Another change to the 10 Hull Circular (plus 52/53 changes)

From Monday (2nd April) Stagecoach in Hull are making another set of big changes to the circular service 10, with both the route and timetable significantly changes. This post will cover these changes, and those to services 52 and 53, for reasons that shall become clear.

Starting clockwise from Hull Interchange the 10 will now operate via Princes Avenue, Newland Avenue and Cottingham Road (University) to Hall Road, instead of Chanterlands Avenue and the Bricknell Estate. The leaves Bricknell Estate with just the hourly 110 between Hull and Cottingham on weekdays (half hourly in the peak), just as it has on Saturdays; the 10 had previously combined with the 110 to provide the estate with a half hourly weekday service into Hull City Centre. The 110 only sees minor timetable alterations in Monday's changes.

After travelling along Hall Road the 10 then leaves it to serve the western part of Greenwood Avenue currently without a bus service before heading up Ellerburn Avenue and via Orchard Park Road West to Orchard Park Tesco. From here the 10 will now travel back down Beverley High Road to cross the River Hull along Sutton Road. Until Friday the service had travelled further along along Hall Road to Orchard Park Road then down Ellerburn Avenue and along the eastern part of Greenwood Avenue to Sutton Road, not serving Tesco.

Once crossing the River Hull the 10 continues to serve Sutton Park on it's current route via Littondale and Cheltenham Avenue to North Point Shopping Centre, Bransholme. The 10 then leaves North Point via Midmere Avenue but will now travel to Salthouse Road via Robson Way, Howdale Road and Dunvegan Road rather than via Church Street in Sutton.

The 10 continues from Salthouse Road to Bilton Grange. Here, in absense of a route map yet being available, I am a bit confused about the route to be taken. But the 10 is to now operate via Marfleet Lane and the full length of Holderness Road back into Hull City Centre, omitting Greatfield.
If you thought the route changes was interesting, the new timetable makes it even more interesting. The current circular service continues hourly on weekdays, with an increase in the number of afternoon services. However the frequency between Hull and Orchard Park Tesco via Cottingham Road becomes half hourly, including at peak times, and in the morning peak services will start at North Point. A half hourly Hull to Orchard Park via Cottingham Road service is also introduced on Saturdays.

On schooldays a number of schools services to Andrew Marvell School, Bilton Grange shall be numbered as variants of the 10. Details are still being finalised with Hull City Council.

Now for the 52/53 - nothing so dramatic here. Services 53's shall becomes 52's at Bellfield Avenue/Bayswater Court. Short 52A's shall be extended from Howdale Road to North Point via Midmere Avenue. Otherwise the services remain half hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes, and hourly on Sundays.

Comment

Firstly on the route changes to the circular bit of the 10. Adding the university to the route may help generate some new traffic, and Stagecoach will be hoping withdrawing the 10 from the Bricknell Estate boosts the 110. Reinstating the a service for the western part of Greenwood Avenue is welcome.

It is in east Hull that I find the changes less positive. It seems the 10 will be withdrawn from Hopewell Road, leaving part of it without a bus service. The Falkland Road-Preston Road Health Centre link will also be lost as the 10 is withdrawn from Greatfield. What is also noticeable is that the 10 will be following a very similar route to the 52A. Is the 52 really doing that well that it needs the 10 as an extra bus per hour?

This brings me to a post I did last year on whether the 10 was really viable and needed. Stagecoach have already deemed the 10 unnecessary to serve the Bricknell Estate and Wyke College, and that the Falkland Road-Preston Road Health Centre link is not enough to keep the 10 in Greatfield. So thats some reasons for keeping it gone. This latest change only reinforces my view the 10 is not needed, and that it could be replaced.

With the 10 and 52(A) now following such similar routes in east Hull I wonder if the 52/3 should be split. The 52 would run the 52A route to North Point on the current half hourly 52 frequency. Thats the entire eastern half of the 10 replaced with better Bransholme-Bilton Grange links in the process, and no 10-52 duplication, and the mileage saving that will bring. The 53 could continue to link Hull City Centre with the Ings Estate and Wilberforce College as at present. This would require some extra resources, but those saved by axing the 10 could be used. All that would be left is identifying a suitable service to be extended to maintain Orchard Park-Bransholme links and the 10 could be axed without too much hardship - the University/Greenwood Avenue part of the service isn't established and alternatives would remain within walking distance for most. Nice to have, not essential.

Now for the half hourly Hull to Orchard Park frequency. I am bemused at what this is meant to achieve. From Hull City Centre to Hall Road it duplicates EYMS's 215, which in my experience is little used anyway. Half hourly to Cottingham Road will also make little inroads into the University market. I doubt the western part of Greenwood Avenue justifies the service alone, and Ellerburn Avenue certainly doesn't need it. And almost everywhere on the route has a link to Orchard Park Tesco currently, from either the 13 or 15. Maybe the service is meant to relieve the busy 13 and 15 services. It's about the only reason I can think off.

UPDATE - The 10 will continue to serve Hopewell Road. In relation to my idea for changing the 52, this could be diverted via Hopewell Road to replace the 10.