Tuesday 27 March 2012

45/46/150/250/450 Changes in Full

From next Monday (April 2nd) Stagecoach are making various alterations to services 45/46/150/250/450.

The main pattern to the Grimsby to Immingham corridor shall remain a 45 every 30 minutes between Grimsby and Immingham Monday to Saturday daytimes. This half hourly frequency shall continue as far as South Killingholme for most of the day; one service shall continue as a 45 to South Killingholme every hour while another shall become a 150 or 450 at Immingham before continuing to South Killingholme and beyond. This is welcome news as Stagecoach had originally proposed withdrawing South Killingholme's off peak 45's.

The weekday 45M extensions to the MIC Plant at Immingham also continues - it too had originally been proposed for withdrawal - though the early morning journeys starting in Cleethorpes will now start at Grimsby Bus Station.

Peak time frequencies on the 45 are reduced from every 20 minutes to half hourly. Evening services on the 46, starting in Cleethorpes and operating via the Willows Estate continue as at present, operating every hour. Late evening services had been proposed for withdrawal.

Likewise the hourly Sunday 46's continue operating hourly, but will now extend beyond North Sea Lane in Cleethorpes to Waltham, operating via New Waltham. This replaces the Sunday service on service 8, and 46's will continue from Waltham back into Grimsby as a 9 or 9A. It also introduces a direct Sunday Waltham to Cleethorpes link, avoiding Grimsby Town Centre.

Now for the service beyond Immingham, which seems to be getting named as 'Humber Connect'. As noted above once an hour the 45 becomes a 150 or 450 at Immingham, replacing the current arrangement of service 150 and 250 (to Barton) running from Grimsby. The 150 extends to East Halton via Habrough and South Killingholme 3 times a day, as noted here. The 450 extends to Barton and Brigg and in part replaces the 250. As noted here the 450 continues to provide 4 journeys a day between Barton and Brigg Monday to Saturday, and will provide 5 between Barton and Immingham, roughly two hourly - a slight increase on the current 3 plus Barton-Ulceby short workings provided by the 250.

The current morning peak 45 from Ulceby now starts from Barton as a 450, and now also operates on Saturdays. I presume on weekdays this will use the vehicle from the early morning Grimsby-Barton Humber Flyer. Habrough is now served by a separate 45 journey in the morning peak, and again this now seems to also operate on Saturdays. In the evening 2 journeys continue to extend beyond South Killingholme to Ulceby via Habrough, and these too now operate on Saturdays as well as weekdays.

The new operating pattern to the 45/150/450 removes the 150 and old 250 between Grimsby and Immingham, which should deliver some useful mileage reductions while still providing a half hourly service. It has also introduced standard pattern timetables between Immingham, Barton and Brigg, and brought Saturday services to Habrough and East Halton. Good news all round! One oddity I have noticed on the 450 is a near 2 hour layover in Brigg on Saturdays and school holidays.

Stagecoach have the timetables for the 45/46 and 150/450 on their website (though sadly a few 45/46 journeys to South Killingholme are omitted from the 150/450 timetable that is meant to show all South Killingholme services).

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good news for Brigg passengers - reinstating the lost bus service to Grimsby, lost when the 909/910 were withdrawn several years ago, and never really replaced. If the service can be marketed better for connections to Hull and Grimsby, this 'marginal' service should see growth...

Humber Transport said...

After the original 909/910 was withdrawn, Brigg still had an hourly bus to Grimsby. From 2002 to 2006 the 450 was hourly (goodness knows how that was justified) and then continued hourly as a 150 or 250 from Barton to Grimsby.

Sadly the connections don't really work out for Brigg to Grimsby. The first arrival from Brigg into Grimsby is at 1100, and the last return at 1245. Works better the other way though.

Hull is only a slight bit better. Using the 0900 from Brigg you could be in Hull for 1030. And coming back from Hull you would need to catch the 1305 to meet the last bus from Barton to Brigg.

Beyond maybe some Barrow-Brigg travel, linking Barton-Brigg and Barton-Grimsby services really only seems to be for operational reasons. Without a later Barton to Brigg service connections from Brigg to Hull and Grimsby are nearly useless for days out

It's been about four years since I used the 450 on weekday daytimes regularly but usage was low - it's the schools journey that sustains the service. Even with connections I'd struggle to see how the service could sustain more than the current 4 journeys a day.

The real improvement here seems to be a standard pattern timetable

Anonymous said...

Is there a bus around 5pm that goes to Barrow on Humber from Barton interchange