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• The 1410 from Beverley Road/Clough Road to Wren Kitchens has been withdrawn - this along with a couple of later afternoon changes removes the last elements of the 15 minute frequency between Hull and Barton introduced by Stagecoach in 2019, but withdrawn when COVID-19 hit and never restored beyond when needed for Wren Kitchens shift changes.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• The Saturday only 1630 from Paragon Interchange to Wren Kitchens is withdrawn.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).