Bus Service Improvement Plan in North East Lincolnshire

A bit late with this, but back on Sunday 7th May, Stagecoach introduced changes to most services in North East Lincolnshire, linked to the area's successful Bus Service Improvement Plan bid. As I've already posted the 250 lost out, but local services had more mixed fortunes. There are some further changes from Sunday 3rd September, which I also cover below.

Service 3 between Laceby Road Morrisons, Nunsthorpe, Grimsby and Cleethorpes saw some minor Sunday evening improvements in May, and from September gains a new 0500 from Morrisons Monday to Friday (first bus currently 0530) whilst the last service from Morrisons daily will be at 2315 rather than 2245. Service 4 from Laceby Road Morrisons to Laceby Acres, Grimsby and Cleethorpes saw some minor evening improvements in May, whilst September sees some further changes; most last evening buses will be half an hour earlier, except for Grimsby to Morrisons which will be half an hour later.

The 'core' of service 5 between Grimsby and Immingham has remained but with changes 'around the edges'. In May the first 3 services to Immingham Monday to Saturday mornings were cut back to start from Grimsby rather than Cleethorpes. On Sundays the extensions to/from Cleethorpes Pier were withdrawn in favour of a daytime extension to Tesco Extra at Hewitt's Circus, operating via the service 50 route along Ladysmith Road; a somewhat oddball extension but I presume driven by operational reasons to allow interworking with service 10, which in turn maintains an indirect through service to Cleethorpes Town Centre. September's changes add some extra early morning journeys between Grimsby and Immingham, including the first service from Immingham Monday to Friday now operating 20 minutes earlier at 0535 rather than 0555.

Service 6 from Wybers Wood to Grimsby was extended in May to Cleethorpes Town Centre via Ladysmith Road and Clee Road, replacing service 7 along the former and the 250 along the latter. This provides new Monday to Saturday links from Wybers Wood and the Willows Estate to Cleethorpes (and maintains a direct Sunday daytime service), as well as giving Ladysmith Road a direct Cleethorpes service plus a new Sunday service (along with the 5), whilst Clee Road goes from an hourly to half hourly service Monday to Saturday daytimes and also gains a new Sunday daytime service. Overall lots of positives here.

In contrast service 7 was very substantially reduced. The route had operated half hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes from the Grange Estate to North Sea Lane via Bargate, Grimsby Town Centre, Ladysmith Road, Curzon Avenue and Hewitt's Circus Tesco Extra; peak time services started at/extended to Laceby Village. Since May however, the 7 has been reduced to an off peak hourly service from Grimsby Town Centre to the Curzon Avenue area only.

Looking in more detail and Laceby Village received no replacement services, leaving it with the 53 and 250; the first service from the village into Grimsby is now the 0754 53 rather than a 0622 service 7.

For the Grange Estate off peak service 12 from Bradley Park to New Waltham via the Grange Estate, Littlefield Lane, Grimsby and Cleethorpes was doubled from hourly to half hourly between Bradley Park and Grimsby Town Centre as a partial replacement. Great news for Bradley Park and Littlefield Lane, whilst half hourly does seem a fair service for the Grange Estate. There are however two problems; firstly the 12 serves some roads in the Grange Estate in one direction only, meaning a walk or trip via Bradley Park, and secondly the limited operating hours - 0911 to 1411 into Grimsby from the Grange Estate, and 0917 to 1417 from Grimsby Town Centre. 

Ideally the 12 would operate for longer each day solving at least one of those problems. Assuming any extra journeys are deemed unviable though and the only service which could easily be diverted is the 250 providing a 60-90 minute frequency during the peaks and late afternoon. Short of cutting Bradley Park off the route, no easy answer to the one-way routing in the Grange Estate unfortunately. 

Whilst on the subject of the 12, the May change saw the 0705 from Waltham to Grimsby withdrawn and the 1740 return cut back to terminate at New Waltham. The 1400 from New Waltham to Grimsby Monday to Saturday became a Saturday only 1410 departure. 

Returning back to the 7, and I doubt the service is missed too much along Bargate between the Grange Estate and Grimsby Town Centre, which is already very well served with buses. Elsewhere Ladysmith Road gained the 6 as a replacement - unless passengers were heading to the Colleges or Tesco Extra, the 6 is probably more useful with it's direct Cleethorpes link. Meanwhile in Humberston, the 9 and 10 were extended from North Sea Lane to Hewitt's Circus, providing for a more frequent local link every 15 minutes, albeit less attractive for journeys into Grimsby.

The remnants of the 7 now leave Grimsby via Hainton Avenue rather than Ladysmith Road, providing an off peak replacement for the 250. It then operates via Weelsby Road before providing a one-way loop via Windsor Road, Curzon Avenue, Warwick Road, Brian Avenue, Middlethorpe Road, Taylors Avenue and Humberston Road. Departures leave Grimsby hourly between 0857 and 1357 Monday to Friday and from 0857 to 1657 on Saturdays. A basic shopping link from Windsor Road, Curzon Avenue, Warwick Road, Brian Avenue, Middlethorpe Road and Taylors Avenue into Grimsby, with the peak time service not replaced, and no indirect through service to Cleethorpes Town Centre as used to be provided by service 7 interworking with the 9 or 10 at North Sea Lane. It should be noted the 4 and 12 do also operate in the broader area.

Things do get slightly better from the September Changes. The Windsor Road to Middlethorpe Road section will be served in both directions, with most of Humberston Road (that has no stops on the section concerned) omitted. A new loop is also added via Belvoir Road and the Humberston Road side entrance to Hewitt's Circus Tesco Extra; Belvoir Road is also served by the 12 so hopefully the 7 won't abstract from the 12 here. Timetable wise, there are two extra late afternoon services Monday to Friday, last departure from Grimsby Town Centre to be 1640 rather than 1357.

Turning next to service 8, which previously operated between Grimsby Town Centre, Grimsby Hospital, New Waltham, Humberston and North Sea Lane, where it then interworked with the 9 or 10 to Cleethorpes (and beyond). Since May that interworking has stopped with the 8 extended to Cleethorpes Town Centre via the more direct service 17 route avoiding the Thrunscoe Estate. Also the 8 has been diverted via Westward Ho and Chelmsford Avenue to better serve Franklin College.

Whilst these changes might sound good news, I'm not convinced. Taking the Franklin College diversion, most students could walk quite easily to Nuns Corner and the diversion could be omitted, helping to keep journey times low. The diversion could be more use if there was a stop nearer to where it skirts the Grange Estate, but one hasn't been provided according to bustimes.org.

Along with the 9/10 there are now six buses per hour Monday to Saturday daytimes between Humberston Church Avenue Roundabout, North Sea Lane and Cleethorpes Town Centre, which feels a bit like over-bussing. Personally I would have kept the 8 terminating at North Sea Lane, interworked with either the 9 or 10 for Cleethorpes Town Centre. The other service out of the 9 and 10 could have run to Hewitt's Circus Tesco, reducing another perhaps over generous frequency. 

Focusing on service 9 and 10 between Waltham, Grimsby Hospital, Grimsby, Cleethorpes and North Sea Lane and the main change in May was the already alluded to extension beyond North Sea Lane to Hewitt's Circus Tesco Extra. Timetable wise extra Monday to Friday early morning journeys were added, partially replacing the early morning service 5 Cleethorpes extensions mentioned earlier. Daily evening services were withdrawn between Cleethorpes Town Centre and North Sea Lane, leaving the Thrunscoe Estate without an evening service, but this section of route, extended to Tesco, will be reinstated in September.

Finally, one longer distance change from May that isn't worth a separate post, the 1440 and 1540 service 51 journeys from Grimsby to Louth were merged into a single 1515 journey Monday to Friday; Saturday times were not affected, so there is still a 1440/1540 from Grimsby.

Overall there have been some welcome improvements from the Bus Service Improvement Plan, and September's changes make things slightly better, but it's certainly not been all good news.