Introducing East Yorkshire's New Service 25

As part of it's changes to services in the Beverley area, East Yorkshire are introducing new service 25 between Hessle and Hornsea from Sunday 5th September. The 25 is a merger of the current 80 between Hessle, Anlaby, Willerby, Cottingham and Beverley with the Beverley to Hornsea section of the to be withdrawn 246 between Hull, Beverley and Hornsea. At first I thought it a rather odd combination - there's not significant demand for travel between Hessle and Hornsea - but there is some sense to it:

• The 80 is a route which is a bit too long to complete in under an hour, whilst Beverley to Hornsea takes around 45 minutes, a nice combination for a just under two hour journey time each way. 
• The 246 arguably doesn't achieve much as a cross Beverley service Monday to Saturday daytimes with it's current timetable, unless you are catching it in Routh or Tickton villages. From Hornsea waiting for the 240 20 minutes after a 246 gets you into Hull 2 minutes earlier, whilst from Hull the 246 departs just 5 minutes after the 240. For those travelling from the Hornsea area to destinations between Hull and Beverley a new same bus 'cross-Hull' link will be available from the 24 onto the new 23 service. Tickton is being put into the Beverley fare zone, so that's some consolation for the loss of daytime Hull links.
• The 25 does link the Hornsea area to Castle Hill Hospital, and there maybe some limited daytrip demand from Hessle, Anlaby, Willerby and Cottingham to Hornsea in the Summer.

Another key change here is that unlike the 80, the 25 will serve Lincoln Way in Beverley, currently covered by Acklams Beverley Town Service 522. 

Monday to Saturday daytimes the 25 is hourly, matching the current 80 frequency and that off the 246 between Beverley and Hornsea. There is a slight reduction in Monday to Friday morning buses from Hornsea to Beverley, with 246 departures at 0600, 0630, 0720 replaced by 25's at 0605 and 0750, whilst the first bus on Saturdays is later at 0700 rather than 0630. On the positive side, the first bus from Beverley to Hornsea on Saturdays will be at 0735 rather than 0820.

The limited Monday to Saturday evening service provided by the 246 between Beverley and Hornsea continues with the 25, and the 'spirit' of the 246 continues here as some evening 25's operate a 'cross-Beverley' service to Hull, operating as new service 23 between Beverley and Hull. From Hornsea to Beverley the last bus will be at 2150 rather than 1855, but from Beverley Monday to Thursday the last Hornsea departure will be at 2110 rather than 2330. The late departure remains, 10 minutes later at 2340, on Friday and Saturday nights.

As with the 24, some of these morning and evening changes maybe reflecting the closure of Hornsea depot three years ago - since then the timetable indicates a lot of early and late 'dead-running' to and from Hornsea, which from next week will be reduced.

Finally for the first time since 2018, there will be a Sunday Beverley to Hornsea service with the new 25, operating every two hours during the daytime.

The 240 drops it's 0.

Next Sunday - 5th September - East Yorkshire will be renumbering their 240 service between Hornsea and Hull as service 24. 

Times are revised throughout the day, but it remains hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes and at these times operates as a through service in Hull onto Beverley as new route 23. I'd be surprised if this link got much use, given Stagecoach's 4 covers much of the same route within the Hull City boundaries far more frequently, but it does replace the connection from the Hornsea area to Woodmansey, Dunswell and Beverley Road lost with the 246's withdrawal (more on that in a later post). 

Another key change Monday to Saturday daytimes is that the 24 is perfectly co-ordinated with new service 25 between Hornsea and Leven to offer a half hourly service over this section - at present services 240 and 246 (which the 25 replaces over this section) have either 20 or 40 minute intervals between them each hour.

Monday to Saturday mornings the first service from Hull is now at 0630 rather than 0835 and on Saturday mornings the first service from Hornsea to Hull is also earlier at 0630 rather than 0715. Monday to Saturday evenings there is a new 2000 from Hornsea into Hull - currently no service between 1830 and 2155 - but the last service of the day at 2155 is replaced by a service 25 at 2150 via Beverley. Earlier services from Hull and the 2000 from Hornsea are possibly adjusting the timetable - in a good way - to reflect the closure of Hornsea depot 3 years ago, something that wasn't done at the time (there will still need to be some 'out of service' journeys to and from Hornsea with the new timetable, but less than before).

On Sundays there is major enhancement from three to six journeys - a two hourly daytime service - that oddly I've not see East Yorkshire highlight in their publicity for their September service changes. 

X46 and X47 Changes

From Sunday 5th September, East Yorkshire's X46 and X47 services, from Hull to York via Beverley, Market Weighton and Pocklington, will have a revised route in York City Centre. Rather than operate the 'direct' route via Piccadilly, they will instead serve James Street (same as the service 8 Park and Ride inbound route) and The Stonebow before crossing the River Ouse to the Station. Services from York Station will also pick up at Clifford Street before The Stonebow. East Yorkshire's announcement state this is to avoid 'congestion around the old Piccadilly stop'. One advantage now for Pocklington to York passengers is that both the 45+46 service group and the X46+X47 services all serve The Stonebow rather than being split between there and Piccadilly.

Many journeys are also slightly retimed. Notably Monday to Saturday the 0720 from Beverley to Hull now starts back in Pocklington at 0635 (0640 Sat), providing a first service 35 minutes earlier from Pocklington than currently available (1 hour earlier on Saturdays). In the opposite direction, the 1810 from Hull to Beverley becomes an extended 1830 Hull to Pocklington service.

New Hedon Town Service

On Wednesday 14th July, a new Hedon Town Service, numbered as route 84, commenced for a six month pilot. The service is operated by Holderness Area Rural Transport (HART) on Wednesdays - Hedon Market Day. Service 84 is initially being funded by East Riding of Yorkshire Council, with Hedon Town Council potentially funding any continuation beyond the pilot period.

There are two journeys around Hedon, one in the morning and another early afternoon. The route covers Magdalen Lane, the Inmans Estate, St Anthony's Park, St Nicholas Gate, Acklam Road, then a 'double run' via Thorn Road and Cleeve Road to Cromwell Road and back, before serving Haven Basin Road, Sheriff Highway, the Westlands Estate and Hedon Town Centre. A full route map and timetable is available here.

The 84 will be interworked with HART's CB3 service from Roos and Burton Pidsea to Hedon, Preston and Asda Bilton.

Wren Kitchens Shift Changes lead to Bus Service Changes

Back on Monday 14th June, Stagecoach amended services 250, 255 and 350 - plus introduced new service 355 - in response to revised shift times at Wren Kitchens in Barton. There were some further changes on 21st and 27th June, creating the provision described as below. Whilst the changes are primarily for the benefit of Wren Kitchens staff, they do have some positives and negatives for other travellers. 

The 250 Humber Flyer between Hull, Barton, Grimsby and Cleethorpes is least changed, and between Barton and Cleethorpes is unchanged at all. The only amendment has been to alter the Monday to Saturday 0723 Barton to Hull 'short' to operate as a service 255 instead, omitting Barton Interchange, Butts Road and Pasture Road, though removing the anomaly of this 250 journey operating a different route around Barton compared to every other service 250 journey.

Service 255 between Hull, Barton Market Place and Wren Kitchens is unsurprisingly the most altered. Starting with Monday to Saturdays from Hull:

• The 0450 from the Beverley Road/Clough Road junction to Wren Kitchens now starts back in North Bransholme at 0420, operating via the 2/10 route to North Point then as per the service 7/8 route via Sutton Park to Beverley Road. This provides a first departure from North Bransholme into Hull 5 minutes earlier than the first service 2 at 0425. From North Point on the route via Sutton Park, the 0435 departure is significantly earlier than the first service 8 at 0553.
• The 0550 from the Beverley Road/Clough Road junction to Wren Kitchens continues to operate, as does the 0805 from Paragon Interchange to Wren Kitchens.
• The 1410 from Beverley Road/Clough Road to Wren Kitchens has been withdrawn - this along with a couple of later afternoon changes removes the last elements of the 15 minute frequency between Hull and Barton introduced by Stagecoach in 2019, but withdrawn when COVID-19 hit and never restored beyond when needed for Wren Kitchens shift changes. Hopefully this returns in the future.
• The Monday to Friday 1550 from Paragon Interchange to Wren Kitchens now starts from Beverley Road/Clough Road at 1530, leaving Paragon Interchange at 1545.
• The Saturday only 1630 from Paragon Interchange to Wren Kitchens is withdrawn.
• The 1730 from Paragon Interchange to Wren Kitchens is now replaced by a 1645 from Beverley Road/Clough Road, unfortunately leaving Paragon Interchange at 1700, the same time as a service 250.
• The 1830 from Paragon Interchange to Wren Kitchens continues to operate.
• The 2330 from Paragon Interchange to Wren Kitchens is withdrawn, leaving the last service from Hull to Barton being at 2020 - this is another disappointing element of the change, driven by Wren Kitchens no longer having a midnight shift end. Hopefully the pre COVID-19 service 350 evening service gets reinstated soon, including a 2330 from Hull on Saturdays.

In the reverse direction from Wren Kitchens in Barton Monday to Saturday:

• The Monday to Thursday 0350 from Wren Kitchens to Beverley Road/Clough Road now operates at 0335 - I would have thought this service operated Tuesday to Friday mornings based on the job adverts I have seen for the 1645-0330 shift at Wren being Monday to Thursday, but Stagecoach's timetable suggests otherwise.
• There is a new 0620 from Wren Kitchens to Beverley Road/Clough Road, providing a 12 minute earlier first arrival into Paragon Interchange than previously available from Barton (ignoring the above very earlier journey!).
• There is a new 0720 from Wren Kitchens to Paragon Interchange, replacing a service 250 journey as noted earlier.
• The 0848 from Wren Kitchens to Paragon Interchange now operates at 0850.
• The 1550 from Wren Kitchens to Beverley Road/Clough Road is withdrawn.
• The 1710 from Wren Kitchens to Beverley Road/Clough Road no longer operates on Saturdays.
• There is a new 1750 from Wren Kitchens to Beverley Road/Clough Road, which along with a service 350 change provides a service from Wren for 1730 finishers.
• The 1920 from Wren Kitchens to Beverley Road/Clough Road continues to operate.
• The 0020 from Wren Kitchens to Beverley Road/Clough Road is withdrawn.

Sundays see a very significant increase in services on route 255, in part probably driven by no service 250 and fewer service 350's providing little opportunity to divert existing services via Wren Kitchens.

The 0450 from Beverley Road/Clough Road to Wren Kitchens is extended to start at North Bransholme at 0420 as per all other days of the week, providing a service 3 hours 55 minutes before the first service 2A of the day from North Bransholme. There are then new journeys at 0550 from Beverley Road/Clough Road to Wren Kitchens, and at 0805 from Paragon Interchange. Later in the day there is a new 1500 from Beverley Road/Clough Road to Wren Kitchens, which unfortunately leaves Paragon Interchange just 15 minutes before a 350 to Barton. However following this is one of the biggest improvements to the Hull to Barton service, new journeys from Paragon Interchange to Wren Kitchens at 1630, 1700, 1730 and 1830, the 1700 starting back at Beverley Road/Clough Road at 1645. The 350 has a three hour gap on Sundays between 1530 and 1830, so the 1630, 1700 and 1730 are very welcome additions to the timetable.

From Wren Kitchens on Sundays there are new morning departures at 0620, 0720 and 0850, the first of which operates to Beverley Road/Clough Road, the latter two terminating at Paragon Interchange. The first Sunday morning service from Barton Market Place to Paragon Interchange was previously at 0953, so another gain for the wider public here. There are then later new journeys from Wren Kitchens at 1610, 1723, 1750 and 1820, the first two terminating at Paragon Interchange, the latter two extending to Beverley Road/Clough Road. The 1920 from Wren Kitchens to Beverley Road/Clough Road continues to operate.

Moving onto Humber Fastcat service 350 and the core Monday to Saturday half hourly daytime pattern is unchanged, with alterations focused around peak times Monday to Saturday. Monday to Friday only, the 0815 from Scunthorpe is retimed to 0755 and diverted via Wren Kitchens in Barton, whilst the 1545 from Scunthorpe also diverts via Wren Kitchens Monday to Friday only. Monday to Saturday, the 1645 from Scunthorpe is retimed to 1655 and diverted via Wren Kitchens, whilst from Hull the 1745 to Scunthorpe diverts via Wren Kitchens and the 1825 is retimed to 1835 and also diverted via Wren Kitchens.

Finally limited new service 355 has been added between Scunthorpe and Wren Kitchens in Barton, following the 350 route between Scunthorpe and Barton Market Place. From Scunthorpe Bus Station there is a daily 0455, plus an extra 1655 on Sundays - this later service also fills a gap in service 350 departures between 1510 and 1810. From Barton Wren Kitchens the 355 operates to Scunthorpe at 0335 Monday to Thursday, 0620 Monday, Saturday and Sunday, 1710 Monday to Friday, plus 1820 and 1920 on Sundays. It is a shame the 0620 doesn't operate Tuesday to Friday as well, as it provides a potentially useful 36 minute earlier first arrival into Scunthorpe compared to the 350. 

Interestingly whenever I see the 0455 on weekdays, it is often operated by an Enviro 400 MMC, so I suspect maybe operated by Hull depot, running out of service to Barton for the 0335 to Scunthorpe, then the 0455 back to Barton and out of service back over the bridge.

In terms of the bigger picture, it's great that Stagecoach and Wren are working together to get more staff using buses. Sometimes it helps the wider Hull to Barton or Barton to Scunthorpe provision, sometimes not, but I'm sure overall it's strengthening the 'corridor'. Even with the end of social distancing, certain 255 journeys are needing a duplicate double decker to cater for demand.

(Not worth a separate post, but also good to see two new bus stops installed on Falkland Way in Barton, outside the Wren Kitchens entrance but also serving the new housing estate opposite).

Return of the Withernsea Town Service

Last month, on Monday 5th July, a new Withernsea Town Service was introduced. Service 70 is operated by East Hull Community Transport on behalf of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, financed by central government bus funding and the council's leisure service. It is the first town service in Withernsea since the previous service was cut in April 2018 during cutbacks to tendered bus services in the East Riding. Service 70 operates on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays every hour around the town during the morning and early afternoon, with later afternoon journeys on Wednesdays only to coincide with activities at Withernsea Leisure Centre.