City of York Proposed Tendered Bus Cuts

Next week, the City of York Council cabinet will be asked to approve cuts to supported bus services in the city, including two services which also serve the East Riding of Yorkshire. Two criteria are used by the City of York to decide when to provide financial support for a bus service, a maximum subsidy of £2 per passenger and a minimum number of 9 per passengers per bus hour operated (there is an option to tighten these criteria to £1.60 per passenger maximum subsidy and 13 bus passengers per bus hour but this would not impact any cross boundary services into the East Riding of Yorkshire).

The Sunday to Thursday evening service on route 10 between Stamford Bridge, Dunnington, York and Poppleton, currently operated by Transdev York, is proposed for withdrawal. This would deliver £36,057 in annual savings as part of a target £200,000 annual saving. The current passengers per bus hour are 7 and the per passenger subsidy is £2.92.

The withdrawn journeys would be the 2023 York-Stamford Bridge, 2100, 2200, 2300 Poppleton-Stamford Bridge, 2353 Nether Poppleton-Upper Poppleton, 2029 York-Poppleton and 2100, 2200 and 2300 Stamford Bridge-Poppleton. If approved the last journey from York Railway Station to Stamford Bridge would be provided commercially by First at 1931 (Mon-Thu)/1925 (Sun) and from Stamford Bridge to York by First at 2015 (Mon-Thu)/2010 (Sun). In fairness this is quite a late finish for the daytime only provision provided by First, compared to some other areas. Dunnington also has a 2305 service from York provided by EYMS on route 45A. Transdev provide the Friday and Saturday evening service ommercially so it is not proposed for withdrawal.

City of York Council also are proposing the entire withdrawal of service 36 between Sutton upon Derwent in the East Riding of Yorkshire, Elvington, Wheldrake and York. Currently 5 journeys from Sutton upon Derwent at 0900, 1015, 1215, 1415 and 1615 are provided on Monday to Saturdays, along with 3 journeys from York at 1105, 1305 and 1505. Associated peak service X36 is not proposed for withdrawal, and passenger numbers on the X36 are described as "reasonable". The current combined 36/X36 service, which also receives a small contribution from East Riding of Yorkshire Council, has a subsidy of £3.46 per passenger and 7.5 passengers per bus hour. The annual saving from withdrawing the 36 would be £40,000. The 36 only started serving Sutton upon Derwent in April.

As a result Sutton upon Derwent and Elvington's only daytime services would be on EYMS operated, East Riding of Yorkshire Council subsidised services 195 and 196. Elvington residents would have 3 buses to York on Tuesday daytimes, and one on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday daytimes, along with one return service from York on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays (extra journey options are available by travelling into York on the 195 and returning on the X36). Sutton upon Derwent has one less Tuesday service into York compared to Elvington provided by the 195/196, but also has a return service to Pocklington on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Wheldrake is also served by part-subsidised service 18, which hopefully would see a small boost from the 36's withdrawal.

While on the per passenger subsidy measure, the 36 performs very poorly, the service reduction proposed is very severe, and Elvington goes from a two hourly Monday to Saturday daytime service to not even having a daytime service on Mondays and Fridays.

As a final note, City of York Council fund 4 (one-way?) journeys on the 18 between York and Holme Upon Spalding Moor Monday to Thursday, 8 on a Friday and 7 on a Saturday at an annual cost of £26,813, to which both North and East Riding of Yorkshire Council's also contribute. This covers some daytime journeys plus the Friday and Saturday evening service. There are 15.7 passengers per bus hour with a £1.46 subsidy per passenger.

Humber Flyer - Temporary re-routing delayed?

Last month I posted about Traveline East Midlands showing a revised timetable for Stagecoach's Humber Flyer between Hull, Barton, Grimsby and Cleethorpes, and the associated College Flyer, from Monday 5th January, with the service diverted away from Humberside Airport to operate via Barrow and Wootton instead. Comments posted stated this was a temporary diversion due a weight restriction on a bridge close to Humberside Airport which is requiring a very inefficient temporary timetable. There was then a response from Stagecoach posted stating it was "an ongoing issue that may change".

Today Stagecoach have tweeted "there NO changes to the current route or times of the #HumberFlyer from 5th January".

However Traveline East Midlands has the following notice:

"HF changes to timetable now from 19th Jan 2015
Valid from 0000 on Monday 5th January until 2359 on Monday 19th January

Affected Services

Stagecoach Grimsby service CF

Stagecoach Grimsby service Humber Flyer

Traveline timetables show a service change for the Humber Flyer from 5 Jan 2015 - please continue to use the current printed timetable times when journey planning - the change in times will now be from 19 Jan 2015."

 

 

Christmas and New Year services 2014/15

Below is a summary of Christmas/New Year services in the Humber region provided by Arriva Yorkshire, EYMS, First South Yorkshire, First York, Stagecoach, Transdev York and Transdev Yorkshire Coastliner. Services provided by these operators outside of the region are not covered. If anyone has information for other operators, please post a comment and I will update this post.

Christmas Eve - Normal service with early evening finish. Arriva Yorkshire, First South Yorkshire, First York, Transdev York and Transdev Yorkshire Coastliner will be operating a Saturday service. Transdev York service X36 will operate to it's normal weekday timetable.
Christmas Day - No services

Boxing Day - Special daytime services on certain routes only:

Stagecoach are the following routes:
3: Cleethorpes-Grimsby-Laceby Road Morrisons - hourly
4: Cleethorpes-Grimsby-Laceby Road Morrisons - hourly
5: Cleethorpes-Grimsby-Immingham - hourly
10: New Waltham-Cleethorpes-Grimsby-Grimsby Hospital-Waltham - hourly

1: Hull-Boothferry Estate - hourly
2: Hull-Boothferry Estate - hourly
13: Hull-Orchard Park - half hourly (with lunch break)
14: Hull-Orchard Park - half hourly (with lunch break)
15: Hull-Avenues-Orchard Park - Kingswood - half hourly (with lunch break)
28b: Hull-Sutton Park-North Point - hourly
30: Hull-Leads Road-North Point-North Bransholme - hourly
32: Hull-Sutton-North Point - hourly
41a: Hull-Greatfield - hourly
43: Hull-Greatfield - hourly
51: Hull-Ings Estate-North Point-Kingswood - hourly with some extras
54: Hull-Bilton Grange - hourly

EYMS are operating the following routes:
34: Hull-Willerby - hourly
56: Hull-Longhill-Asda Bilton - hourly
64: Hull-Cottingham-Castle Hill Hospital - hourly
66: Hull-Hessle - hourly
115: Hull-Avenues-Cottingham-Castle Hill Hospital - hourly, operates as a circular with service 154
154: Hull-Willerby-Casle Hill Hospital - hourly, operates as a circular with service 115

Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th - Normal service

Monday 29th - A Saturday service in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire and North East Lincolnshire, with a normal Monday service in North Lincolnshire. Helpfully the main 'cross-boundary' routes between North Lincolnshire and Hull/North East Lincolnshire (350, 450, Humber Flyer) have identical school holiday weekday and Saturday timetables. There are exceptions as follows:

• EYMS services 143, 241, 360 and 361 will operate to a normal Monday timetable
• EYMS services X36, 106, 107, 160, 173 and 195 will not operate (these services would not normally operate on a Monday)
• EYMS Friday and Saturday only evening journeys on routes 18, 75, 121 and X47 will not operate (i.e. a normal Monday evening service will operate)
• Stagecoach services 1, 2, 20 and 25 in North East Lincolnshire will operate to a normal Monday timetable
• The First South Yorkshire morning peak service from Epworth (North Lincolnshire) to Doncaster shall be provided by service 91 operating on a Saturday timetable, rather than usual weekday service 57
• Transdev York service X36 will operate to a normal Monday timetable

Tuesday 30th - A Saturday service in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire and North East Lincolnshire, with a normal Tuesday service in North Lincolnshire. There are exceptions as follows:

• EYMS services 195, 196, 198, 199, 360, 361, S1 and S2 will operate to a normal Tuesday timetable
• EYMS service 135 will have normal Tuesday departures from Driffield at 0910 and 1140, however the 0655 and 1710 journeys will not operate
• EYMS services X36, 106, 107, 160 and 173 will not operate
• EYMS Friday and Saturday only evening journeys on routes 18, 75, 121 and X47 will not operate (i.e. a normal Tuesday evening service will operate)
• Stagecoach services 1, 2, 20 and 25 in North East Lincolnshire will operate to a normal Tuesday timetable
• It may be an oversight in EYMS's publicity but it appear Monday, Wednesday and Saturday service 143 will be operating on Tuesday 30th to a Saturday timetable
• The First South Yorkshire morning peak service from Epworth to Doncaster shall be provided by service 91 operating on a Saturday timetable, rather than usual weekday service 57
• Transdev York service X36 will operate to a normal Tuesday timetable

New Years Eve - A Saturday service in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire and North East Lincolnshire, with a normal Wednesday service in North Lincolnshire. There will be an early evening finish in all areas. There are exceptions as follows:

• EYMS services 195, 241, 360 and 361 will operate to a normal Wednesday timetable
• EYMS services X36, 106, 107 and 173 will not operate
• Stagecoach services 15 and 51 in Hull will have an evening service
• Stagecoach services 2, 15, 43 and 51 will have a nightbus service
• Stagecoach services 1, 2, 20 and 25 in North East Lincolnshire will operate to a normal Wednesday timetable
• The First South Yorkshire morning peak service from Epworth to Doncaster shall be provided by service 91 operating on a Saturday timetable, rather than usual weekday service 57
• Transdev York service X36 will operate to a normal Wednesday timetable

New Years Day - No services

Friday 2nd - A Saturday service in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire and North East Lincolnshire, with a normal Friday service in North Lincolnshire. There are exceptions as follows:

• EYMS services 360, 361, S1, S2  and S3 will operate to a normal Friday timetable
• EYMS services X36, 106, 107, 143, 160 and 173 will not operate
• Stagecoach services 1, 2, 20 and 25 in North East Lincolnshire will operate to a normal Friday timetable
• The First South Yorkshire morning peak service from Epworth to Doncaster shall be provided by service 91 operating on a Saturday timetable, rather than usual weekday service 57
• Transdev York service X36 will operate to a normal Friday timetable

Overall services patterns across the region are unchanged from last year (allowing for network revisions during the past 12 months).

First Doncaster-Thorne-Goole Changes

First South Yorkshire are heavily revising their services from Doncaster to Edenthorpe/Hatfield/Thorne/Moorends and surrounding areas in January. How this impacts the link between Doncaster and Goole is unclear, with the 88 that currently links the two towns having it's registration with VOSA cancelled, and no replacement service shown as terminating with Goole.

A health warning should be applied that further registrations could yet be made with VOSA, and that details in registrations are not always totally accurate.

PB0002307/54 - FIRST SOUTH YORKSHIRE LTD, MIDLAND ROAD GARAGE, MIDLAND ROAD, ROTHERHAM, S61 1TF
Variation Accepted: Operating between Doncaster, South Bus Station and Moorends, Winning Post Hotel given service number 87 effective from 25-Jan-2015. To amend Route and Timetable.

PB0002307/55 - FIRST SOUTH YORKSHIRE LTD, MIDLAND ROAD GARAGE, MIDLAND ROAD, ROTHERHAM, S61 1TF
Cancellation Accepted: Operating between Doncaster, Frenchgate Interchange and Hatfield, Westfield Green given service number 83/84/85 effective from 25-Jan-2015.

PB0002307/83 - FIRST SOUTH YORKSHIRE LTD, MIDLAND ROAD GARAGE, MIDLAND ROAD, ROTHERHAM, S61 1TF
Cancellation Accepted: Operating between Doncaster Frenchgate Interchange and Goole Interchange given service number 88/88A effective from 25-Jan-2015.

PB0002307/136 - FIRST SOUTH YORKSHIRE LTD, MIDLAND ROAD GARAGE, MIDLAND ROAD, ROTHERHAM, S61 1TF
Cancellation Accepted: Operating between Doncaster Frenchgate Interchange and Moorlands Prison given service number 67 effective from 25-Jan-2015.

PB0002307/342 - FIRST SOUTH YORKSHIRE LTD, MIDLAND ROAD GARAGE, MIDLAND ROAD, ROTHERHAM, S61 1TF
Registration Accepted
Starting Point: DONCASTER INTERCHANGE
Finish Point: DONCASTER INTERCHANGE
Via:
Service Number: 89
Service Type: Normal Stopping/Hail & Ride
Effective Date: 25-JAN-2015
Other Details: MONDAY TO SATURDAY

PB0002307/344 - FIRST SOUTH YORKSHIRE LTD, MIDLAND ROAD GARAGE, MIDLAND ROAD, ROTHERHAM, S61 1TF
Registration Accepted
Starting Point: DONCASTER INTERCHANGE
Finish Point: BARNBY DUN
Via:
Service Number: 84
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 25-JAN-2015
Other Details: MONDAY TO SUNDAY

PB0002307/345 - FIRST SOUTH YORKSHIRE LTD, MIDLAND ROAD GARAGE, MIDLAND ROAD, ROTHERHAM, S61 1TF
Registration Accepted

Starting Point: DONCASTER INTERCHANGE

Finish Point: MOORENDS

Via:

Service Number: X8

Service Type: Limited Stop

Effective Date: 25-JAN-2015

Other Details: MONDAY TO SUNDAY

Stagecoach in Hull Network Makeover?

Could Hull be following Grimsby and getting some major changes to it's network of Stagecoach operated services? From http://www.stevenknightmedia.com/fleet-news-ramblings (Entry on 28th Nov 2014) "During a briefing earlier this year Steven Knight Media was advised that next in line for a makeover could be the Hull network."

Humber Flyer Major Route Change

The new timetable on Traveline East Midlands for the Humber Flyer between Hull, Barton, Grimsby and Cleethorpes (and associated College Flyer) from Monday 5th January shows the route revised to operate via Barrow, Thornton Curtis and Wootton rather than Humberside Airport and Great Limber between Barton and Keelby.

It is easy to see how Barrow, Thornton Curtis, Wootton and I presume Ulceby would provide more custom than Humberside Airport, Great Limber and (once a day) Barnetby, but this would remove the only bus service to Humberside Airport (the 68 villager bus is not serving the airport during roadworks, and isn't much use anyway for airport travel). The airport is seeing major investment with a new hotel, BAe training academy and search and rescue base being built/to be built soon, along with a new roundabout at the A18/airport entrance junction.

UPDATE - It seems the re-routing is temporary, see the comments below

EYMS 174 and 175 withdrawn

Due to low usage, EYMS weekday peak services 174 and 175 between Withernsea and Hull will be withdrawn after operation on Friday 21st November.

The services are an oddity in that a different route is followed in the morning and evening peak. The morning peak service operate as route 174, departing Withernsea at 0730. It operates via Roos, Burton Pidsea, Elstronwick, Humbleton, Sproatley, Bilton and Holderness Road into Hull. The evening service operates as route 175 leaving Hull at 1740 and operating via Hedon and Preston. However it’s not just a different route out of Hull. The 175 operates via Lelley, not served by the 174, then Humbleton, Elstronwick and Burton Pidsea before serving Tunstall, which also is not served by the 174, and Roos into Withernsea.

For some of the towns and villages, alternative services remain into Hull. Withernsea has the main 75-77 group of services, and these along with the 78-80 also link Hedon into Hull. Humbleton, Sproatley and Bilton are served by the 220 (and off peak 221), while Sproatley, Bilton and Preston are served by the 277. However Elstronwick and Lelley become unserved, while Burton Pidsea, Tunstall and Roos’s only link into Hull will be the Saturday 173. Roos, Burton Pidsea and Humbleton are also served by Pearsons Coaches 76C between Withernsea and Humbleton while Roos is also on the route of EYMS service 129 between Withernsea and Hull.

EYMS Hull-Withernsea Weekday Afternoon Improvement

From Monday 24th November, EYMS are improving their weekday afternoon services from Hull to Withernsea on their main 75-77 group of services between the two locations. The current 1445 and 1545 service 77's from Hull to Keyingham will extend to Withernsea, filling two gaps in the otherwise half hourly daytime service between Hull and Withernsea. This is in response to overcrowding on the current 1515 service 76 between Hull and Withernsea. To facilitate this change the current 1630 service 77 from Keyingham to Hull will start from Burstwick at 1637.

Hornsby 4 Timetable Amendments

From tomorrow, Monday 3rd November, many weekday journeys on Hornsby Travel service 4 between Brigg and Scunthorpe will be retimed by up 10 minutes; in almost all cases the retimed journeys will leave earlier than previously.

EYMS 360/361 November amendments

From Monday 3rd November, EYMS are tweaking their 360/361 services between Scunthorpe, Crowle (service 361 only) and Goole that were introduced in September. Some journeys will have slightly amended times to improve punctuality. The weekday 0810 service 360 from Garthorpe to Goole will start in Eastoft at 0759 while the weekday 1715 service 360 from Goole to Garthorpe moves to 1725 and extends to Luddington and Eastoft.

EYMS back on the Sunday 155

As expected, EYMS have confirmed they will be resuming operation of the East Riding of Yorkshire Council tendered Sunday and Bank Holiday service on route 155 between South Cave (one journey each way only), Gilberdyke, Howden and Goole from Sunday 2nd November. Enterprise Coaches had taken over the tender from EYMS just last month.

EYMS 360/361 November Change

EYMS will be altering their Goole to Scunthorpe services from next month. From VOSA:

PB0000328/455 - EAST YORKSHIRE MOTOR SERVICES LTD, 252 ANLABY ROAD, HULL, HU3 2RS
Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Goole and Scunthorpe given service number 360/361 effective from 03-Nov-2014. To amend Timetable.

EYMS put Whittles up for sale

EYMS have put their Kidderminster based operation Whittles up for sale, reports busandcoach.com. EYMS have owned Whittles for a decade and the decision is apparently due to several years of operating losses. If a sale cannot be completed, closure has not been ruled out. Last year EYMS sold their Manchester based Finglands operation.

EYMS VOSA Changes

The following variations, cancellations and registrations have been published on the VOSA website today. I presumme the 155 registration covers the tendered Sunday service.

 

PB0000328/6 - EAST YORKSHIRE MOTOR SERVICES LTD, 252 ANLABY ROAD, HULL, HU3 2RS

Variation Accepted: Operating between Hull and Withernsea given service number 75/75H/76/77/914 effective from 23-Nov-2014. To amend Timetable.

 

PB0000328/17 - EAST YORKSHIRE MOTOR SERVICES LTD, 252 ANLABY ROAD, HULL, HU3 2RS

Cancellation Accepted: Operating between Withernsea and Hull given service number 174 effective from 24-Nov-2014.

 

PB0000328/18 - EAST YORKSHIRE MOTOR SERVICES LTD, 252 ANLABY ROAD, HULL, HU3 2RS

Cancellation Accepted: Operating between Hull and Withernsea given service number 175 effective from 24-Nov-2014.

 

PB0000328/462 - EAST YORKSHIRE MOTOR SERVICES LTD, 252 ANLABY ROAD, HULL, HU3 2RS

• Registration Accepted
• Starting Point: Hull Interchange
• Finish Point: Museums Quarter Circular
• Via:
• Service Number: VC1
• Service Type: Normal Stopping
• Effective Date: 29-NOV-2014
• Other Details: New Service

PB0000328/463 - EAST YORKSHIRE MOTOR SERVICES LTD, 252 ANLABY ROAD, HULL, HU3 2RS

• Registration Accepted by SN
• Starting Point: South Cave
• Finish Point: Goole
• Via: Gilberdyke
• Service Number: 155
• Service Type: Normal Stopping
• Effective Date: 02-NOV-2014
• Other Details: New Service

Kirton Kipper to Hibaldstow

North Lincolnshire Council have announced their directly operated 'Kirton Klipper' service will be extended to the nearby villages off Redbourne and Hibaldstow from 24th November.

North Lincolnshire Council has brought in a new bus to deliver the Kirton Klipper and Isle Shopper bus services to ensure that the best possible facilities are provided for residents.

The Kirton Klipper will also be expanding its route from 24 November 2014. From this date it will stop off at Hibaldstow, Redbourne and Gainsthorpe Road; meaning that more people can benefit from the service.

The service will still run on the same days: Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Currently the service does four circular loops around Kirton-in-Lindsey finishing at 11.40am. However the new route will run up until nearly 2pm. 

The council has invested £8,000 to allow for improvements to be made to these bus services. The new and improved bus continues to provide access for disabled people and people in wheelchairs as it has a lift for passengers.

The bus will also carry out school runs before and after the Kirton Klipper and Isle Shopper services. On the days it doesn’t do the Kirton Klipper service it will provide the Isle Shopper service on Wednesday and Fridays.

Cllr Neil Poole, cabinet member for policy and resources, said:
“We have listened to residents views in North Lincolnshire by investing in and improving this much-needed bus service in Kirton and the Isle of Axholme. The new bus is a lot more suitable for the job and more adaptable. After reviewing the Kirton Klipper bus service it was recognised that the route needed to be extended to reach more locations and keep running for longer.

“We are in the process of the reviewing the Isle Shopper service to see if any improvements need to be made, such as increasing its route.”

End of the LinQ

After a year of operation, Stagecoach axed their Saturday evening/night LinQ service at the end of August.

The service had operated from North Point to Mecca Bingo on Clough Road via Holderness Road, Hull City Centre and the Avenues. Between North Point and Holderness Road the route was either via Midmere Avenue, Spring Cottage and Salthouse Road (LinQ 1) or Wawne Road, Sutton Village and Ings Road (LinQ 2). Services to Clough Road operated every 10 minutes in the early evening, then every 10 minutes from Clough Road late evening and every half hour from Clough Road between 2330 and 0200. Services alternated between the LinQ 1 and LinQ 2 routes.

As a partial replacement, Stagecoach have linked up evening journeys on the 15/new route 16 with services 32 and 51 to offer cross city journeys via Hull Interchange without the need to change buses. In East Hull the 32 and 51 serve many of the areas covered by the LinQ, including Holderness Road, Sutton Village, Spring Cottage, Midmere Avenue and North Point, plus some additional areas including Summergangs Road, Bellfield Avenue, Noddle Hill Way, Bodmin Road and Kingswood. These links run either 6 or 7 days a week, offering through services from East Hull to the Avenues on more than just Saturday evenings.

At this point it is probably worth explaining new service 16; it operates via the service 15 route between Hull Interchange and Cranbrook Avenue before omitting Orchard Park and operating directly to Kingswood Leisure Park via the part of Greenwood Avenue only served by service 14 and Beverley Road. From Kingswood Leisure Park it operates directly to the Retail Park before extending to Kingswood Health Centre, who's only other service is at weekday peak times. The 16 operates half hourly Monday to Saturday evenings and Sunday daytimes, combining with the 15 to provide a 15 minute frequency over common sections of route. The 15 had operated every 15 minutes Monday to Saturday early evenings and Sunday daytimes so for Orchard Park and parts of Kingswood only served by service 15, frequency is halfed at these times. Was the 15 underused in these areas at these times? The 16 appears to serve less populated areas and has no journey time advantage over the 15. I'm struggling to understand the point of the service. While it would mean some 'double backing', Kingswood Health Centre could be served as extensions of the 15 if required.

With the exception of the late evening service on the 15 'corridor' via the Avenues being doubled with the addition of the 16, no frequencies are increased anywhere in Hull to accomodate the loss of the LinQ service. I can only guess this reflects usage of the LinQ. Similarly those parts of East Hull who's only evening service was provided by LinQ - Ings Road and Salthouse Road - gain no replacement. Neither is the 'nightbus' element of LinQ replaced, leaving just the 15 and 51 providing a limited nightbus service in some of the areas previously served by LinQ. It seems like LinQ failed, but at least Stagecoach gave it a go.

Finally worth noting some other changes to the 15. All inbound services daily after 1400 will operate directly via Park Street to Hull Interchange, Saturday afternoon services now operate via Kingswood Leisure Park, the last departure from Kingswood Retail Park on weekdays is now 25 minutes earlier at 2310 rather than 2335, while the 'N' prefix has been dropped from the Saturday nightbus service. From Hull Truck Theatre the 0200 is dropped (last bus now 0100), and from Kingswood there is a new 0000 departure but the 0130 is withdrawn (last bus now 0030).

Greatfield and Bilton Grange Changes

Greatfield and Bilton Grange weren't excluded from Stagecoach's changes in Hull at the start of the month. The biggest change was to services 54/54A which became the 54/55. Previously these services between Hull City Centre and Bilton Grange had operated every 10 minutes weekday daytimes, every 15 minutes Saturday daytimes, half hourly Monday to Saturday evenings and Sunday daytimes, and hourly Sunday evenings. All journeys operated as service 54 via Maybury Road except for alternate Monday to Saturday daytime journeys that operated as service 54A via Marfleet Lane. Almost all services on the both the 54 and 54A started as/continued as service 43 from/to Hull City Centre via Greatfield.

The new operating pattern sees all service 54's operate as a circular with service 43, while service 55 that replaces service 54A will not operate as a circular. Service 55 will instead terminate at the Hopewell Road/Staveley Road junction, restoring services to a section of Hopewell Road that I don't think has been served since the 10 was routed via Bilton Grange.

The Monday to Saturday daytime timetable has been revised; the 55 will operate half hourly and the 54 4 journeys per hour on weekdays and half hourly on Saturdays; combined this provides a service every 10 minutes on weekday daytimes and every 15 minutes on Saturday daytimes. On weekdays the last 55 inbound from Bilton Grange is at 1350, though on Saturdays the inbound service runs all day until 1745. The first journey on weekdays from Hull is at 0910 compared to 0715 on the previous 54A. It should however be noted these cutbacks only impact parts of Marfleet Lane that do not have a recent history of frequent services from what I can recall.

Service 43 between Hull City Centre, Preston Road and Greatfield has early morning changes as part of the Workers+ initative. The 5 early morning weekday journeys that start in Bilton Grange will operate via Witham for connections to service 30 and then route via Carr Lane, Hull Royal Infirmary, Rawling Way, English Street Smith and Nephew to Hull Interchange. The N prefix is dropped for the Saturday nightbus services, as is the 0200 departure from Hull Truck Theatre; two departures at 0000 and 0100 remain.

Due to the 54A/55 changes noted above, 2 services per hour on weekday daytimes on the 43 do not operate as a circular with the 54 but instead terminate at Greatfield and return to Hull City Centre as another 43. One aspect that has confused me is that all 4 service 43's per hour on Saturday daytimes are shown in the timetable as operating as 'Bilton Grange circular' but there are only 2 54's per hour on Saturday daytimes. Are there only 2 43/54 circulars per hour on Saturday daytimes, or does the 55 operate as a circular with the 43 on Saturdays only?

13, 14 Changes

Stagecoach made some major changes to their 13 and 14 services between Hull and Orchard Park. at the start of September.

Previously service 13 had operated from Hull Interchange via Spring Bank, Chanterlands Avenue, Bricknell Avenue, Fairfax Avenue and Hall Road to Orchard Park Tesco. The service had operated every 10 minutes on weekday daytimes, every 15 minutes on Saturday daytimes, half hourly on Monday to Saturday evenings and Sunday daytimes, and hourly on Sunday evenings. Half hourly Monday to Saturday daytime journeys and hourly evening and Sunday services had operated as service 13A via Hotham Road Shops instead off Fairfax Avenue.

Now the main service 13 route has been routed via Hotham Road Shops, and Fairfax Avenue is served by a new 13b variation. The combined frequency remains every 10 minutes weekday daytimes and half hourly in the evenings. Saturday daytimes, unlike some other services in Hull, have an increased frequency, now operating every 10 minutes before a half hourly evening service. Sundays retain a half hourly daytime and hourly evening service. Monday to Saturday daytimes alternate journeys shall operate as service 13b via Fairfax Avenue, otherwise all journeys operate as service 13.

Service 13 has for quite some years formed a circular with service 14 between Hull City Centre, Beverley Road, Greenwood Avenue and Orchard Park, and still does. Since the start of the month the 14 has however had it's Monday to Saturday daytime frequency cut from every 15 minutes to every 20 minutes. Monday to Saturday evenings and Sunday daytimes remain half hourly and Sunday evenings hourly. Beverley Road, parts of Greenwood Avenue and Orchard Park are well served by other services so this is not a major cutback.

Most service 13b's not operate as a circular, apart from afternoons. Services from Hull Interchange to Orchard Park Tesco will not return as a service 13b after the 1345 from Orchard Park, after which time the 13b will only operate in one direction, outbound from the Interchange. From Orchard Park the frequency reduces to every 20 minutes on service 13 only. Instead services will operate as service 14b from Orchard Park Tesco to Hull Interchange direct via Beverley Road. This seems to simply be an attempt to get buses back to the Interchange via the most direct route possible, and no attempt is made to co-ordinate the 14 and 14b to provide a 10 minute even interval service.

Other changes see substantial early morning improvements. Previously on weekdays there was a 0500 and 0630 service 13 from Greenwood Avenue (not serving Orchard Park Tesco) then the main peak service started at 0703 from Orchard Park Tesco. On Saturdays the service started at 0638 from Orchard Park Tesco. Now there is a half hourly early morning service from Greenwood Avenue between 0500 (0530 on Saturdays) and 0700, that continues as a service 30 at Hull Interchange to North Bransholme as part of the Workers+ initative. What stands out here to me is that these changes include Saturdays as well as weekdays. The weekday morning frequency from Hull Interchange between 0700 and 0900 drops from every 15 minutes to every 20 minutes but on Saturdays increases from half hourly to every 20 minutes.

The inbound city centre routes for the 13 and 14 have also been revised. All services prior to 1400 daily will operate inbound via the city centre loop, except for those continuing cross-city as service 30. Those journeys, all services after 1400 will operate directly to Hull Interchange via either Park Street on service 13 or via Spencer Street and Brook Street on service 14/14b.

Extending the 110, and 30 Changes

Want to go from Castle Hill Hospital to Sutton? Since the start of the month this is now possible to do if you don't mind a 90 minute tour around the Bricknell Estate, Hull City Centre, Garden Village and North Point Shopping Centre thanks to a newly extended Stagecoach service 110. While the end to end journey is rather lengthy, and it is quicker to catch more direct services and change at Hull Interchange, the extended 110 is a rather useful combination of the previous 110, K1 and parts of the 30W.

The 110 had been providing an hourly Monday to Saturday daytime link between Hull City Centre, Chanterlands Avenue, the Bricknell Estate, Cottingham and Castle Hill Hospital, and it still does. There are some time changes in the morning peak, the last service from Castle Hill Hospital is now an hour earlier at 1650 and the service operates to/from Hull Interchange via Park Street now city centre access is provided by it's new cross-city extension.

That cross city extension takes the service along George Street and up Stoneferry Road (useful for connections onto the 30 group of services) before serving Chamberlain Road, replacing service 30W. The 110 then serves part of James Reckitt Avenue (not the part previously served by the 30W) before operating along Gillshill Road, already well served by the 31 and 32, Sutton Road and Leads Road. Instead of operating direct along Midmere Avenue to North Point, the 110 serves Dorchester Road en-route to North Point, replacing the K1. After North Point a clockwise loop is operated along Noddle Hill Way, Kestral Avenue, again replacing the K1, Howdale Road in the Spring Cottage area, replacing the re-routed service 10, and Sutton Village back to North Point. The 110 also operates hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes in East Hull, albeit with no peak time service to Kestral Avenue and Howdale Road.

The new 110 is essentially a like for like replacement for the 30W along Chamberlain Road. As far as replacing the K1 is concerned there are losses and gains; the K1 had provided a weekday only service but the 110 also operates on Saturdays; the K1 had provided direct links to Kingswood which are now lost, but the 110 provides new direct links to the City Centre. Plus while the end-to-end journey time may be unattractive, for journeys such as Spring Bank to Gillshill Road the cross city link may be attractive.

The 30W suffix was originally intended for journeys serving Wawne, but recently had been used to denote services operating via Chamberlain Road. With the 110 now serving Chamberlain Road, the 30W variation has been withdrawn. The weekday daytime  service on the 30 ‘corridor’ between Hull City Centre, North Point and North Bransholme retains 6 buses an hour, alternating between the 30 and 30A variant; previously one 30A an hour had been operated by the 30W. On Saturday the previous daytime pattern had been a 15 minute frequency alternating between the 30 and 30A, plus an hourly 30W; now the pattern is just the 15 minute 30/30A, though the 110 does partially replace the 5^th frequency.

Wawne retains an hourly daily daytime service, plus a limited late evening service from Hull City Centre, operating as extensions of the 30 or 30A. Also as a result of the 30W withdrawal, all services now serve Bodmin Road.

Elsewhere on the 30 corridor early morning services are substantially improved. From Hull Interchange the weekday morning peak 30b short journeys to North Point are extended through to North Bransholme, and the 30X variant via Sutton Fields now runs until 0855, the previous last journey had been at 0625. In the reverse direction, weekday early morning services will operate from Brook Street in Hull City Centre via Ferensway, Hull Royal Infirmary, Rawling Way and English Street Smith and Nephew to Hull Interchange. On Saturdays the first service from Hull Interchange is now at 0610 rather than 0710 and a new 0630 service 30 from North Bransholme to Hull is added. On Sunday mornings there is a new 0840 from Hull Interchange and 0830 from North Bransholme.

All weekday early morning and Saturday daytime journeys on service 30 shall now follow the evening and Sunday variant via Leads Road and Sutton Road. The section of Holwell Road between Leads Road and Sutton Road is now only served by service 30 every 20 minutes on weekday daytimes (plus limited service 101). Should all service 30’s be routed via Leads Road and Sutton Road, or are there good reasons why the weekday daytime service sticks to Holwell Road?

Overall with the withdrawal of the 30b and 30W, the corridor is simplified into the 30 omitting Leads Road, the 30 via Leads Road, the 30A and the 30X.

[Sorry for the dodgy formatting on this post; I typed it on word and for some reason after copying it into blogger, I can't get the font to be the same size throughout)

Enterprise Coaches 155 to last 7 Sundays?

On Sunday Enterprise Coaches start operating the tendered Sunday service on route 155 between South Cave, Gilberdyke, Howden and Goole. However today they have cancelled the registration with VOSA from the end of October. If it is not reregistered then Enterprise Coaches operation will be for just 7 Sundays.

 

PB0004003/5 - GEORGE TIMOTHY JAMES MILLS T/A ENTERPRISE COACHES, TOCKI HOUSE, HULL ROAD, EASTRINGTON, GOOLE, DN14 7XL

• Cancellation Accepted: Operating between SOUTH CAVE MARKET PLACE and GOOLE NORTH STREET given service number 155 effective from 29-Oct-2014.

Stagecoach 51 Changes

Since last Monday (1st September), Stagecoach service 51 between Hull City Centre, Holderness Road, Spring Cottage, North Point and Kingswood has been running to a revised timetable and route. The service now only serves the Retail Park at Kingswood and not the Leisure Park (with one exception), while it routes to/from the city centre via Alfred Gelder Street and Drypool Bridge rather than George Street, North Bridge and Witham. This provides easier access to the Old Town area of the city centre.

The main timetable change sees the Saturday daytime frequency reduce from every 20 minutes to half hourly, the same as the evening and Sunday daytime frequency. Associated service 52, which has also seen the same Saturday daytime frequency cut, combines with the 51 to provide a 15 minute Saturday daytime frequency over common sections of route covering parts of Bellfield Avenue and Spring Cottage.

Other timetable changes see the first departure from Hull City Centre on Saturday mornings at 0653 withdrawn; the first departure is now at 0723. On Sunday mornings the first departure from Kingswood is now at 0700 rather than 0745. The last departure from Kingswood Sunday to Friday moves from 2315 to 2330.

The Nightbus N51 suffix has been dropped for the limited Saturday night service. The previous 0000, 0100 and 0200 departures from Hull Truck Theatre on Ferensway become 0000, 0030 and 0100. From Kingswood the previous 0021 becomes an 0022, the only service on route 51 to still serve Kingswood Leisure Park. The 0121 from Kingswood is withdrawn.

The 51 is also featured in Stagecoach's 'Workers+' and 'Leisure+' initatives. The 5 weekday early morning journeys into Hull that start at North Point will follow the normal route to the Old Town then operate via Carr Lane, Hull Royal Infirmary, Rawling Way, Smith and Nephew on English Street and Ferensway to Hull Interchange as part of the 'Workers+' network. An interesting side note is that the first journey from Kingswood is an hour earlier on Saturdays (0557) than on weekdays (0657). All evening services will continue as/start as service 15, allowing same bus journeys through Hull Interchange to the Avenues as part of the 'Leisure+' network.

28A becomes 29

Since Monday 1st September, Stagecoach service 28A in Hull has been renumbered service 29; it continues to link Hull City Centre, Beverley Road, Sutton Park, North Point and Kingswood, operating via Bodmin Road between North Point and Kingswood instead off Kingsbury Way as the 28 does. Combined the routes provide a service every 15 minute minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes and half hourly Sunday daytimes, alternating between the 28 and 29. Monday to Saturday evenings receive a half hourly service and Sunday evenings an hourly service.

To quote Stagecoach, the timetable for the 28/29 has also been "simplified" which translates as some minor retimings, removing the Monday to Saturday peaktine Kingswood Leisure Park extensions (partially replaced by changes to the 31) and altering the Monday to Saturday evening service from half hourly 28/28A combined to half hourly service 29 and the Sunday evening service from hourly 28 to hourly 29, therefore removing evening services from Kingsbury Way; I believe this is because Hull City Council subsidy has been withdrawn.

As part of Stagecoach's changes to routes in Hull City Centre, all inbound services will use the city centre to loop until 1400 daily, then operate inbound using the more direct route via Spencer Street and Brook Street. Previously this direct route was only used between 1500 and 1800 Monday to Saturday. As part of the Workers+ initative, the weekday early morning services that start at North Point will extend beyond Carr Lane on the city centre loop to Hull Royal Infirmary, Rawling Way and English Street for Smith and Nephew before operating to the Interchange via Ferensway.

 

Now a 'True' Circular

The 10 and it's predecessors have often been referred to as the Hull city circular service as it provides cross city links across Hull. However while it has been possible to travel cross-city via North Hull it never has been possible to travel across Hull City Centre on the same vehicle (at least not in recent times); a change has been required in the city centre. Therefore for journeys like Orchard Park to Wilberforce College the 10 has been very useful, but for journeys like Chanterlands Avenue to Holderness Road, the 10 didn't have much of an advantage over catching the 13 to Hull Interchange and changing onto say the 51.

Since Monday (1st September) however most journeys have become a 'true' circular, with passengers able to travel through Hull City Centre as well as North Hull without having to change vehicles. Through fares are available.

As part of this change the route between Hull Interchange and Spring Bank has been altered to operate via Park Street instead of Ferensway. While this misses out a set of stops on Spring Bank these have other services, the Park Street route is slightly quicker, and passengers from West Hull still have access to other city center stops after serving the Interchange.

The other major changes to the 10 see the service diverted via Spring Cottage instead off Sutton, replacing the 31, and gaining a hourly Sunday daytime service between Hull Interchange, Salthouse Road and Spring Cottage replacing service 53. The Monday to Saturday service remains half hourly daytimes with some minor timetable changes. The late Saturday night 2340 from Hull Interchange to North Point via Salthouse Road as been withdrawn.

Not goodbye 358

Last month I posted that EYMS were stopping their Tuesday Holme Upon Spalding Moor to Goole via Bubwith and Howden service, with no apparent replacement. The following appeared on the VOSA website today:

PB1075166/32 - ACKLAMS COACHES LTD, BUS & COACH DEPOT, BARMSTON ROAD, BEVERLEY, HU17 0LA

• Registration Accepted by SN
• Starting Point: HOLME OF SPALDING MOOR
• Finish Point: GOOLE NORTH STREET
• Via:
• Service Number: 358
• Service Type: Normal Stopping
• Effective Date: 09-SEP-2014
• Other Details: TUESDAYS ONLY AM & PM JOURNEYS

Not goodbye 358 after all.

Noddle Hill Weekend Reductions; Early Morning Improvements

Starting today, Monday 1st September, Stagecoach have introduced changes to services 32 and 52 which serve Noddle Hill Way in Bransholme, as part of their package of changes across Hull. The 32 links Hull City Centre, Sutton, Noddle Hill Way and North Point Shopping Centre, while the 52 links Hull City Centre with Spring Cottage, Noddle Hill Way and Kingswood. As already mentioned the 52 has been diverted away from Holderness Road and parts of Bellfield Avenue to serve Garden Village and Savoy Road, replacing the withdrawn 53.

The other major change is a reduction in weekend frequencies on both the 32 and 52. The 32 is reduced from every 20 minutes to every half hour on Saturday daytimes, and from half hourly to hourly on Sunday daytimes. However despite this, Stagecoach's description on their website of the change is "Timetable simplified. Only minor changes". Seems a bit more than minor to me, especially the Sunday evening reduction when the gaps between services is doubled. The first service on Sundays from North Point becomes 0720 rather than 0750, though the last service becomes 2220 rather than 2250. There are other minor changes to times throughout the week and evening services will continue across Hull Interchange to the Avenues and back to Kingswood as service 16.

On service 52 the Saturday daytime frequency is also reduced from every 20 minutes to half hourly; combined with service 32, Noddle Hill Way goes from a service every 10 minutes to a service every 15 minutes to/from Hull City Centre. The half hourly Sunday daytime service is withdrawn entirely, leaving Noddle Hill Way with the half hourly service 32 and Spring Cottage with the half hourly 51.

The early morning service on the 52 from Kingswood is significantly improved, with a first departure at 0505 weekdays and 0607 Saturdays, compared to 0642 and 0832 previously. As part of the Workers+ network, the first four weekday journeys from Kingswood will operate via Cleveland Street (for connections to Stoneferry and Sutton Fields), Carr Lane, Hull Royal Infirmary, Rawling Way and Smith and Nephew on English Road en-route to Hull Interchange, providing much improved access to employment sites. On the negative side however the last journey from Kingswood becomes 1745 weekdays, 1707 Saturdays compared to 1837 weekdays and 1930 Saturdays previously. The first journey from Hull City Centre is earlier at 0908 weekdays, 0923 Saturdays, compared to 0935 previously. There are other minor changes to times throughout the week.  All journeys on the 52 will now serve Kingswood Retail Park, but not Kingswood Leisure Park.

Extending the 31

As off Monday 1st September, Stagecoach are altering their service 31 between Hull City Centre, Holderness Road, Summergangs Road, Gillshill Road, Sutton Village and Spring Cottage. The service will no longer serve Spring Cottage (Dunvegan Road and Howdale Road), and instead operate to North Point Shopping Centre and Kingswood Retail Park. This provides a more direct service from Summergangs Road, Gillshill Road and Sutton Village to North Point than provided by the 32 (which operates via Noddle Hill Way, and introduces new links from these areas to Kingswood.

The loss of the service to Spring Cottage is not hugely significant as that area has the frequent 51/52 services into Hull City Centre and also gains service 10 from Monday. One of the main reasons for the 31 (originally 32A) serving Spring Cottage was to link the area with the Old Town area of the City Centre, however from Monday the 10, 51 and 52 will serve all the Old Town operating via Drypool Bridge and Alfred Gelder Street.

Weekday peaktime services on the 31 will extend from/to Kingswood Health Centre, in the newer part of Kingswood, replacing similar extensions on the 28A. The Saturday peaktime extensions on the 28A are not replaced.

One negative is the Saturday frequency of the 31 is reduced from every 20 minutes to half hourly; combined with a similar change to the 32, the frequency between Hull City Centre and Sutton Village on Saturday daytimes drops from every 10 minutes to every 15 minutes. Weekday services on the 31 remain every 20 minutes, combined with the 32 to provide a Hull-Sutton daytime service every 10 minutes.

The 46, and 17

One very useful change by Stagecoach in Hull from Monday 1st September is the doubling of the frequency between Hull Interchange and the Marina/Fruit Market area, utilising what is otherwise layover time between journeys on the 46. The 46 provides an hourly Monday to Saturday daytime link between Hull Interchange, the Marina, Victoria Dock, the Preston Road Estate and Marfleet. New short journeys double the frequency to the Marina to half hourly.

The odd thing however is the service number. 46a, 46b, 46f, 46m, 45, 47 could all have been logical to me considering the 46 is the main service number. However the number 17 has been chosen. Anyone know why?

The practice of peaktime service avoiding the Marina, operating as service 46d, ends and instead all journeys operate via the main route as service 46. The weekday 1810 from Hull to Marfleet also starts operating on Saturdays.

X62 September Change Update

Last month I posted information on the changes to the Stagecoach X62 between Hull, Brough, Goole, Junction 32 Glasshoughton and Leeeds from Monday 1st September based on information published by North Yorkshire County Council. This information however is not totally complete.

While it has been confirmed that the Monday to Saturday 0450 Hull-Leeds and 0645 return plus the Sunday 0910 and 1430 Hull to Leeds and 1125 and 1640 return are withdrawn, so are the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 1010 and 1430 from Hull to Leeds and 1225 and 1640 return. There continues to be journeys one hour earlier and later than those withdrawn, and these journeys will continue to operate on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays.

There will also be minor timetable revisions to other journeys.

Replacing the 53

Tomorrow, Sunday 31^st August, is the last day of operation for Stagecoach in Hull service 53 between Hull City Centre, Garden Village, Lambwath Road, Cavenidish Road, Ings Road, Savoy Road and Salthouse Road.  The service provides a half hourly Monday to Saturday daytime frequency and an hourly Sunday daytime frequency. According to a comment on this blog post, Hull City Council withdrew Stagecoach’s contract to serve Lambwath Road due to extensive housing demolition in the area.

The section of route in Garden Village along James Reckitt Avenue, and also along Savoy Road is replaced by a diversion of existing service 52 between Hull City Centre, Bellfield Avenue, Spring Cottage, Noddle Hill Way and Kingswood. The 52 will now omit large parts of Holderness Road (plenty of other services into Hull available), and part of Bellfield Avenue (which retains service 51). As part of this change, the section of James Reckitt Avenue between Gillshill Road and Ings Road gains a far increased service as it is currently only served by limited tendered service 50.

The 52, while not operating Sundays or serving Wilberforce College, provides a slightly improved Monday to Saturday service for James Reckitt Avenue and Savoy Road. Inbound to Hull the first journey from Kingswood is at 0505 on weekdays and 0607 on Saturdays, compared to 0700 weekdays and 0730 Saturdays from Salthouse Road on the 53. Additionally on weekdays the frequency on the 52 is every 20 minutes, though parts off James Reckitt Avenue also loose the hourly 30W service so this just retains 3 buses an hour, but at even intervals.

Lambwath Road, Cavendish Road and Ings Road lose their bus service (apart from the limited 677 along Cavendish Road and Ings Road), as does Middlesex Road. Salthouse Road does not have a replacement Monday to Saturday service, but already has the direct service 10 to Hull City Centre via Holderness Road. The 10 also gains an hourly Sunday daytime service between Hull City Centre, Salthouse Road and Spring Cottage, ensuring Salthouse Road retains a Sunday daytime bus service.

Overall this package of changes provides a fairly good replacement for a service that has fallen victim to the Ings Road Estate redevelopment. Hopefully the additional passengers that should be created for the 10 and 52 will help to make these services more successful.

Stagecoach Boothferry Estate Services Changes

From Monday 1st September, Stagecoach in Hull are making some changes to their West Hull services 1 and 2 which operate between the City Centre and the Boothferry Estate; the 1 via Walker Street and Hessle Road and the 2 via Anlaby Road and Anlaby Park Road.

One of the main change affects early morning services, as part of Stagecoach's city wide Workers+ initative, with the first four weekday journeys on service 1 from Boothferry Estate (0510, 0540, 0610 and 0640) now operating as service 1K. They will follow the existing route to the city centre, serve Hull Truck Theatre instead of the Interchange and then operate via Prospect Street, George Street, Cleveland Street, Stoneferry Road, West Carr Lane, Stockholm Road and Thomas Clarkson Way to Kingswood Retail Park, providing access to the industrial areas around Stoneferry and Sutton Fields. I suspect Kingswood Retail Park is just a convienent terminus point, and possibly the start of the next journey for the bus and driver.

Also as part of Workers+ certain weekday early morning services on route 2 will, upon arrival at Hull Interchange, continue as a service 30 via Stoneferry to Bransholme. This includes new departures at 0455 and 0525 (first departure previously 0555). Overall these Workers+ changes do provide easier access to key employment areas and hopefully will be a success - though I'm not aware of any return services from Sutton Fields later in the day, unless passengers walk to Holwell Road and catch service 30?

A more minor early morning change sees the weekday 'at least every 10 minute' frequency start from the Boothferry Estate on service 1 start at 0700 rather than 0715. On Saturdays there is a new 0600 service 1 from Hull Interchange, returning as a new 0625 service 2 from Boothferry Estate, half an hour earlier than the present first service,

Stagecoach are also reducing the number of services using the city centre loop inbound. Apart from the 1K and those journeys on service 2 continuing as a service 30, all services will use the city centre loop inbound until 1400 daily after which they will operate directly to the Interchange via Ferensway. Currently only services between 1500 and 1800 Monday to Saturday omit the inbound city centre loop, which provides easy access to Princes Quay and the Old Town. I am therefore slightly surprised that evening services will not serve the inbound city centre loop.

The early evening service is being reduced from every 20 minutes to half hourly Monday to Saturday, affecting departures from Hull Interchange on service 1 between 1800 and 2100, and on service 2 between 1810 and 2050, plus associated return services from the Boothferry Estate.

Finally the N2 service number seems to have been withdrawn, with the Saturday nightbus between Hull and Hessle using service number 2 instead; the last departures each way at 0125 from Hessle and 0200 from Hull have been withdrawn, leaving just the 0000 and 0100 from Hull and 0025 from Hessle.

Stagecoach North East Lincolnshire Changes

On Monday (1st September), Stagecoach are making major changes to their services in North East Lincolnshire. Unusually it's not timetable changes that are the most significant aspect, but a renumbering of certain services. All the main local services within North East Lincolnshire will be numbered 1-10, with the Interconnect 3 service renumbered as service 53 to accommodate this. Below are details of the changes:

Service 1: Grimsby-Europarc-Wybers Wood - The service remains hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes (not serving Wybers Wood on Saturdays). A previous weekday gap in service is plugged with a new 1535 from Grimsby to Wybers Wood.

Service 2: Riby Square-Grimsby-Europarc - This service is unaltered and remains operating hourly during weekday daytimes.

Service 3: Cleethorpes-Grimsby-Nunsthorpe-Laceby Road Morrisons - Existing service 13 is renumbered service 3, closer to it's historical service 3F route number. While there are some extra early morning and early evening journeys, the main frequency remains every 10 minutes on weekday daytimes and every 15 minutes on Saturday daytimes, followed by a half hourly early evening service. The late evening service Monday to Saturday increases from hourly to half hourly, including a new 2315 departure from Cleethorpes, 30 minutes later than present. Sunday’s retain a half hourly daytime service followed by an hourly evening service.

Service 4: Cleethorpes-Grimsby-Laceby Acres-Morrisions – Existing service 14 is renumbered service 4; the historical number for this service; the evening and Sunday variation 14A is similarly renumbered as service 4A. The main frequency remains every 10 minutes on weekday daytimes and every 15 minutes on Saturday daytimes, followed by a half hourly early evening service, with extra early evening journeys. The late evening service Monday to Saturday increases from hourly to half hourly. Sunday’s retain a half hourly daytime service followed by an hourly evening service.

Service 5: Grimsby-Immingham-South Killingholme – Existing services 45, 45C, 45M and 46 are renumbered services 5 and 5C, meaning the loss of the historical service 45 route number, and that the evening and Sunday route variation via the Willows Estate will no longer have a separate route number (why not number these journeys 5A?). The main service remains half hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes between Grimsby and South Killingholme (some journeys operating as 150 or 450 between Immingham and South Killingholme) and hourly evenings and Sundays between North Sea Lane (evenings only), Cleethorpes, Grimsby and Immingham. Peak time services to the MIC Plant, Habrough and Ulceby also remain.

There are some interesting minor tweaks to the timetable, most notably the Monday to Saturday 0515, 0545 and 0615 from Grimsby to Immingham (extending to the MIC Plant on weekdays) will now start in Humberston, operating via North Sea Lane, Chichester Road and Cleethorpes Town Centre to Grimsby, offering new early morning links, albeit not quite matching the evening route between North Sea Lane and Cleethorpes that omits Chichester Road.

The Monday to Saturday early evening timetable is altered, with the 1815 from Grimsby diverted to operate via the Willows Estate and no longer extending beyond Immingham to South Killingholme. The 1800 from Immingham to Grimsby is also diverted via the Willows Estate while the 1805 and 1835 from South Killingholme will start from Immingham instead. The Sunday evening service is extended from Cleethorpes Town Centre to North Sea Lane, matching the Monday to Saturday evening service. North Sea Lane services will then become a service 8 extending to New Waltham and Scartho.

Finally it is a shame Stagecoach have linked on their service change page to a summary timetable that shows all services as terminating in Immingham. The extensions to South Killingholme, the MIC Plant, Habrough and Ulceby are shown by searching for the 5C college day timetable which brings up an internal Stagecoach timetable showing the full service.

Service 6: Asda-Grimsby-Willows Estate-Wybers Wood – Existing service 16 is renumbered service 6; 16 is the historical route number for the service. The service continues to operate every 15 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes and hourly on Sunday daytimes. There are slightly less services to/from Asda while the last journey from Grimsby Town Centre Monday to Saturday will be half an hour earlier, and from Wybers Wood 40 minutes earlier. Changes to the 5 noted above partially replace this early evening cutback.

Service 7: North Sea Lane-Grimsby-Grange Estate – Apart from some timetable changes to improve punctuality this service is unaltered, with a half hourly Monday to Saturday daytime frequency and some peaktime services extending to/from Laceby.

Service 8: North Sea Lane-New Waltham-Scartho-Grimsby – The service continues to operate half hourly daily daytimes and hourly daily evenings. The first journey from North Sea Lane is half an hour earlier on weekdays at 0620 but the last journey each way is half an hour earlier each way (2245 rather than 2315 from Grimsby, 2315 rather than 2345 from North Sea Lane). Evening journeys will continue from North Sea Lane as service 5 to Cleethorpes and beyond. The overall timetable is amended to improve punctuality but most significantly off all is that all journeys will operate into the grounds of Grimsby Hospital. A new college day 8C service is also added to the timetable with one journey each way between North Sea Lane and Grimsby College via Hewitts Avenue and the New Waltham bypass.

Services 9/10: Waltham-Grimsby-Cleethorpes-North Sea Lane – With existing service 9A renumbered as service 10 there continues to be a service every 15 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes (alternate 9 and 10), a half hourly Sunday daytime service 10 and an hourly daily evening service 10. There are timetable changes to improve punctuality

Service 12: Bradley Park-Grange Estate-Grimsby-Cleethorpes-New Waltham – There is a new weekday 0900 from Bradley Park with the 1040 from Grimsby to Bradley Park instead starting in New Waltham at 1000, otherwise the timetable is unchanged with an hourly weekday morning/early afternoon service and an hourly Saturday daytime service plus a Monday to Saturday peak journey from/to Waltham.

Service 17: Cleethorpes Seafront Open Top Service – This service is unchanged

Service 20: Cleethorpes-Grimsby-Europarc – This service is unchanged and continues to provide a limited early morning and evening service to the Europarc industrial estate.

Service 25: Ludford-Binbrook-Grimsby – This Lincolnshire County Council tendered service is unaltered, with one weekday peaktime return journey between Binbrook and Grimsby one daytime return journey between Ludford and Grimsby on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday only. A renumber to service 52 might have been logical in line with other services from Grimsby into the Lincolnshire County Council area.

Service 51: Grimsby-Tetney/Louth – Almost all services are diverted into the grounds of Grimsby Hospital, with resultant timetable revisions to accommodate this. Otherwise the service remains half hourly between Grimsby and Holton Le Clay with hourly extensions to Louth and Tetney.

Service 53: Grimsby-Caistor-Market Rasen-Lincoln – This is the present service 3, renumbered to avoid confusion with the newly renumbered local network in North East Lincolnshire. The timetable is unchanged.

Services 150/450: Immingham-East Halton, Immingham-Barton-Brigg – These services, operating as extensions of service 5 between Grimsby and Immingham continue, but the ‘route number synergy’ between the 45 and 450 has been lost.

College Flyer: This is a new college day only service between Barton and the Grimsby Colleges, operating via Kirmington, Great Limber, Keelby, Aylesby and Laceby. The morning departure operates at 0740 and extends into Grimsby Town Centre while the evening return leaves Grimsby College at 1640. I am rather surprised that demand exists for this service as Grimsby College run their own extensive network of free bus services.

Humber Flyer: Hull-Barton-Humberside Airport-Grimsby-Cleethorpes – This hourly Monday to Saturday service is unaltered according to Stagecoach (though Traveline East Midlands shows the weekday 0605 Grimsby-Barton as starting to operate on Saturdays) and has recently gained route branded vehicles.

EYMS 121 Winter Timetable

A reminder that from Sunday 31st August, EYMS will introduce a winter timetable on the 121 between Hull, Beverley, Driffield, Bridlington, Filey and Scarborough.

From EYMS:
"The only difference between the summer and winter timetables is that some journeys take a few minutes longer in summer due to heavy tourist traffic around the coast, so the time the bus reaches your stop may alter very slightly."