Today, Sunday 21st May, sees some major changes to EYMS's 45/46 group of services between Bridlington, Driffield, Market Weighton, Pocklington and York.
Very major on a Sunday actually, as the entire Sunday service is withdrawn. This had comprised three service 45 round trips between Bridlington and York plus five service 46 round trips between Pocklington and York - giving the Pocklington to York section an approximate 90 minute frequency. All these services were financially supported by East Riding of Yorkshire Council (ERYC) until the end of March this year. The 46 had an average 10 passengers per journey at a subsidy of £1.72 per passenger; the Sunday service performed sixth worst in the 'balanced scorecard' used by ERYC to determinate which contracted services would be having their funding removed. The 45 performed better with an average 20 passengers per journey at a subsidy of £1.67 per passenger journey.
To partially mitigate the changes, EYMS have diverted service X47 via Barmby Moor and Wilberfoss, which will provide these villages with five Sunday journeys each way between Hull, Pocklington and York, operating every two hours. Pocklington to York via Kexby Bridge also benefits from enhanced Sunday services X46/X47 which now operate hourly combined Sunday daytimes as opposed to every 1-2 hours previously. Dunnington and the University of York have alternative Sunday links into York with First York so as far as the Pocklington to York section is concerned the main loss is links east of Pocklington.
Between Bridlington and Driffield service 121 operates hourly on Sundays, although the first departure from Bridlington is at 1025 rather than 0830 on service 45. Any passengers for Pocklington and York will need to travel via Beverley and change. For Bridlington to York the Coastliner also offers an alternative, albeit one that is designed to get daytrippers to Bridlington rather than to York. There are however no alternatives for the villages of Warter and North Dalton between Pocklington and Driffield.
Monday to Saturday also sees big changes. It's probably easier to break them down into three sections; York to Pocklington, Pocklington to Driffield and Driffield to Bridlington.
Between York and Pocklington the service remains hourly daytimes, with some additional services that had operated over and above this frequency withdrawn. The major change is a reduction in services running via the University of York, which had been served by all journeys except those via York Maze and the 2305 from York. Now only most morning journeys from Pocklington and most afternoon journeys from York will run the university - this should at least cater to the main traffic flows from Pocklington and surrounding villages to the university, and First have frequent services between the university and York City Centre. Not serving the university saves five minutes on journey times.
Dunnington sees slightly more services from York/to Pocklington and less in the other direction. Calls in the 0945, 1145, 1345, 1645 (Sat), 1730 (Mon-Fri), 1835 and 2305 from York become calls in the 0900 (Not Sat), 0950, 1150, 1650, 1850, 2105 and 2305 (Fri+Sat). From Pocklington calls in the 0800, 1055, 1255, 1455 and 1745 become calls in the 0800, 1300 and 1500. This provides a basic service for Common Lane in Dunnington and for any Dunnington to Pocklington shoppers. The main service for Dunnington is provided by First (and Transdev).
Services running via Dunnington and/or the University of York use service number 45; service 46 is only for journeys omitting both locations.
A note about the evening service which until late March was subsidised by ERYC with an average 10 passengers per journey at a subsidy of £2.89 per journey. The 2025 from Pocklington remains, as does the 2110 from York, retimed to 2105 and now serving Dunnington. The 2225 from Pocklington and 2305 now operate on Fridays and Saturdays only.
On the Pocklington to Driffield section, very few services will now use the direct route via Warter and North Dalton; only the 0650 Bridlington to York, 1350 York to Driffield or Bridlington and 1850 York to Bridlington. These journeys will have an A suffix added to their route number, the only route variation to gain a suffix. Whilst North Dalton will also be served by other journeys, Warter will not, and it's only other bus service is the Tuesday 199 'shopper' to Pocklington.
The previous Pocklington to Driffield timetable had a 0905 46A between the two towns via Market Weighton, Middleton, North Dalton, Bainton, Tibthorpe and Kirkburn, then 0945, 1130, 1330 and 1630 departures from Pocklington via Market Weighton, Middleton and Bainton and 1030, 1230, 1430 and 1920 departures from Pocklington via Warter and North Dalton. All bar the 0905 started in York and some continued onto Bridlington.
There are now just five departures from Pocklington to Driffield, at 1035 via Market Weighton, Middleton and Bainton, at 1235 and 1635 via Market Weighton, Middleton and North Dalton and at 1435 and 1930 via Warter and North Dalton. Extra departures from Pocklington to Market Weighton operate at 1130 and 1330. All services start at York, and apart from the 1435 on schooldays, all run through to Bridlington.
From Driffield previous services departed the Middle Street South stop at 0723, 1020, 1220, 1420 and 1710 via North Dalton and Warter, at 1110, 1510 and 1620 via Bainton, Middleton and Market Weighton, and at 1258 as service 46A via Kirkburn, Tibthorpe, Bainton, North Dalton, Middleton and Market Weighton. Some started in Bridlington and all continued to York. Extra journeys from Market Weighton operated at 0725 (Not Sat), 0915 (Not Sat) and 0940 (times taken the Griffin).
As with services from Pocklington, departures from Driffield are reduced to five a day. A 0723 departure operates via North Dalton and Warter, 1015 and 1215 departures via North Dalton, Middleton and Market Weighton, a 1415 departure via Bainton, Middleton and Market Weighton, and a 1710 departure via Bainton, North Dalton, Middleton and Market Weighton. All start in Bridlington and continue to York. Extra departures from Market Weighton are at 0725 (Not Sat), 0945, 1145 and 1345, creating hourly departures from Market Weighton between 0945 and 1445.
These changes maintain a basic service between Pocklington/Market Weighton, Middleton and Driffield. Bainton and North Dalton retain services, though the first North Dalton to Driffield service is at 1304, with the only suitable return at 1710 - North Dalton shoppers may prefer to use Market Weighton or Pocklington instead. With only one eastbound service, Bainton customers only have a usable shopping/leisure service now to Driffield or Bridlington (plus Beverley on Acklams 142). Tibthorpe and Kirkburn Village Centre are unserved, and will be left without a bus service (is there a stop on the A614 main road on the edge of Kirkburn that the 45/46 can use?).
Finally looking at the Bridlington to Driffield section, the service is reduced from six to five journeys each way, with the 0900 from York truncated at Pocklington, and the first arrival into Bridlington now at 1154 rather than 1104. The penultimate 1545 departure from Bridlington is also removed. In addition the 1350 from York now terminates in Driffield on schooldays, with a connection onto service 121 required for travel further eastwards.
In reviewing these changes between Pocklington, Driffield and Bridlington, it's important to note that ERYC removed some financial support at the end of March for the 0905 Pocklington to Driffield and 1255 return on Saturdays between Middleton and Driffield - average 4 passengers per journey at a subsidy of £7.59 per passenger journey - and also for the 1345 York to Brildington east of Pocklington and 1545 Bridlington to York east of Pocklington - average 11 passengers per journey at a subsidy of £3.07 per passenger journey. The 1345 survives, truncated at Driffield on schooldays, however there has been an overall thinning out of the timetable, and I'm sure these subsidy cuts have contributed to that.
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4 comments:
It seems to me that with these cuts and those on the Hull-Goole route, and potentially a lot more cuts over the next two years that East Yorkshire could find themselves in trouble. As they have a lot of rural routes, they have relied heavily on council funding to keep those services. Now it's all drying up it could force them close more depots.
Perhaps now might be the time for them too sell up while they still have something to offer.
Very true that too much reliance on subsidy instead of commercial services.
Poor scheduling with buses running behind each other and service gaps of 50 mins.
Time for Peter to call it a day and have a streamlined management in place who actually know what they are doing.
There is no marked stop on the main road at Kirkburn but buses will stop outside the filling station.
The timetable display at Driffield George Street still shows a 142 service running at 1250. This service was withdrawn two years ago. It hasn't shown any of the 45/46 services that used to depart from that stop, nor does it show any service 121 departures that still do use it.
Travelling from Pocklington to Bridlington, as you noted, has now changed from a direct service to having to make a connection in Beverley. However there doesn't seem to have been any consideration given to this in the timetable. The buses from Pocklington arrive in Beverley 10 minutes after the northbound 121 departs meaning a 50 minute connection time. The return journey is even worse as the southbound 121 arrives 3 minutes after the X46 departs towards York so that's a 57 minute wait.
I get that's it isn't possible for all services to connect but as the Sunday X46/47 timetable has been completely recast surely it would have been both possible and logical to have Hull-York and Hull-Bridlington/Scarborough buses connecting where they meet in Beverley. Needless to say my Mum who regularly goes Pocklington-Bridlington by bus on a Sunday will now take to the car.
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