North Lincolnshire Concessionary Fare Budget Cut

North Lincolnshire Council are reducing their budget for concessionary fares for the 2016/17 financial year, and a report to the cabinet member responsible gives options as to how to do this. The recommendation is to change the methodology for calculating concessionary fare payments to operators, which would lead to a lower reimbursement rate than presently provided. Consultation with Hornsby Travel and Stagecoach indicates that if this happens tendered services could be surrendered and commercial services would be under threat. Savings could also be made by removing discretionary elements of the North Lincolnshire concessionary fares scheme.

It is perhaps also worth noting that changes to bus services in North Lincolnshire are due to happen anyway next year as part of the 'Connecting Rural Communities' project that will see the launch of demand responsive services and fewer traditional tendered bus services.

North Lincolnshire has been rather protected from cuts to buses in recent years - the last major cuts were in 2006 - and has instead seen improvements - but 2016 seems set to be a year of major change.

Christmas and New Year Services 2015/16

Below is a summary of Christmas/New Year services in the Humber region provided by Arriva Yorkshire, EYMS, First South Yorkshire (who still serve the Humber region with a morning peak service from Epworth), First York, Hornsby Travel, Stagecoach and Transdev (York and 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. Please check exact details before travelling.

Christmas Eve - Normal weekday service with an early evening finish around 7-8pm, except First South Yorkshire, First York and Transdev who shall provide a Saturday service. Transdev service X36 shall operate a normal Thursday service.

Christmas Day - No Services

Saturday 26th - Special daytime services on certain routes only in the Hull Area:

EYMS:
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 (circular with 154)
154: Hull-Willerby-Castle Hill Hospital - Hourly (circular with 115)

Stagecoach:
1: Hull-Boothferry Estate - Hourly
2: Hull-Boothferry Estate - Hourly
3: Orchard Park-Hull-Greatfield- Half Hourly (increased from hourly between Hull and Greatfield in 2014)
4: Orchard Park-Hull-Bilton Grange - Hourly (reduced from half hourly between Orchard Park and Hull in 2014)
5: Hull-Orchard Park-Kingswood - Half Hourly
8: Hull-Sutton Park-North Point - Hourly
10: Hull-North Point-North Bransholme - Hourly
11: Hull-North Point-Kingswood - Hourly (limited additional journeys provided in 2014 not provided in 2015, service 13 partially replaces)
12: Hull-North Point - Hourly
13: Hull-North Point - Hourly (new for 2015)
14: Hull-Greatfield - Hourly
Plus Football Buses to the KC Stadium
There will be no buses in Grimsby and Cleethorpes on the 26th this year.

Sunday 27th - Normal Sunday service.

Bank Holiday Monday 28th - A Sunday service will be operated.

Tuesday 29th - A Saturday service for most operators, except Hornsby Travel who will provide a normal Tuesday service. There are exceptions as follows:

• EYMS Services 134, 195, 196, 198, 199, 360, 361, S1 and S2 will operate a normal Tuesday service
• EYMS Services 106, 107, 143, 160, X36 and the Beverley Town Shopper Shuttle will not operate (these services would not usually operate on a Tuesday). Oddly the Saturday only service 173 is not stated in EYMS publicity as not operating.
• EYMS Friday and Saturday evening only journeys on routes 18, 75, 121 and X47 shall not operate (i.e. a normal Tuesday evening service will operate)
• EYMS service 135 will have normal Tuesday departures from Driffield at 0910 and 1140, however the 0655 and 1710 journeys will not operate
• Stagecoach services 1, 2, 20 and 25 in North East Lincolnshire will operate a normal Tuesday service
• Transdev York services 10 and X36 will operate a normal Tuesday service

Notable are Stagecoach services in North Lincolnshire operating a Saturday service on the normal weekdays between Christmas and New Year, rather than a normal timetable as is usually provided. However while a change from normal, on most routes the Saturday and School/College Holiday timetables are either identical or very similar, so the impact will be very small.

Wednesday 30th - A Saturday service for most operators, except Hornsby Travel who will provide a normal Wednesday service. There are exceptions as follows:

• EYMS Services 195, 241, 360 and 361 will operate a normal Wednesday service
• EYMS Services 106, 107, X36 and the Beverley Town Shopper Shuttle will not operate
• EYMS Friday and Saturday evening only journeys on routes 18, 75, 121 and X47 shall not operate (i.e. a normal Wednesday evening service will operate)
• Stagecoach services 1, 2, 20 and 25 in North East Lincolnshire will operate a normal Wednesday service
• Transdev York services 10 and X36 will operate a normal Wednesday service

New Years Eve - A Saturday service for most operators, with an early evening finish around 7-8pm, except Hornsby Travel who will provide a normal Thursday service with an early evening finish around 7pm. There are exceptions as follows:

• EYMS Services 134, 196, 360 and 361 will operate a normal Thursday service
• EYMS Services 106, 107, X36 and the Beverley Town Shopper Shuttle will not operate. Oddly the Mon/Wed/Sat only service 143, and Wed/Sat only 160 are not stated in EYMS publicity as not operating.
• EYMS service 135 will have normal Thursday departures from Driffield at 0910 and 1140, however the 0655 and 1710 journeys will not operate
• Stagecoach services 1, 2, 20 and 25 in North East Lincolnshire will operate a normal Thursday service
• Stagecoach services 5+ and 11+ in Hull shall provide a limited service until around 11pm
• Stagecoach services 2 (serving Hessle), 3 (to Greatfield and Bilton Grange but not Orchard Park), 5+ and 11+ in Hull shall provide a nightbus service, with last departures from Hull City Centre at 0200 (later than the residual Saturday nightbus service)
• Transdev York service X36 will operate a normal Thursday service

(As a result the usual Thursday variation to Stagecoach service 260 'Barton Villager' will not be provided, however East Halton will be inaccessible without a significant diversion anyway due to a level crossing closure, and residents of the Dam Road area of Barton will still have the Hornsby operated Town Service on Wednesday 30th).

New Years Day - No Services

UPDATE - Please see the comments section for details of coach services.

Stagecoach Simplibus Amendments

Sunday 1st November was meant to see all Hull City Centre buses that use King Edward Street and Jameson Street diverted via Albion Street and Bond Street due to the start of works to pedestrianise further parts of the City Centre. Before these works could begin however, roadworks were required in Albion Street and Bond Street, however sadly these have not finished on time, delaying the changes to Hull City Centre bus routes.

In September, Stagecoach introduced their Simplibus network in Hull (see here and here). Inevitably after such a major network change, further amendments are needed, and there are also issues with increased traffic congestion. Stagecoach sensibly decided to make these amendments on 1st November since they would have to change City Centre bus routes on that day anyway. That good plan hasn't worked out with the over-running Albion Street and Bond Street roadworks however the non-City Centre changes have still gone ahead as planned. Here is a round-up of the changes, some of which are fairly significant. Apologies in advance if I have missed anything, and for this post not appearing until a week after the changes.

Simplibus 3: Orchard Park-Hull-Greatfield
The first weekday departure from Hull Interchange to Greatfield operates at 0657, 10 minutes earlier than the previous 0707. On Sundays the first service 3 from Greatfield is half an hour earlier at 0730, restoring an early service that had been provided from Greatfield into Hull until September. The Sunday 1730 from Greatfield to Hull is extended to Orchard Park delaying the start of reduced hourly evening frequency.

Simplibus 4: Orchard Park-Hull-Bilton Grange
Times for the Marfleet Lane/Barham Road timing point are amended to reduce waiting time. There is change to Stand 15 at Paragon Interchange for journeys towards Orchard Park.

Simplibus 6: Hull Kingswood
Departures from Kingswood between 0620 and 1650 will operate 5 minutes earlier due to City Centre delays. The stand used at Paragon Interchange is altered to Stand 16.

Simplibus 7 and 8: Hull-Sutton Park-Bransholme-Kingswood
Simplibus 7 arguably isn't so Simplibus anymore, as daytime, but not evening and Sunday, journeys on service 7 become a circular. Instead of operating direct in both directions between North Point Shopping Centre, Bodmin Road and Kingswood Retail Park, services to Kingswood will operate from Bodmin Road via John Newton Way, Wawne Road, Kingsbury Way, Richmond Lane and Runnymede Way to Kingswood Retail Park before returning direct to Bodmin Road and North Point.

This reintroduces daytime links between the residential areas of Kingswood and North Point lost in September, using what appears to be layover time at Kingswood. An easy and quick way to restore links but as well as giving the 7 different daytime/evening+Sunday routes it increases journey time from Sutton Park to Kingswood and the journey time from Kingsbury Way to North Point is a rather unattractive 25 minutes. More attractive solutions would be to either extend the 6 to North Point or run the 8 to Kingswood all day, but these would probably require an extra vehicle and driver(s).

Elsewhere the 3 morning peak journeys on service 8 from Kingswood will start 5 minutes earlier to improve punctuality and Monday to Saturday inbound evening services from Kingswood will depart 5 minutes later.

Simplibus 9: Cottingham-Hull-Bransholme
Simplibus 9 gains a new variation, 9k. The hourly daytime journeys between Paragon Interchange and Kestrel Avenue will adopt this variation, that sees journeys route via Lambwath Road – currently only served by infrequent service 50 – instead off the eastern part of James Reckitt Avenue and Ings Road that remains served by the ‘main’ service 9 route. Lambwath Road is a shorter route that should improve punctuality. As a result the frequency for Leads Road and Dorchester Road is no longer exactly half hourly.

Other changes see many times amended by up to 5 minutes. The eastbound Saturday only service 9 from Paragon Interchange at 1615 now operates via the peak route to Noddle Hill, rather than to Kestrel Avenue as previously. As a result the last departure from Hull Interchange to Dorchester Avenue, North Point and Kestrel Avenue is now an hour earlier at 1515, however all Saturday departures from Hull Interchange from 1545 now follow the same route. The last departure from Paragon Interchange to Noddle Hill Monday to Saturday is now at 1850 rather than 1815, as the last departure from Castle Hill Hospital no longer terminates at the Interchange.

Simplibus 10: Hull-Bransholme-North Bransholme-Wawne
3 morning peak departures from Wawne into Hull on Simplibus 10 become the x10, and omit Sutton Road and Leads Road, instead operating direct via Holwell Road; this is to improve punctuality with a slightly shorter route. Sutton Road and Leads Road remain served by all other journeys. The 0740 from Hull Interchange on weekdays no longer extends from North Bransholme through to Wawne, and the 0830 from North Bransholme on weekdays no longer starts in Wawne.

Simplibus 11: Hull-Bransholme-Kingswood
The timing point for journeys operating into Hull City Centre is moved from Bellfield Avenue to Dunvegan Road.

Simplibus 13: Hull-Salthouse Road-Bransholme-Orchard Park
The weekday peak journeys serving Hall Road will now operate as through journeys from/to Simplibus 3. The 0715 and 0745 from Hall Road will now start as service 3W from Paragon Interchange at 0650 and 0720, changing into service 13W at Hall Road. The 0700 and 0730 Simplibus 13’s from Paragon Interchange to North Point will operate at 0710 and 0740, extend to Orchard Park Tesco and then return into Hull as service 3. The 1554, 1624 and 1654 Simplibus 13’s from Paragon Interchange to Hall Road will now operate to Orchard Park Tesco then operate as service 3’s back to the Interchange via Hall Road.

There is also a new weekday 1650 journey from Orchard Park to Hull, and the 1732 from North Point to Hull now starts back at Orchard Park at 1720; previously the last journey from Orchard Park was at 1620.

The timing point for journeys operating into Hull City Centre is moved from Bellfield Avenue to Dunvegan Road.

Simplibus 16: Hull-Marfleet
Morning peak journeys operate 5 minutes earlier to remove stand clashes with Simplibus 14 at Paragon Interchange.

North Lincolnshire Council take 327 'in-house'

Since yesterday (6th November), Friday Only service 327 from Dragonby to Scunthorpe has been operated directly by North Lincolnshire Council, instead off being tendered to Hornsby Travel. Departures from Scunthorpe Bus Station are at 1015 and 1245, and from Dragonby at 1030 and 1300.

Possible move away from bus franchising in East Yokshire?

When the East Riding of Yorkshire Council jointly submitted a devolution proposal with the City of York and North Yorkshire last month, it included bus franchising:

"Responsibility for franchised bus services in the devolved geography for integrating smart ticketing across all local modes of transport, including integrated smart ticketing extension to the Transport for the North connected cities ticketing initiative."

Today there is a new Greater Yorkshire Devolution Proposal covering East, North and West Yorkshire (including Hull). It lacks support from all the areas proposed to be included and lacks many firm proposals as a result, instead spending a lot of time highlighting where 'common ground' can be found. There is however this 'ask' on public transport:

"We need a range of models that not only leads to cheap and plentiful services within in our cities and major towns, but connects with the wider hinterland and travel to work areas. We must align objectives so that both the franchising approach in CA/ITA areas and the partnership approach more appropriate to rural networks will stimulate greater workforce mobility and reduce congestion. We need plans for Transpennine electrification to be joined to up along the whole route, in order to harness the private sector commitment from Hull Trains."

To me that indicates that franchising would probably be limited to West Yorkshire, with other areas adopting a partnership model.

It is also worth noting on a pan-Humber blog that there are 'warm words' about pan-Humber co-operation:

"Equally, the value of sustaining a coherent approach to developing the Humber Estuary across both North and South Banks is a major factor in establishing a workable devolution package. With the reduction in Humber Bridge tolls and the Hull and Humber City Deal, we are seeing the benefits of massive private sector investment to deliver our global gateway and energy estuary ambitions. Sustaining a pan-Humber partnership in conjunction with a Greater Lincolnshire Combined Authority will be built into the governance arrangements from the outset."

EYMS reduce 35/35A

From tomorrow, Monday 28th September, EYMS are reducing Hull to Willerby services 35 and 35A from hourly combined to every 90 minutes combined, with journey times slightly extended to improve punctuality. The 35 and 35A serve areas such as Willerby Parkway, Maplewood Avenue and Albert Avenue not served by the main Hull to Willerby services, and also provide a Hull Royal Infirmary link from Willerby Road, Wold Road and Spring Bank West.

EYMS Hull Minor Changes

Today, Sunday 27th September, has seen EYMS divert more services around the Hull City Centre "bus loop" on their inbound journey, improving access to areas of the City Centre located away from Paragon Interchange, such as Princes Quay and the Old Town. All Anlaby Road services (excluding EYMS journeys on the 350 Humber Fastcat?) will now use the City Centre loop except between 1500 and 1800 when they will operate direct to the Interchange via Ferensway.

Also today punctuality changes have been made to West Hull services 103, 105, 115, 151, 152, 153 and 154.

EYMS York City Centre Route Change

Some EYMS York services - routes 45, 45A, 46, X4, X46 and X47 - had a minor route change in York City Centre yesterday, Saturday 26th September, to operate outbound via Piccadilly instead of Merchantgate.

EDIT - This is not a route change, just a bus stop change from Merchantgate to Piccadilly. Thanks to the below comment for pointing this out

Transdev York 36/X36 minor changes

Yesterday, Saturday 26th September, Transdev York made slight revisions to service 36 between Sutton Upon Derwent, Elvington and York. Services now depart York 10 minutes later than previously with most services departing Sutton Upon Derwent 12 minutes later than previously.

This might be nothing new, but the Saturday service is now listed as "Saturdays and Bank Holidays", meaning the 36 is in the relatively unusual position of having a bank holiday service but not a Sunday service. This will be useful not just for villagers in Wheldrake, Elvington and Sutton Upon Derwent, but also for visitors to Elvington's Yorkshire Air Museum. Sunday and Bank Holiday service 18A operated by EYMS also serves the Museum, giving it a better service on Bank Holiday's than normal weekdays.

Most service 36 journeys have a 32 minutes layover in Sutton Upon Derwent, so it remains disappointing the time isn't used to enhance services to another nearby village, such as Newton Upon Derwent or Melbourne.

Transdev York weekday X36 also has a minor change to route via Piccadilly instead of Merchantgate in York City Centre.

EYMS York Services September Changes

The following EYMS services have had variations registered with VOSA appear on the VOSA website today, to take effect from 26th September:

45/46 Market Weighton-Pocklington-York (Timetable)
195/196/X36 Pocklington-York (Route and Timetable)
747 Pocklington-York (Timetable)
X4 Hull-Brough-Market Weighton-York (Route and Timetable)
X46 Market Weighton-Pocklington-York (Route and Timetable)
X47 Market Weighton-Pocklington-York (Route and Timetable)

EYMS Hull-Withernsea Changes

EYMS made some changes to their Hull to Withernsea services yesterday - Sunday 6th September. The weekday 1550 service 75 from Keyingham to Hull and 1535 service 75 from Withernsea to Hull and have been replaced by a 1512 service 75 from Withernsea. The weekday 1637 service 77 from Burstwick to Hull has been replaced by a 1612 service 77 from Withernsea to Hull. Some other journeys have been retimed to improve punctuality.

Small Improvements, Exciting Changes

Tomorrow - Monday 7th September - Stagecoach takeover the East Riding of Yorkshire Council contract for Monday to Saturday evening services on the 78 and 277 routes between Hull and Hedon from EYMS, who operate daily daytime services. There are a couple of small but very useful enhancements at the same time.

Departures on service 78 from Hull Interchange at 1810 and 2110, and from Hedon at 2019 and 2359 remain, as do service 277 departures from Hull Interchange at 1940 and 2320, and from Hedon at 1850 and 2150, however the 1850 277, 2019 78 and 2150 277 departures from Hedon will extend beyond Hull Interchange to Newland Avenue while the 2110 78 and 2320 277 departures from Hull Interchange will start back on Newland Avenue 15 minutes earlier. These extensions provide new access to the various restaurants and nightlife in the Avenues area of Hull. As a result the evening 78/277 services will now require more than one vehicle, but Stagecoach will have factored that into their bid.

There is also one further enhancement, a new 0005 Saturday night (early hours Sunday morning) journey on service 277 from Newland Avenue to Hedon. Arguably the villages of Bilton, Sproatley and Preston now have a nightbus service! I do wonder if diverting this journey via the Longhill estate would also be worthwhile as it's current last departure from Hull Interchange is at 2300 on EYMS service 56.

I'm not sure how much is Stagecoach's initiative and how much was in the East Riding of Yorkshire Council tender specification, but these changes are fantastic news for the communities on the 78 and 277 - small improvements can transform a basic evening service into something more exciting and useful. Lets hope these changes are well used and justified and similar improvements could be tried out elsewhere - some Barton Town Councillors for example want a later last service from Hull (currently 2125).

Goodbye to First in Goole, Hello larger EYMS operation

Yesterday, Saturday 5th September, was arguably the end of an era, as First operated their last services to and from Goole and truncated service 87 between Doncaster and Goole at Moorends. I'm not sure of the exact history of First, and Mainline before them, in Goole, but for many years they also operated the Goole Town Services which at one point included Sunday journeys to Swinefleet and Snaith. Now First in Goole is no more.

While Goole has lost it's bus link with Doncaster and other destinations south of Thorne, a Goole to Thorne replacement service 88 will be introduced by EYMS on Monday, ensuring Rawcliffe Bridge retains a bus service and that Goole and Rawcliffe continue to be linked by bus with Moorends and Thorne where onwards connections can also be made if required. It is also worth noting that for Goole to Doncaster travel the train is faster and more frequent that the First bus services ever where.

First 87 had provided an hourly Monday to Saturday daytime services, however EYMS 88 is less frequent with 8 weekday and 6 Saturday return journeys. The weekday service is generally every 90 minutes with first departure from Goole at 0725 and last departure at 1740. From Thorne the first departure is at 0806 and the last at 1820. This allows for commuting and the timetable has been designed to meet the needs of Goole College students as well. The Saturday timetable is clearly designed to be run with less resources, with services every 80 minutes except for a 130 minute gap at lunchtime. There is a good spread of journeys throughout the day with departures from Goole between 0850 and 1620 and from Thorne between 0930 and 1700.

The EYMS 88 timetable is far from perfect and not very memorable, especially on Saturdays, however it is a lot better than nothing and for First to have cancelled the 87 north of Moorends indicates the demand for an hourly services may not have been there. Hopefully over time the service can be improved and at least there are commuter friendly services as well as shopper and college student friendly services.

So while it's goodbye First in Goole, EYMS continue to grow their presence. From just operating services from Hull (and the Wed/Sat 160/162) at one point to operating the town service, Scunthorpe service, Thorne service and Sunday Selby service as well.

Franchising: An Opportunity mostly for Foreign Owned Operators?

Labour London Mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan is apparently proposing to set up a 'not for profit' organisation to bid against foreign owned bus operators for London bus routes, if he is elected. The Evening Standard reports he is concerned about money spent of buses going to "subsidise the cost of a bus ticket in other European cities", a reference to ownership of various London bus operators by Deutsche Bahn, Abellio and RATP Group (he is also concerned about money being spent on dividends).

This sentiment isn't new, and has been expressed before with regards to the ownership of certain rail franchises. Personally so long as British companies have equal access to foreign markets I don't have an issue with it, but many do.

I can't help but think introducing bus franchising in England outside of London will be to the benefit of foreign owned companies more so than British ones. First have exited the regulated London market, and Stagecoach did at one point; while returning since it has been kept separate from the rest of their UK operations. Clearly neither business is keen on the franchised model and are far more comfortable in a deregulated operating environment. National Express also exited the capital some years ago and even Go Ahead who are a major operator in London would prefer partnerships outside of the capital. Independent operators could see the loss of significant parts of their business if their current commercial routes are franchised and they are unsuccessful in bidding for them. It is also worth noting that in many places the incumbent operator with potentially the most to loose is British.

The big British bus groups will adapt - they will have to otherwise they would have to significantly downsize. Rotala are enthusiastic for franchising. I'm sure some British independents will embrace a franchised model while others would accept it and get on with it.

However I can see foreign owned companies being the big beneficiaries. They know the franchising model and are comfortable with it and will embrace it. If a large or medium sized independent operators wants to sell up it could be Abellio, Transdev, RATP, Tower Transit or Comfort DelGro that will purchase. They would also have the resources to set up new operations from scratch in any areas likely to have a large franchised operation. What is a threat to First and Stagecoach is an opportunity to yes Rotala, but also to Abellio, Transdev, RATP etc.

If Arriva get refloated on the London Stock Exchange by Deutsche Bahn that could change things a bit given their large London and continental European franchised operations, but even still I do wonder if the biggest winners will be overseas based companies. That is not a problem to me, but it maybe to others.

Thoughts?

Stagecoach Simplibus Hull

Tomorrow, Sunday 6th September, Stagecoach launches it's simplibus network in Hull. I've already written extensively about the changes as first announced, so this post focuses on the timetables that were released later.

Simplibus 1 and 2: Hull-Boothferry Estate
The biggest changes of note are a new 0500 departure from Hull Interchange on weekdays, half an hour earlier at present, and the first four Saturday morning service 2's continuing as service 10 to North Bransholme, as happens on weekday mornings. The service 1W weekday morning variation via Smith and Nephew now starts at 0530 rather than 0645. Otherwise there are just some minor retimings and slight changes to when the 'every 10 minute' Monday to Saturday daytime frequency starts and ends.

Simplibus 3: Orchard Park-Hull-Greatfield
Not much to add. The first three Saturday morning services from Greatfield will operate via Smith and Nephew, as happens on weekday mornings. The only comment to add is that first Sunday departure from Orchard Park on service 3 is at 0800 compared to 0835 on the old service 13, while from Greatfield it is at 0800 compared to 0735 on the old service 43.

Simplibus 4: Orchard Park-Hull-Bilton Grange.
Again not a huge amount to add. The first weekday departure from Hull Interchange to Orchard Park is at 0625 compared to 0710 on the old service 14, while the last Monday to Saturday departure from Hull Interchange to Orchard Park is at 2335 compared to 2310 on the old service 14. The last Sunday departure from Orchard Park is at 2300 compared to 2230 on the old service 14.

From Bilton Grange the first Saturday departure is at 0605, 25 minutes earlier than previous service 54. On Sundays the first departure is at 0730 rather than 0830. From Hull Interchange to Bilton Grange the first weekday departure is 90 minutes earlier at 0530 rather than 0700.

Simplibus 5: Hull-Orchard Park-Kingswood
Nothing further to note other than the current Monday to Saturday evening and all day Sunday through journeys to East Hull continue (onto renumbered services 11 and 12).

Simplibus 6: Hull-Kingswood
This is the brand new service in the network, operating Monday to Saturday daytimes every half hour, with departures from Kingswood between 0620 and 1750, and from Hull Interchange between 0736 and 1806. The service will serve both the Leisure and Retail Parks in Kingswood.

Simplibus 7 and 8: Hull-Sutton Park-Bransholme-Kingswood
The first departure from Hull Interchange Monday to Saturday is at 0617 rather than 0655 on the previous service 29, and on Sundays at 0820 rather than 0855. On weekday mornings there are three service 8 departures from Kingswood, which is otherwise only served on evenings and Sundays. The first two Saturday morning services from North Point will operate via Smith and Nephew as on weekday mornings.

Simplibus 9: Cottingham-Hull-Bransholme
Only further note to add is that only hourly Monday to Saturday daytime journeys will extend beyond North Point to Kestrel Avenue; these will be the 'short' journeys that terminate at Hull Interchange rather than the journeys operating through to Cotttingham.

Simplibus 10: Hull-Bransholme-North Bransholme-Wawne
There is a new 2340 departure from Hull Interchange to Wawne, half an hour later than at present.

Simplibus 11: Hull-Bransholme-Kingswood
The first three Saturday morning journeys start at North Point rather than Kingswood, but operate via Smith and Nephew, as on weekday mornings. The first Saturday departure from Hull Interchange is 30 minutes earlier at 0655 rather than 0725.

Simplibus 12: Hull-Sutton-Bransholme
Only further item to note is the first three Saturday morning departures from North Point operating via Smith and Nephew matching the weekday timetable.

Simplibus 13: Hull-Salthouse Road-Bransholme-Orchard Park
In Orchard Park most services will operate a clockwise loop, serving Greenwood Avenue, Ellerburn Avenue, Hall Road and Beverley Road. College time journeys serve the full length of Hall Road (i.e., starting at the Cottingham Road roundabout), though seemingly on all weekdays. The last departure from North Point on Monday to Saturday is at 1732 (1730 Sat) as opposed to 1805 (1815 Sat) on previous service 10. The first Saturday departure from Hull Interchange is at 0854 rather than 0810.

Simplibus 14: Hull-Greatfield
Nothing further to note.

Simplibus 16: Hull-Marfleet
This service has seen a significant change to the initially published timetable, as it has been rerouted via Newbridge Road  to replace service 41, and therefore no longer serving Victor Street and Belmont Street. The first Saturday morning departure from Marfleet is significantly earlier at 0637 rather than the previous 0802 on service 46.

Hopefully in conjunction with my initial post that has covered everything! Please post a comment if it hasn't.

Bus Franchising Proposal for East Yorkshire

Yesterday, East Riding of Yorkshire Council submitted a joint devolution proposal with the City of York and North Yorkshire County Council (but not Hull City Council). In the proposition document, the following included:

"Responsibility for franchised bus services in the devolved geography for integrating smart ticketing across all local modes of transport, including integrated smart ticketing extension to the Transport for the North connected cities ticketing initiative."

If ticketing is the sole motivation, then franchising is using a sledge hammer to crack to a nut. The big bus groups have committed to a smart ticketing initiative and EYMS are part of the proposed Hullcard scheme - I'm sure something could be worked out voluntarily to meet the specific desires of this proposal without destroying the ability of operators to innovate and invest in a deregulated market that has given East Yorkshire an (on the whole) excellent network of services. And without the need to administrate a franchising scheme, money that could be better spent supporting enhancements to the bus network and reversing some of North Yorkshire's extensive cuts to tendered services.

There was also a Greater Lincolnshire expression of interest submitted covering North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire and Lincolnshire, which is far less well developed and references "Improving transport links regionally, nationally and internationally". Until the expression of interest becomes a more detailed proposal then it's uncertain what this could mean in practice.

A couple of final thoughts:

• Hopefully councils will take a close look at the partnerships in South Yorkshire which have potential to achieve a far more stable, co-ordinated and integrated network without removing operator's ability to innovate and develop services
• I wonder if Hull could end up regretting not pursuing a Humber approach to devolution? In the North East Lincolnshire Council statement they went as far as stating they were not bound yet to any geographical arrangement and I sense North Lincolnshire Council could have been convinced. However right now Hull has been snubbed by Leeds in it's Greater Yorkshire bid, and snubbed by York, North Yorkshire, and most significant of all East Yorkshire, with their bid that leaves Hull isolated in submitting it's Greater Yorkshire bid with no support from other Yorkshire councils. Unfortunately probably not going to happen, but it would be great to see a Humber-wide proposal emerge from the current mess.

EYMS X80 (and X46) Beverley Route Change

EYMS Monday to Saturday service X80 from Hessle, Anlaby, Willerby and Cottingham to Beverley gets a new route from Monday 7th September within Beverley. The service will now operate as a circular within the town, operating inbound via it's current route to Beverley Bus Station before leaving the town via Armstrong Way and Flemingate to serve East Riding College and the new Retail and Leisure development in the area. There are minor retimings to the service as a result. EYMS re-routed service 246 via Flemingate earlier this year when it recast it's Hull to Beverley services.

A good time to note as well that from the same date, EYMS's 0805 journey on the X46 from Pocklington to Hull will also route via Armstrong Way within Beverley to serve the East Riding College Campus.

Further EYMS September Changes

EYMS have today registered variations to various services with VOSA from 27th September:

• 33/34/35/35A/44 Hull to Willerby
• 103 Hull to Cottingham
• 105 Hull to Cottingham
• 115 Hull to Cottingham/Castle Hill Hospital (route as well as timetable)
• 151/152 Hull to Anlaby/Willerby
• 152/153 Hull to Anlaby/North Ferriby/Brough/South Cave
• 154 Hull to Willerby/Castle Hill Hospital

 

Acklams re-register the 124

Earlier this month Acklams and EYMS both cancelled their VOSA registrations for service 124 between Driffield and Bridlington. Acklams Coaches had been operating the route on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and EYMS on Saturdays.

Today VOSA re-registered the 124 with VOSA, this time including the Saturday service. The start and finish points do not reference Bridlington, but VOSA registration summaries are not always accurate/could refer to a circular service, so until further information is available I wouldn't draw conclusions one way or the other.

PB1075166/35 - ACKLAMS COACHES LTD, BUS & COACH DEPOT, BARMSTON ROAD, BEVERLEY, HU17 0LA

• Registration Accepted by SN
• Starting Point: Driffield
• Finish Point: Driffield
• Via:
• Service Number: 124
• Service Type: Normal Stopping
• Effective Date: 09-SEP-2015
• Other Details: Wednesday, Thursday & Saturday

Simplibus comes to Hull

After being rolled out in Grimsby last year, Stagecoach’s simplibus branding and approach comes to Hull from 6^th September. There are some major changes to Stagecoach’s local network in Hull and Cottingham as a result in what is being called “a plan for the long term”. If successful the relaunched network “would increase opportunities to both increase frequency of buses and to invest in new, more environmentally-friendly vehicles”. Thank you very much to Stagecoach for providing me with a copy of the press release, the new frequency guide/map as well as answering my questions.

Starting in West Hull with the current 1 and 2 services from the City Centre to the Boothferry Estate via Hessle Road and Anlaby Road respectively – these do not see any substantial changes, with the frequency remaining every 10 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes, half hourly Monday to Saturday evenings and Sunday daytimes, and hourly on Sunday evenings. The 1K extensions to Sutton Fields Industrial Estate and Kingswood Retail Park remain.

The City Centre to Orchard Park via Chanterlands Avenue service currently provided by the 13 and 13b routes is replaced by service 3 which will operate as a cross city service from Orchard Park to Greatfield, providing new cross-city links and improved access from West Hull to the Old Town area of the city centre. As a result the service will operate inbound to the city centre via Park Street direct to Paragon Interchange before serving other parts of the city centre, but outbound West Hull passengers will have the ability catch the service at a stop somewhere other than the Interchange, unlike at present. The 13b variation currently serves Fairfax Avenue which will become unserved with the Simplibus network, as all services take the current service 13 route serving a longer part of Bricknell Avenue.

Simplibus 3 will maintain the same frequency as the 13/13b combined on weekdays; every 10 minutes daytime and every half hour in the evenings. It will also maintain the same frequency of half hourly Saturday evenings and hourly Sunday evenings. However the Saturday daytime frequency shall fall from every 10 minutes to every 15 minutes with the Sunday daytime frequency doubling from half hourly to every 15 minutes.

The City Centre to Orchard Park link via Beverley Road currently provided by service 14 becomes the 4, and like the 3 also becomes a cross city service linking Orchard Park and Beverley Road to the Old Town, Holderness Road and Bilton Grange. Monday to Saturday daytime frequency increases from every 20 minutes to every 15 minutes, with Monday to Saturday evenings and Sunday daytimes remaining half hourly and Sunday evenings hourly.

Services 3 and 4 will operate as a circular cross-Orchard Park in the same way services 13 and 14 currently do so.

Current service 15 from the City Centre to Kingswood Retail Park via the Avenues and Orchard Park becomes the 5, with the evening service 16 variation that omits Orchard Park but extends to Kingswood Health Centre abolished. The biggest change sees alternate Monday to Saturday daytime services no longer extending beyond Orchard Park to Kingswood, otherwise frequencies remain the same at every 10 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes, every 15 minutes Monday to Saturday evenings and Sunday daytimes and every half hour on Sunday evenings.

New Simplibus service 6 doesn’t directly replace a current route, and is reminiscent of the former service 20. The 6 will provide a direct link from Hull Centre via Beverley Road to Kingswood Retail Park before serving the residential areas of Kingswood including the Health Centre and, after making use of a new link road on the estate, Kingsbury Way before terminating at the Wawne Road/Cumbrian Way/Kesteven Way roundabout. Around Kingsbury Way the 6 replaces current service 28. The 6 will operate every half hour Monday to Saturday daytimes, the same frequency as the 28, with evening and Sunday services provided by route 8. The 6 will be a far faster route into Hull City Centre than the 28 and serves more of the Kingswood estate, however the Monday to Saturday daytime link to North Point Shopping Centre is lost – also useful for connecting to other services – and parts of Kesteven Way become unserved.

Simplibus 7 and 8 replace the current 29 and 28 services respectively; they both run from Hull City Centre via Beverley Road and Sutton Park to North Point, with the 7 running via Bodmin Road to Kingswood Retail Park as per the current 29 route, while Monday to Saturday evenings and Sundays only, the 8 will extend beyond North Point to Kingsbury Way, Kingswood Health Centre and Kingswood Retail Park. The 7 and 8 will each operate every half hour Monday to Saturday daytimes and every hour Monday to Saturday evenings and Sunday; this is the same frequency as at present except for Sunday evenings when the frequency is doubled between the City Centre and North Point, and Kingswood gains a new Sunday evening service. Peaktime service 101 between Hull City Centre, Clough Road and North Point is renumbered 8X.

Next up in the new network is Simplibus 9 which replaces the current 110 between Castle Hill Hospital, Cottingham, Bricknell Estate, the City Centre, James Reckitt Avenue and North Point. In Cottingham the service is rerouted via Northgate and Newgate Street rather than South Street and Hallgate, and in East Hull it is rerouted via Witham, Holderness Road and Mount Pleasant rather than New Cleveland Street. Peak time journeys will omit Dorchester Road and instead operate via Midmere Avenue before serving the full length of Noddle Hill Way. The Western part of the route will operate hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes, as with the present 110, however the eastern half of the route will double to half hourly.

Simplibus 10 is not related to the current service 10 but instead replace the current 30 and 30A. The ‘new’ 10 adopts the current evening and weekend route of the 30 serving Leads Road and Sutton Road instead of part of Holwell Road while continuing to link Hull City Centre to North Point, Bodmin Road and North Bransholme. The 10 will operate every 10 minutes weekday peaks, every 15 minutes weekday off-peak and Saturday daytimes, every half hour Monday to Saturday evenings and Sunday daytimes, and every hour on Sunday evenings. This matches the current 30/30A frequency except on weekday daytimes where the 10 minute frequency currently operates during the daytime as well as at peak times. The 30A along the northern parts of Leads Road is replaced by the increased frequency on service 9, allowing this variation to be dropped. Not mentioned in the new Simplibus frequency guide, but Wawne continues to be served and the ‘X’ variation via Sutton Fields Industrial Estate also remains.

Current service 51 between Hull City Centre, Holderness Road, Ings Estate, Spring Cottage, North Point and Kingswood Retail Park is renumbered service 11, continuing to operate every 15 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes and every half hour evenings and Sundays.

The 12 replaces current service 32 between Hull City Centre, Gillshill Road, Sutton Village, Noddle Hill Way and North Point, with services operating every 15 minutes to Monday to Saturday daytimes, every half hour Monday to Saturday evenings and Sunday daytimes, and every hour Sunday evenings.

Simplibus 13 replaces part of the 10, and means the end of the traditional city circular – in recent years the 10 had not served the variety of areas the city circular had done in the past, but now it largely becomes an East Hull only service. The new 3 and 4 do provide some replacement cross city links.

The western section between the City Centre and Orchard Park is axed without replacement, but it largely duplicated the ‘old’ 13 and 15 (‘new’ 3 and 5) anyway; Cottingham Road (main stops for Hull University) is no longer served by Stagecoach (though Cranbrook Avenue is served by service 5 and is just as convenient for parts of the campus), while a small part of Greenwood Avenue becomes unserved. The link between Orchard Park and North Point via Sutton Park is reduced from Monday to Saturdays to weekdays only and continues to operate via Cheltenham Avenue.

In East Hull the service continues to operate from Hull City Centre via Holderness Road direct to Salthouse Road before serving Spring Cottage en-route to North Point. Monday to Saturday daytime frequency remains half hourly, while the Sunday daytime service is increased from hourly to match, and extended from it’s current Spring Cottage terminus to North Point. Spring Cottage therefore will have 4 services an hour into Hull City Centre on Sunday daytimes combined with the 11.

Continuing our clockwise look around Hull it’s time to return to the new service 4 which will replace the current 54 and 55 services between Hull City Centre and Bilton Grange. All services will operate via Marfleet Lane (service 55 route) rather than Maybury Road (service 54 route) and no services will serve Hopewell Road. The 4 will operate as a circular with service 3 to provide through links to Greatfield and Preston Road. Service 4 will operate every 15 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes, every half hour Monday to Saturday evenings and Sunday daytimes and every hour Sunday evenings; a reduction from every 10 minutes on Monday to Friday daytimes but otherwise matching the current frequency provided by the 54/55 combined.

Service 3 replaces the 43 in East Hull linking Hull City Centre with Preston Road and Greatfield. The every 10 minutes weekday daytimes, every 15 minutes weekend daytimes, every half hour Monday to Saturday evening and every hour Sunday evening frequency matches the current frequency except for the doubling of the Sunday daytime services from half hourly.

Simplibus 14 replaces the 41 and 42; all services operate via the 42 route between Hull City Centre, Portobello Street, Wingfield Road and Greatfield Falkland Road, leaving Newbridge Road and parts of Marfleet Lane unserved. Weekday daytime frequency reduced from every 10 minutes to every 15 minutes while Saturday daytimes remain every 15 minutes, Monday to Saturday evenings and Sunday daytimes remain half hourly and Sunday evenings hourly.

The final simplibus route is the 16, replacing the current 46 in linking Hull City Centre with the Marina, Victoria Dock, the Preston Road Estate and Marfleet; services continue to operate hourly daytimes. The hourly service 17 shorts from Hull Interchange to the Marina are withdrawn due to low usage; when opened the new Castle Street Bridge will offer far easier pedestrian access from the City Centre to the Marina area.

A couple of other network-wide points work noting, peak time extensions to Smith and Nephew remain, as do the early morning connections from the 2 and 3 (currently 2 and 13) onto the 10 (currently service 30) and the residual Saturday nightbuses (that don’t use the N prefix anymore). Workers Service 677 is unaffected as are the ‘out of town’ services; the Humber Flyer and Humber Fastcat do get good-sized adverts in the new simplibus frequency guide.

Positives and negatives, and a lot to digest. One thing is that simplibus lives up to it’s name, with both the route numbers 1-16 (minus 15) and the ending of some route variations.

Stagecoach Information Events:
Mon 27 July Greatfield, Elmbridge Parade 2-7pm
Tue 28 July Greenwich Avenue 2-7pm
Wed 29 July North Point Shopping Centre 2-7pm
Thur 30 July Kingswood Medical Centre 2-7pm
Fri 31 July Queen Victoria Square 11am-4pm
Mon 3 August Orchard Park, Tesco 2-7pm
Tue 4 August James Reckitt Avenue (East Park) 2-7pm
Wed 5 August Princes Quay Shopping Centre 11am-4pm
Thu 6 August St Stephens Shopping Centre 11am-4pm
Fri 7 August Paragon Interchange 11am-5pm

EYMS 361 via Ealand Village

EYMS are amending their tendered Scunthorpe to Goole services 360 and 361 from Monday 20th July.

The main change sees service 361 diverted to operate via Ealand village centre rather than just the nearby A161; as a result there are some minor retimings to most Monday to Saturday service 361 journeys.

The weekday service 360 from Eastoft to Goole at 0759 becomes a service 361 departing at 0749; unlike service 360, service 361 operates via Boothferry Road in Goole which will better serve college students using the service.

The case for Humber Devolution

Firstly apologies that this post largely isn’t about transport, however this is a very important topic for the Humber region, that I feel strongly about, and this blog is probably one of the best ways I can publically discuss my personal thoughts it.

Devolution to the English regions is happening, and in some form or another seems certain to cover all parts of England during the current parliament. The government are insisting on directly elected mayors, and while I think it is a shame local areas do not have the option to propose alternatives forms of devolution, if an elected mayor is necessary to get devolution, then one needs to be accepted in my opinion. That leads to a debate over the geographic scope of individual devolution deals, and the policy areas/responsibilities to be devolved. I believe it is essential that the Humber region works together as one area in securing a devolution deal, preferably on it’s own, but if it necessary with neighbouring areas too.

One potential area for devolution is skills. There is already extensive cross-Humber co-operation through the Local Enterprise Partnership, with the Humber Skills Pledge, Humber-wide springboard programme and Humber Apprentice Support Service, as well as the new Humber UTC and a potential National College for Wind Energy. This is all at risk of being diminished if skills policy in the Humber region is split across two different devolution deals and two different mayors. Policy divergence would be a risk, and to avoid this there would need to be extensive co-ordination to ensure policy alignment which in turn could detract from implementation. One Humber wide elected mayor and associated authority could develop and implement one policy without needing to worry about these risks.

Some of the skills work in the Humber region has been built around the emerging development of the off-shore wind industry in the region. This is a massive shared opportunity for the North and South Banks, with plenty of investments and jobs for all areas. To fully maximise this, the Humber needs to be fully united and co-ordinated across marketing the area, facilitating inward investment and ensuring the provision of a skilled workforce. Working across two different authorities with two different mayors would make this a lot harder. It’s also worth noting that both Lincolnshire and other parts of Yorkshire (potential alternative partners for the south and north banks of the Humber respectively) have far less potential to directly benefit from offshore energy given their lack of ports and docks. It very much is a shared opportunity for the Humber.

Health services are another potential area for devolution. The current organisation of health services on the South Bank largely looks to Yorkshire as a partner, whether through the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Trust or the provision of specialist services at Hull Royal Infirmary, Castle Hill Hospital, Sheffield Children’s Hospital, Pinderfields Burns Unit or in Leeds. Hull and East Yorkshire also look to South and West Yorkshire for very specialist care. It therefore would be most logical to partner at least within the Humber region from a healthcare devolution perspective. Also, I think that Lincolnshire generally looks to Nottingham and the East Midlands as a partner when required, a clear area of difference between North and North East Lincolnshire on one-hand, and Lincolnshire on the other. Any potential Greater Lincolnshire devolution deal would have to overcome this.

Transferring the role of police and crime commissioner (PCC) into a directly elected mayor has been suggested, a sensible suggestion in my opinion. However I can only see that this could work if a directly elected mayor’s boundaries matched that of the police. This leaves three options; a Humber-wide mayor replacing the Humberside PCC, retaining the Humberside PCC due to non-matching mayoral boundaries, or a costly and complex reorganisation of policing to match mayoral boundaries. Any reorganisation costs and complexity would be exacerbated by the increasing integration within Humberside Police and the recently introduced ‘one-force’ model replacing the traditional geographic based divisional structure. From a policing perspective I see the only sensible option as being a Humber-wide mayor.

Even in the area of transport, despite the estuary, there are common links between the North and South banks of the Humber. The most obvious link is the Humber Bridge, and any elected mayor and associated authority could potentially incorporate the Humber Bridge Board bringing the potential of administrative savings. Humberside Airport is a shared asset for the Humber region; a Yorkshire elected mayor and associated authority or even a Hull/East Yorkshire/parts of North Yorkshire elected mayor and associated authority maybe reluctant to support an ‘out of area’ airport while a Greater Lincolnshire elected mayor and associated authority may place more emphasis on links to East Midlands Airport given that for much of the Lincolnshire County Council area, Humberside is not the local airport. It would be far more preferable for one Humber-wide elected mayor and associated authority to be supporting the Humber region’s local airport. There are also shared interests across the North and South banks of the Humber covering the East Coast Mainline, A1 and M1, shipping/ports and some local bus services.

There could be potential for a directly elected mayor and associated authority to take over the role of the Humberside Fire Authority, however as with the police, this would only likely work if the directly elected mayor covered the entire Humber region. Like with Humberside Police, resources are shared across both banks of the Humber and any reorganisation would be complex and costly, yet without Humber region-wide devolution, the only other option would be to retain the Humberside Fire Authority as a standalone body.

While the government has stated that the South Bank will be part of the Northern Powerhouse initiative (and therefore I presume Transport for the North once it is formally established), south bank influence within the initiative would be limited should a Greater Lincolnshire mayor be established covering North and North East Lincolnshire as well as Lincolnshire. Presumably Lincolnshire would not be involved in the Northern Powerhouse – it would be very difficult to call Stamford, Long Sutton or even Skegness part of the North of England – so the result would be a mayor and associated authority ‘half-in, half-out’ and potentially therefore having limited influence over key policy. On the other hand a united Humber directly elected mayor and associated authority would be more likely to have greater influence.

It’s interesting how the Sheffield City Region has ignored traditional boundaries to reflect modern realities and local geography in the formation of it’s combined authority, including parts of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire as well as South Yorkshire. This is the type of working needed in the Humber region. Traditional boundaries are just that, traditional, historic, to be recognised in ceremonial counties. They do not reflect modern-day economic needs and sensible administrative boundaries. Not even the great Humber estuary presents a natural boundary any more, as the Humber Bridge and it’s reduced tolls have facilitated more integration between the North and South banks than ever before.

On the south bank I feel, as a Barton resident, that Barton at least is increasingly part of Greater Hull. There are residents moving to Barton from the North Bank to take advantage of cheaper house prices, and the reduced Humber Bridge tolls have made it far more affordable to travel to Hull and East Yorkshire for shopping and leisure. From a transport perspective, Barton had one bus per hour to Hull Monday to Saturday daytimes at the start of 2009; since 2010 it has had three per hour. Stagecoach (and EYMS) have invested in the Humber Fastcat and to a lesser extent Humber Flyer cross-Humber bus services. This tells a story of increasing inter-connectivity between the North and South banks of the Humber.

How successful it is remains to be seen, but looking at announcements from Hull City Council such as it’s City Plan, cruise terminal plans and concert venue plans, there is no shortage of vision for growth. Now is not the time for the South Bank to turn it’s back on the North Bank, weaken ties, marginalise existing co-operation or increase administrative hurdles to cross-Humber working. Now is the time for increased working together, so that the South Bank can influence these plans and capture the benefits as best as possible.

There may be times when a Greater Lincolnshire or Yorkshire approach is most appropriate, and one option could be to set up a formal leadership committee or similar to co-ordinate when appropriate. However I firmly believe these occasions are far less than when cross-Humber co-operation is the most sensible approach to take.

Finally I am struck that even when key figures in the debate are advocating other options than a Humber wide devolution deal, they still emphasise the need to work together across the Humber on business and economy issues. To me this shows that the Humber is a functional economic area with shared interests. Why is it being seriously contemplated ignoring this in the devolution debate? Why is the Humber region at risk of becoming the least united it has been since 1974? There are shared interests in a variety of areas; this is the time to boldly make the case for the Humber region in administrative and economic terms.

Please leave your comments – and even better contact your local politicians to let them know your views, whatever they may be. Whatever your view, the end result will not have legitimacy if the public are not involved.

Busking cancel Driffield Town Service registration

Busking have today cancelled their registration for the Driffield Town Service with VOSA:

PB1084446/12 - BUSKING LTD, 52 MAIN STREET, NORTH FRODINGHAM, DRIFFIELD, YO25 8LG

Cancellation Accepted: Operating between George Street, Driffield and George Street, Driffield given service number 530 effective from 06-Sep-2015.

(Yes, I have spotted some other Humber-area changes on VOSA today, which I will cover soon - hopefully in more detail than what is available on the VOSA website)

521 back to East Riding Community Hospital

Since Monday (6th July), EYMS have extended hourly Monday to Saturday daytime Beverley Town Service 521 to serve East Riding Community Hospital. This previously occurred until July 2013 when the link to the hospital was transferred to fellow town service route 523. The 523 ceased to serve the Hospital in late May when it was reduced to a Sunday only service, and the 121 and 246 also ceased to operate into the hospital site, the 121 and new 122 stopping on nearby Swinemoor Lane instead. Last Monday's change restores the bus link into the hospital grounds.

Acklams cancel 124

Acklams Coaches have cancelled service 124 between Bridlington and Driffield. EYMS cancelled their journeys on the route earlier this week. From VOSA:

PB1075166/33 - ACKLAMS COACHES LTD, BUS & COACH DEPOT, BARMSTON ROAD, BEVERLEY, HU17 0LA

• Cancellation Accepted: Operating between Bridlington and Driffield given service number 124 effective from 03-Sep-2015.

Further EYMS September Changes Planned

From VOSA:

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 06-Sep-2015. To amend Timetable.

 

PB0000328/50 - EAST YORKSHIRE MOTOR SERVICES LTD, 252 ANLABY ROAD, HULL, HU3 2RS           

Variation Accepted: Operating between Beverley and Swanland given service number 180/X80 effective from 06-Sep-2015. To amend Timetable.

EYMS September Changes

EYMS have registered changes to various routes with VOSA from 6th September:

• 78/79/80/277 Hull to Hedon
• 220/221/920 Hull to Hornsea
• X46 Hull to Pocklington

Plus various school and college services.

It has also cancelled it's registration for service 124 between Driffield and Bridlington from 12th September.

New Stagecoach Kingswood-Beverley Road service in September

Spotted this on the Stagecoach East Midlands twitter feed today, in response to a question about Hull to Kingswood services:

@JellyBabyMom2 We are currently developing a NEW service for September which will go direct via Beverley Rd. Thanks ^AB

Stagecoach last operated a direct Kingswood-Beverley Road-Hull service with route 20 that was withdrawn in September 2011. A new link road has recently opened in Kingswood, which maybe behind the changes Stagecoach will be making.

More Stagecoach North East Lincolnshire VOSA changes

Remember Stagecoach registered various changes to North East Lincolnshire area services from 6th July? Today this appeared on VOSA, and the other details on the service 12 registration probably explains what has happened to every service (note, to be clear this is purely my guess at what has happened). There is nothing on the Stagecoach website about any service changes, which also points towards whatever was planned as having been cancelled.

PB0001484/274 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB           

Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Grimsby Bus Station and North Sea Lane given service number 8/8S effective from 06-Jul-2015. To amend Timetable.

 

PB0001484/275 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB           

Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Waltham and North Sea Lane given service number 10/9 effective from 06-Jul-2015. To amend Timetable.

 

PB0001484/277 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB           

Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Morrisons and Cleethorpes Pier given service number 3/4/4A effective from 06-Jul-2015. To amend Timetable

 

PB0001484/278 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB           

Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Grimsby Town Centre and Wybers Wood given service number 6 effective from 06-Jul-2015. To amend Timetable.

 

PB0001484/281 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB           

Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Immingham and Grimsby given service number 5/5C effective from 06-Jul-2015. To amend Timetable.

 

PB0001484/284 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB           

Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Immingham and East Halton given service number 150 effective from 06-Jul-2015. To amend Timetable.

PB0001484/326 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB           

Registration Accepted by SN

Starting Point: Bradley Park
Finish Point: New Waltham
Via:
Service Number: 12
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 06-JUL-2015
Other Details: Normal Service timetable reinstated following agreement with NEL Council regarding contracted.