MOTOR SERVICES LTD, 252 ANLABY ROAD, HULL, HU3 2RS
Registration Accepted by SN
Starting Point: Cottingham Railway Station
Finish Point: Cottingham Railway Station
Via: Cottingham, Castle Hill, Bricknell Avenue
Service Number: 109C
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 06-SEP-2010
Other Details: Monday to Saturday Hourly between 09:25 and 17:15"

The old 109 operated between August 2009 and February 2010, linking the Bricknell Estate, Cottingham Centre, St Margaret's Avenue and Castle Hill Hospital hourly in the mornings and early afternoons. Changes to service 110 operated by Stagecoach replaced the 109 in February.

More details when available, plus what if any implication this has for the 110.

260 Villager service, and an idea

A rather interesting article has appeared over the future of the 260 Villager service. Running on weekdays it primarily links Goxhill, New Holland and Barrow to Barton, and on Thursdays it also links East Halton to Barton and the Victoria House area of Barton to the Tesco supermarket. A Barton schools service is also interworked with the 260.

The article is essentially a loose it or use plea. The councillor in charge of buses says "the overriding message to everybody is if you don't want to loose it, then use it". However a council spokesperson says the service is not under threat. Might be rather confusing to the casual reader.

Currently the service is funded by the Rural Bus Grant so as long as that remains there is no risk. However the council expect the government may withdraw it as part of spending cuts, which would mean if the service was to continue, the council would have to fund it directly. Services that cost more than £3 per passenger would be at risk and apparently the 260 is "close to the top of the list of routes at risk". So clearly the service is at risk, just not before the government spending review.

The article also reveals that North Lincolnshire Council wish to end direct council operation next January and seek a private operator to run the service.

However in all of this, it would be very unlikely the 260 would ever get withdrawn without replacement. While Goxhill and New Holland do have the train, the train station isn't easily located for everyone in those villages, and beyond the 260 they have few other bus services. Barrow, while not having the train, does at least have the 250 bus service. East Halton also has the 150 to Immingham and Grimsby 5 days a week, though the last time the East Halton-Barton was withdrawn it was quickly reinstated, indicating local demand for it.

So even if the 260 was withdrawn I would suggest at least a once daily weekday Goxhill-Barton 'shoppers' service would be needed, operating via New Holland and Barrow. This may also need to serve East Halton once a week. Additionally the current schools service operated the 260 vehicle would still need to be provided. The scope for cutting costs would be limited. Mileage could be reduced, but not so much the need for a vehicle and driver.

One possible idea would be to integrate the 260 with the 254 Barton Town Service, currently operating 3 days a week. The Barton Town Service currently has 4 main routes; Meadow Drive/Eastfield Road, Bowmandale/Tofts Road, Westfield Road and Far Ings Road/Dam Road (close to Victoria House). Meadow Drive could be served as a diversion to the 260, while the latter two routes could perhaps be reduced to twice a week operation. This could lead to a pattern like this:

Barton St Peters School Service
Barton-Goxhill direct service, omitting New Holland
Goxhill-Barton via New Holland, Barrow and Meadow Drive
Barton Town Service to Bowmandale 3xWeek, Westfield Road 2xWeek
Barton-Goxhill via Meadow Drive, Barrow and New Holland
etc

In reality it wouldn't be that simple, especially if East Halton was to be served. However I'm sure it would be possible to work something out, saving a 3 day a week contract in the process. One issue maybe that the Barton Town Service runs on opposite days to the Brigg Town Service, allowing the same vehicle to be used on both. However any cost increase on the Brigg Town Service would hopefully be covered by the savings from the 254/260.

Just an idea, and all such ideas may need to be considered in order to safeguard as much of the subsidised bus network in the months ahead.

Hornsby Travel have won tendered services 16, 94 and 95

The Traveline East Midlands website confirms that Hornsby Travel will take over North Lincolnshire Council tendered services 16, 94 and 95 from 31st August, as had been expected. Current operator Stagecoach has also today cancelled their registrations for these services with VOSA.

While the Traveline East Midlands timetables aren't the most descriptive, it appears the 16 (a Scunthorpe Town Service) has a revised timetable and route, no longer operating as a circular and not serving Priory Lane or Glanville Avenue (areas also served by Hornsby service 22). Priory Lane and Glanville Avenue were introduced onto the route after being left unserved following RoadCar service changes a few years ago. Hornsby later added their own replacement service 22, a route Stagecoach also served for a time.

The 'new' 16 appears to operate from Parklands Caravan site via John Leggott and North Lindsey Colleges plus Brumby Wood Lane into Scunthorpe Town Centre, with departures from Parklands at 0940 and 1215, and from Scunthorpe Bus Station at 1200. The service continues to operate Tuesday and Thursday only.

The 94 has some minor changes. The Traveline East Midlands website shows that on weekdays some journeys will run slightly earlier or later, while the schools service will no longer serve Lime Sidings. Similar retimings will affect the 95 which will no longer serve Ashby High Street. There is also a new 1605 Redbourne-Brigg service on route 94 and a new 1805 Brigg-Lakeside service on route 95. However the school holidays 1521 Brigg-Lime Sidings service on route 94 appears withdrawn.

On Saturdays the route followed by service 95 will now match the weekday service, serving Scawby and Sturton but not Ashby High Street. As a result there are some slight timing changes to both services 94 and 95.

Service 450 Changes

Service 450 between Barton and Brigg, currently operated by Stagecoach Grimsby Cleethorpes, is to be altered from 31st August according to the VOSA website. No other details currently available. The service is operated under contract to North Lincolnshire Council and was last revised in April after Stagecoach handed back their previous contract for the service, before winning a replacement emergency tender.

Grimsby-Immingham Corridor Changes

It appears that September's change to Stagecoach's 45 group of services (Grimsby-Immingham corridor) this year is rather minor. The 0820 45M and 0840 45 from Immingham County Hotel shall be merged into a single 0830 45M according to the traveline east midlands website starting 6th September. The 45M starts 10 minutes earlier at the Millenium Inorganic Chemicals site 10 minutes earlier.

Humber Flyer September Changes

From 6th September, the Stagecoach Humber Flyer service between Cleethorpes, Grimsby, Humberside Airport, Barton and Hull will be revised, as noted last month. From the Traveline East Midlands website it appears the service shall now terminate at Sea Road in Cleethorpes, not Pleasure Island. Times will also be revised between Cleethorpes and Humberside Airport.

Also services from Cleethorpes shall run slightly earlier and services from Humberside Airport shall run slightly later. This shall mean that services will have increased waiting time at Humberside Airport. Services from Cleethorpes shall wait for 6 minutes rather than the current 1 minute, while services from Hull shall wait for 8 rather than 1 minute. I presume this is to aid punctuality?

North Yorkshire Bus Cuts

North Yorkshire County Council have released a list of proposed cuts to tendered services from April 2011 for consultation. The axe is proposed mainly over evening and Sunday tendered services, with the cuts, totalling £600,000, being blamed on the "economic climate".

Some of the changes affect cross boundary services in East Yorkshire. The Monday to Saturday evening service on Arriva operated route 400 from Selby to Goole via Snaith and Goole Hospital is proposed to be withdrawn. The would lead to the 1910 and 2110 from Selby and the 2000 and 2200 return from Goole ending. The Selby-Goole service is already due to see early evening cutbacks from 31st August.

Also under threat is the daily evening service on EYMS operated route 121 between Scarborough and Hunmanby. While this section of route is wholly within North Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire Council fund extensions to Bridlington Monday to Saturdays.

There are four probable outcomes here:
1. The cuts happen
2. The proposals are withdrawn, or the size of the cuts are reduced
3. East Riding of Yorkshire Council provide replacement funding and either the cuts do not take place, or are less severe
4. Some or all of the affected services are taken on commercially

However it must be rembered here the economic situation. While it is possible public pressure may see a slight reduction in the size of the cuts, more likely is that any 'saved' services will mean cuts to other services elsewhere. And while East Riding of Yorkshire Council could step in with replacement funding, they too are facing the same "economic climate". As are bus operators. These services are tendered in the first place for a reason.

EYMS's Scarborough and District operation also faces major cuts to the tendered services it operates in the evenings and on Sundays, while North Yorkshire County Council's contribution to the MoorsBus network is also under threat. This includes a service from Hull.

Comments on the proposed cuts can be sent by 31st October by letter or email. Contact details are on the first page of the detailed consultation document showing exactly what services are under threat across North Yorkshire. The level of detail and consultation is to be comended.

As a final thought, how long before tendered services budgets get cut at the four Humber region authoritie?. Marginal and loss making commercial services have been cut in the past two years across the region, and marginal or loss making tendered services have been surrendered. This has put increased pressure on council budgets. Now it is likely to be councils wielding the axe. And all against a background of uncertainty to the future of the bus service operators grant (BSOG).

Stagecoach tender losses to Hornsby?

Hornsby Travel have today registered with VOSA services 16 and 94/95 from 31st August, both North Lincolnshire Council tendered services currently operated by Stagecoach. Stagecoach have not yet cancelled their registrations.

Service 16 operates Tuesday and Thursdays only to provide a link from the Parklands Caravan Site and Woodlands Crematorium to Scunthorpe Bus Station. Services 94 and 95 link Gainsthorpe (Mon-Fri) and Glentham (Saturday) to Brigg and Scunthorpe. They were extensively revised last Autumn as outlined here and if they have been lost by Stagecoach would mean a reduction in one of Scunthorpe depot's peak vehicle requirement. The Saturday service also receives some financial support from Lincolnshire County Council.

Hornsby have also registered to amend services 9 (Scunthorpe Hospital Shuttle) and 25 (Scunthorpe-Keadby-Amcotts) from 31st August

September Service Changes

September is set to see many services in the region have alterations according to the VOSA website, mostly Stagecoach services. See the list below:

EYMS

Services 61/2
Services 151/2
Service 154
Willerby Road Services 33/34/44

Stagecoach Grimsby Cleethorpes

45 Group of Services
Humber Flyer

Stagecoach Hull

Services 1/2/N2
Service 10
Services 13/14 (and variants)
Service 15 (and variants)
Service 28
Service 30 (and variants)
Service 32 (and variants)
Services 41/2
Service 43 (and variants)
Service 51 (and variants)
Service 54

Stagecoach Lincolnshire - Scunthorpe depot

Services 101/601
Services 909/910 - it would appear that the remaining journeys on service 909 to Doncaster may be cancelled

Please note more than one service is sometimes on a single VOSA registration, so not all the services above may alter. Furthermore some changes maybe very minor.

Arriva 400/401 Changes

North Yorkshire Council report that Arriva will make changes to their 400/1 Selby-Goole services from 31st August.

Monday to Friday
The 1545 schools service from Snaith School will now divert via Drax
The 1720 service 401 Selby-Goole will terminate at West Cowick
The 1810 service 401 Goole-Selby will be withdrawn

Saturday
The 1705 service 400 Selby-Goole will terminate at West Cowick
The 1800 service 400 Goole-Selby will be withdrawn

Service 133 extra journey

Summer seasonal service 133, operated by Hutchinson's between Driffield and Malton, and new for 2010, gains an extra Saturday service from Malton at 1330 from July 17th according to North Yorkshire Council.

The full timetable is available here - Sunday and Bank Holiday journeys run between Driffield and Wharram Percy only.

Sunday Stagecoach Humber Flyer

The timetable for this year's Hull-Cleethorpes Summer Sunday service has been released. It will departs Hull at 0930 from 11th July to 5th September and return from Pleasure Island at 1715. This year the service shall divert into Barton, as the Monday to Saturday service now does, however Keelby, Laceby and Grimsby Town Centre are omitted from the Sunday service.

Stagecoach Hull Services 70/677/678 and Bus Map

The new (May) version of the Stagecoach Hull Bus Map has a couple of interesting things in it. Firstly the 350 and Humber Flyer are now shown on the map, recognising their role as local services within Hull.

But secondly and more notably the 677 and 678 Cranswick Foods workers buses are now shown and a timetable included within the bus map to start from 5th July. I take it then from this date they become available to the public?

The 677 and 678 link the Interchange with Cranswick Foods factories in Sutton Fields (678 only) and Preston, as well as serving the BP site on Hedon Road. They operate via Beverley Road, Clough Road, Sutton Road, Ings Road and Holderness Road to Preston before returning via Hedon Road. Some journeys however divert via the P&O Ferry Terminals at Hull Docks; here they will operate as existing service 70 back to Hull Interchange.

The 677 and 678 operate Monday to Friday only, in the early mornings and at peak times, roughly half hourly. The 70 has two departures from Hull Docks in the morning (0815 and 0900), and two departures from Hull Interchange in the afternoon peak (1700 and 1730). The current weekend service on the 70 is unaffected (0900 from the Docks, 1715 from the Interchange).

How successful has the Humber Fastcat relaunch really been?

As a user of the service who very much appreciates the increased frequency, it feels a bit wrong to be writing this, but it is a question that needs asking. How successful has the March 2009 Humber Fastcat relaunch been?

A snippet of information in 2009-10 Stagecoach East Midlands Annual Report made me think about this - the service is carrying 40,000 passengers a month, up 23% from last year. This increase has actually reduced from 30% as off last Autumn.

While the 'headline' increase of the 350 was from hourly to half hourly, in reality it was a less than 100% increase. Scunthorpe-Winterton was already two buses an hour for most of the daytime and Sundays only gained one extra return journey. Early mornings and evenings haven't seen a 100% increase either. However the increase in mileage is still well above 50% - at a guess around 70-80%. Yet the passenger increase is just 23%. So after a year mileage has increased probably around three times more than the increase in passenger numbers. This does raise questions over how successful the relaunch has been.

Expecting passenger numbers to rise in line with mileage is probably unrealistic. Especially when the section into Hull at least is very 'one-sided', with not many North Bank residents travelling south over the river from my observations. So some empty services at certain times of day are to be expected. Similarly the recession may have had an impact on those travelling for leisure purposes who may have decided to stay at home instead of going out. Also from my observations fare-paying commuter traffic has increased with the increased frequency and new route in Hull City Centre. However even allowing for this, a big gap between the mileage and passenger increases has to be disappointing.

Based on this it would be expected that Stagecoach and EYMS would look to change the timetable. If not a reduction back to hourly, changes to early morning, evening and Sunday services that would not affect the core frequency. Yet beyond a very minor college day change in September the timetable remains unaltered. And then in April Barton got a third bus to Hull with the diversion of the Humber Flyer into Barton.

So are the passenger increases not telling the whole story? Or are Stagecoach and EYMS hoping things will pick up and reluctant to reduce a flagship service?

To a end on a positive note, what could be done to boost passenger numbers? The weekly ticket prices are reasonable, and the fares did not get increased in the May EYMS fare changes. The Barton-Hull return fare is £6.30; dropping that to say £6 is unlikely to see many extra passengers while a bigger drop may not cover the operators costs. And the service is even being advertised on Viking FM.

Maybe a short term promotion to encourage new users to try the service - for example two adults travelling together get one ticket half price. Or a family ticket that could boost weekend and school holiday travel. Possibly a flexi-rider version of the Megarider Fastcat (Stagecoach's weekly ticket). An add-on to the weekly tickets for local travel in Hull or Scunthorpe would be another option, though with EYMS and Stagecoach's competing networks in Hull I doubt this would be practical.

Executive Connect 3 Grimsby re-route complaints

The diversion of the newly relaunched service 3 away from Hainton Avenue and Weelsby Road to Bargate has caused some disquiet from those residents affected. A diversion of the 51 from Louth via the two roads is being considered, though potential unreliability issues need to be addressed. The idea of using Phone n'Ride instead was not well received.

Hainton Avenue also has the Humber Flyer for journeys into Grimsby. This service is hourly - and I don't think Hainton Avenue has had a sustained period of more frequent service for quite some time. The change however did leave a relatively short part of Weelsby Road without a service.

New service 23/C

With the new ExecutiveConnect 3 timetable starting today, the last departure from Lincoln to Grimsby was moved forward from 1740 to 1710. However that is not the last bus from Lincoln to Grimsby - not that many people will know. Without any announcement that I can find a new service 23/C has been introduced following the same route as service 3. The new 23 will depart from Lincoln to Market Rasen at 1740 Monday to Saturday before continuing as a 23C to Grimsby. Postings on the Stagecoach East Midlands Yahoo Group report a change of bus will be required at Market Rasen.

Apart from the lack of publicity, the choice of service number is also odd. There is also a separate service 23 operated by PC Coaches under contract to Lincolnshire County Council. It also links Caistor and Market Rasen to Lincoln. While it follows a very different route, surely the new 23 could confuse passengers?

Interconnect 3 Changes

From Monday 7th June Stagecoach's InterConnect 3 between Grimsby and Lincoln shall be relaunched with a revised timetable. There are extra early morning services from Lincoln, and a later evening bus from Grimsby, but a reduced morning service from Grimsby and an earlier last departure from Lincoln. This is in connection with the service being wholly operated by Lincoln depot. The route shall also nover operate via Bargate as opposed to Hainton Avenue within Grimsby. Many services shall work through from Lincoln to Newark as new service X3 'Executive Connect'.

The changes shall also mean a better timetable between Laceby and Grimsby, with a 23 minute as opposed to a 5 minute gap between the 3 and the Humber Flyer.

Sunday Hull-Cleethorpes service returns

Nothing too exciting, but it looks like the Summer Sunday and Bank Holiday link from Hull to Cleethorpes will return this year. As it is operated by Stagecoach Hull, as opposed to Stagecoach Grimsby Cleethorpes who operate the Monday to Saturday service, a separate registration with VOSA has to be made. Stagecoach Grimsby Cleethorpes operate under the Grimsby Cleethorpes Transport license and Stagecoach Hull use the Cleveland Transit license. The Humber Flyer is split into two sections to enable operation under domestic (as opposed to EU) driving hour rules.

PB0001987/286 - CLEVELAND TRANSIT LTD T/A STAGECOACH NORTHEAST, ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, NORTH BRIDGE STREET, SUNDERLAND, SR5 1AQ

Registration Accepted

• Starting Point: Hull Interchange
• Finish Point: Humberside Airport
• Via:
• Service Number: HF2
• Service Type: Normal Stopping
• Effective Date: 11-JUL-2010
• Other Details: Sundays & Bank Holidays - One journey each way

PB0001987/287 - CLEVELAND TRANSIT LTD T/A STAGECOACH NORTHEAST, ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, NORTH BRIDGE STREET, SUNDERLAND, SR5 1AQ

Registration Accepted

• Starting Point: Humberside Aiport
• Finish Point: Cleethorpes Pleasure Island
• Via:
• Service Number: HF1
• Service Type: Normal Stopping
• Effective Date: 11-JUL-2010
• Other Details: Sundays & Bank Holidays - One journey each way

Hull Circular Changes

The troubled Hull Circular (service 10) operated by Stagecoach saw changes on Tuesday, reducing mileage and providing quicker journeys between key areas.

The service continues to serve Chanterlands Avenue, the Bricknell Estate and Orchard Park, however after serving Greenwood Avenue it now operates directly to Sutton Park, omitting Kingswood. After continuing to serve Bransholme's North Point Shopping Centre, the 10 now operates via Church Street in Sutton Village to Salthouse Road, rather than Leads Road, Cavendish Road, Ings Road and Bellfield Avenue. The final change is the omission of the Longhill Estate and Asda Bilton from the route, though Bilton Grange, Greatfield and Preston Road continue to be served.

These changes remove links from Chanterlands Avenue, the Bricknell Estate, Longhill, Bilton Grange and Greatfield to Kingswood, and the link betwen Greatfield, Bilton Grange and Asda Bilton. However I can only guess these were little used. Also noteworthy is the service finishes earlier in the afternoon, and starts later on a Saturday morning. Lets hope though these changes secure the long term viability of the service, and can maybe be reversed in the future.

One significant improvement is better co-ordination with the 110 between the Bricknell Estate and Hull City Centre. Since the 110 was changed in February, departures from Hull Interchange were at 35 and 55 minutes past the hour, and at 55 and 00 past the hour from the Bricknell Estate. The new service 10 timetable means departures from Hull Interchange at 25 and 55 minutes past the hour, and at 00 and 25 minutes past the hour from the Bricknell Estate.

Bits and Pieces

A few corrections and updates:

260 Villager Changes; From next month when the timetable for North Lincolnshire Council operated service 260 'Villager' changes, the journeys to Victoria House in Barton will continue to operate, but on a Thursday rather than a Friday.

Stagecoach's Humber Flyer has been transferred from Stand D to Stand 3 in Hull Interchange, the same stand as the Humber Fastcat. However from my observations, the Humber Flyer is seeing little use for Barton-Hull traffic (apart from me).

The new EYMS X55 Petuaria Express will operate into Hull via the Clive Sullivan Way, not Boothferry Road.

X55: Petuaria Express

Details are starting to be announced about EYMS's new X55 Gilberdyke to Hull service that starts on April 26th. It will be called the Petuaria Express. While the EYMS announcement says times will be released next week, they are available on their website now.

The timetable shows the service will operate Monday to Friday only with an hourly frequency in the daytime, increased at peak times. The vehicle requirement would appear to be for 2 buses. Timing points are given at Gilberdyke, Newport, Elloughton EYMS Depot, Brough Memorial, Hull Royal Infirmary and Hull Interchange. This would seem to imply use of the A63 for large parts of the route though it is not clear if the service will use the Clive Sullivan Way or Boothferry Road/Anlaby Road into Hull City Centre. Peak time services will operate via Wilberforce Drive in Hull - I think the only other service to serve Wilberforce Drive is the 1C. This will be useful for Hull College students as well as commuters.

Journey times are, as would be expected, are quicker than the 155 which provides the current main link between Hull, Brough and Gilberdyke. Daytime X55 journeys from Hull to Brough take 32 minutes compared to 48 minutes on the 155 via Ferriby, Melton and Welton. The time savings are more significant to Gilberdyke; 51 minutes on the X55 compared to 80 minutes on the 155 via South and North Cave. Though of course the train is quicker than the X55 to both Brough and Gilberdyke (and to Brough is more frequent than the 155 and X55 combined).

From Hull the 155 leaves at 35 minutes past the hour and the X55 on the hour during the day, so good co-ordination. Though that difference is just 9 minutes by the time the two services reach Brough, and the X55 arrives 4 minutes ahead off the 155 in Gilberdyke despite leaving Hull 25 minutes later. In the reverse direction the X55 leaves Gilberdyke 15 minutes ahead off the 155 in the daytime, and leaves Brough 28 minutes ahead of the 155, so again good co-ordination here.

From the above, it would seem that very few passengers will end up still using the 155 for full length journey's between Hull and Newport/Gilberdyke when the Petuaria Express starts. However as the 155 continues as the 156 to Howden and Goole it shouldn't be empty after North Cave. And no doubt the business case for introducing the X55 has factored this in. The Petuaria Express also creates a roughly half hourly Brough to Hull frequency which is an effective doubling of the service (excluding Stagecoach's X62 which is primarily meant for travel to/from Leeds), and unlike Gilberdyke and Newport, it should complement the 155 rather than take passengers from it.

The new X55 has the potential to increase bus use on the busy A63 commuter corridor, and the initative is to be welcomed. Though what, if any, impact will this have on the train services between Hull, Brough and Gilberdyke? Any local knowledge would be appreciated. Just leave your thoughts a comment on this blog post.

Hutchinsons takeover 488 to Goole

I'm sure everyone has heard of the saying about waiting for a bus and two turn up at once. Well we wait for a Hutchinson's service into East Yorkshire, and two come at once. In addition to the new 133, Hutchinson's have registered a Wednesdays only service 488 from Hut Green to Goole with VOSA, operating Wednesdays only from week commencing 18th April.

The 488 is currently operated by Shaws Coaches, and provides a shopping link from villages including Hensall and Gowdall to Goole, via Snaith.

New Driffield to Malton Summer Service

A registration is now showing on the VOSA website for a new service 133 between Driffield and Malton, to be operated by North Yorkshire independent Hutchinsons. The service will operate at weekends and Bank Holidays. Confusingly the effective date is 22nd May but the other details section says it will operate from Easter Saturday until 26th September.

184 Swanland to Hessle: Further Information

Further to my earlier post about a new EYMS Swanland to Hessle service a commenter has directed me to the Swanland Village website which contains further information about it.

The service is being funded by East Riding of Yorkshire Council following representations by both North Ferriby and Swanland Parish Councils. Starting on 10th May it will be reviewed after six months. There is one departure each way; from Swanland at 0930 and Hessle at 1200. Journey time is 25 minutes operating via North Ferriby.

The Swanland Village website also reveals unhappiness about retimings to service 153 made last month.

Hull City Circle (Service 10) May Changes

The VOSA website todays has details that from Tuesday 4th May Stagecoach's Hull City Circular, service 10, will have a new route and timetable. The route was originally cancelled from next Monday, but has been reregistered and will continue to the current route and timetable until the change in May.

Service 910 to Garthorpe

Earlier this month I posted that the 909 was being reduced to three journeys only to/from Doncaster with a new service 910 maintaining a roughly hourly Brigg to Scunthorpe services. Now Stagecoach have released their timetable showing that service 910 will extend to Crowle and Garthorpe, incorporating service 356. This will retain the current roughly two hourly service between Scunthorpe, Crowle and Garthorpe and along with the 909 maintain an hourly Stagecoach service between Brigg, Scunthorpe, Gunness and Althorpe.

Who would have thought you could travel between Brigg and Garthorpe on the same service! Seriously while it is a shame to see the 909 reduced, at least Stagecoach have taken the opportunity to create some new through links.