(Almost) Goodbye to East Yorkshire's Service 45

Service 45 between Bridlington, Driffield, Market Weighton, Pocklington and York has been almost entirely withdrawn after operation yesterday (Saturday 9th April), whilst the ad-hoc shorter 45A variant via Warter (the more traditional route) rather than Market Weighton has been withdrawn entirely. Operator East Yorkshire cite "low levels of usage between Market Weighton and Driffield" as the reason for them pulling their commercially operated journeys.

Service 45 and 45A had provided five journeys from Bridlington to York in each direction, plus a Pocklington or Warter to Bridlington short in each direction and one extra 'one-way' York to Driffield working - all operating Monday to Saturday. The frequency was broadly every two hours with some longer gaps, and together with the 46 provided an hourly service between Market Weighton, Pocklington and York, and then further combined with the X46 an approximately half hourly service along this section of route.

The section between Market Weighton and York will be replaced from Monday (11th April) with extra 'short' journeys on service 46, so for local travel on this corridor there is little change. These new 'shorts' wait in Market Weighton for half an hour rather than run the full route to Holme on Spalding Moor, or continue to Middleton - both of which there is time to do. Presumably East Yorkshire do not think the marginal costs of doing so could be covered.

There are some small changes between Market Weighton and York. The Monday to Friday 0632 from Holme on Spalding Moor will run at 0714 to replace an old service 45A between Pocklington and York - oddly the Saturday equivalent, retimed two minutes later from 0647 to 0649, will depart earlier on a weekend morning than a weekday morning. The Monday to Saturday 0825 from York to Holme on Spalding Moor will start in Pocklington at 0920 Monday to Friday. The 1425 from York to Bridlington via Market Weighton will terminate in Pocklington Monday to Friday, only extending to Market Weighton on Saturdays. Similarly the current 1355 from Bridlington will be retained between Market Weighton (depart 1505) and York on Saturdays only, with Monday to Friday just the Pocklington to York section still operating. The 1625 from Pocklington to York will be withdrawn Monday to Friday but is extended to start back in Market Weighton on a Saturday. 

Between Bridlington and Driffield the 121 continues to provide a daily hourly service, so whilst the loss of five Monday to Saturday services each way is hardly welcome, for local travel there is an alternative.

That leaves the Driffield to Market Weighton section of the 45, which as well as linking the two towns also serves the villages of Bainton, North Dalton and Middleton en-route. Bainton and Middleton do have a limited service to Beverley but the 45 has been the main service here, and for North Dalton the only service. Here East Riding of Yorkshire Council have stepped in with new tendered service 145 commencing tomorrow, operated by East Yorkshire - one service, but with two distinct elements.

Firstly Monday to Friday there is a 0645 Driffield to Market Weighton journey connecting into the 46, and a 1740 in the other direction (connecting out of the 1625 from York). The second element is a Monday to Saturday off-peak 'shoppers' service between Driffield and Middleton that then extends to the nearby village of Lund, presumably because there is time to do so. Services leave Lund at 0930, 1030, 1130 and 1330, returning from Driffield at 1000, 1100, 1300 and 1400. Driffield to Bainton had been served by four journeys in each direction, Driffield to North Dalton by six and Driffield to Middleton by four from Driffield and five to Driffield, all Monday to Saturday. From Monday these communities will each have six journeys between the residual 45 and the 145 Monday to Friday, reducing to five on Saturdays - so an improvement for local links into Driffield from Bainton, Middleton and Lund. Like with the service 55 changes, a little good has come from a largely negative change.

As alluded to, the 45 isn't entirely withdrawn - the 1655 from Bridlington to York remains, whilst the 1925 45A from York to Bridlington becomes a service 45 via Market Weighton. Seems a rather 'oddball' retention, but these journeys were subsidised, not commercial, and East Riding of Yorkshire Council have decided to retain them. They do still have some purpose - providing a journey an hour later in each direction than the last 46, supplementing the 121 from Bridlington in the evening peak, and providing the last service of the day from Driffield to Bridlington, which is at 2058 on the 45 but at 1845 on the 121. The 1733 timing from Driffield towards Bainton, North Dalton and Middleton may also be useful for any villagers spending the afternoon in Driffield. 

So other than the ad-hoc Warter journeys, no section of route is left unserved, the Market Weighton to York section is barely impacted . Even focusing on Monday to Saturday daytimes, the only unserved link is Middleton to Market Weighton. This isn't a story of communities being isolated. Where it's significant is the impact on longer distance travel. There is now no Bridlington to York bus apart from that residual 45, with passengers having to travel via Scarborough or Beverley. Likewise for Driffield to York, or Pocklington and Market Weighton to Driffield or Bridlington, it's a change in Beverley going forward.