More enhancements coming to North Lincolnshire's bus network

I'm taking a brief break from reviewing East Yorkshire's January changes this weekend, to cover a couple of other things.

This batch of improvements might not be fully implemented yet, but more enhancements are coming to the North Lincolnshire bus network. The minutes of the North Lincolnshire Enhanced Bus Partnership on 17th January contains the following:

New Proposals 

AB ran through the new BSIP+ funding proposals to be agreed by the Board. Discussions took place and the following proposals were fully supported. 

Additional Journeys on Service 350 New timetable for evening services from Scunthorpe Bus Station to Hull hourly commencing at 17:45. Last return journey from Hull at 23:00. Service will run Monday to Saturday. 

Board agreed that there may be the need for an additional evening journey on service 350 in the future to run at 21:30 from Hull and return at 23:00 from Scunthorpe, Monday to Saturday. 

Addition evening journeys on Service 103 Additional teatime service Monday to Saturday on 103 to Kirton in Lindsey at 18:00 and return at 18:30. Extra Friday and Saturday services to Kirton between 19:10 and 21:50. 

Additional teatime journey on Service 57 from Doncaster Teatime service from Doncaster to Isle of Axholme. This will extend the 17:39 from Doncaster to Epworth via the same route as the morning service. 

Provision of Service 6 on Sundays To run service 6 on Sundays hourly between Scunthorpe bus station and Ashby. To commence at 09:00 from Scunthorpe bus station and return. Last bus from Scunthorpe bus station at 17:00. 

Provision of Service 260 on Saturdays Run the 260 service between Immingham and Barton on Saturdays. This will be the same timetable as Monday to Friday.

Extension of Service 4 on Saturdays To include Normanby Hall into service 4 from Easter until 31st October. Discussion took place around the price of parking at Normanby Hall and consideration to be given to possibly running promotions with Normanby Hall in the future. 

Provision of Services 7 and 8 on Sundays To run services 7 and 8 on Sundays between Scunthorpe bus station and Skippingdale retail park on a Sunday.

Proposals Deferred until next meeting 

Sunday service to Normanby Hall Discussion took place around whether a service was required on a Sunday. AB told the meeting that the footfall for Normanby Hall on a Sunday was a lot higher than that of a Saturday. KRob believed that by running the bus service on a Saturday the footfall would increase. This is something that could be monitored via operator information. Operators to work out the costs for running a Sunday service and revisit at the next meeting. 

Additional journeys on Service 35 To run two extra journeys to Amcotts on a Saturday. One at 08:00 and one at 17:30 from Scunthorpe Bus Station and return. Currently the first bus is 09:00 and the last bus 15:00. Current 35 tender to be renewed 1 April 2024. There is currently no 360 service on a Saturday. Discussion took place around options for the proposal. One option is for NLC to contact East Riding Council to see if they would be willing to price for a Saturday 360 service to be funded from BSIP+ funding for at least a year. The other option is for operators to tender for service 35 and run the current timetable or include the extra runs on a Saturday. Deferred until next meeting.  

I should point out that at a subsequent meeting on 15th February, it was agreed to use up to 10% of BSIP+ funding to maintain existing services. That may mean some of the above proposals don't get implemented. However from this weeks updates to the Vehicle Operating Licensing database, enhancements to the 103 and 350 are coming at Easter - maybe other routes too, but it's not always clear from the summary of change provided. The evening peak Doncaster to Epworth service was also included in First's recent consultation for their proposed April service changes.

(There are also a lot of interesting changes to the Stagecoach network in Hull due at Easter).

Return of the 144

Some of you may recall former EYMS service 144. It started in December 2008 as a Tuesday and Friday 'shopper' service from North Ferriby to Beverley via Swanland, Kirk Ella, Willerby and Cottingham. In February 2012 it was extended to start in Elloughton, also serving Brough, Welton and Melton before picking up the existing route at North Ferriby; a Thursday journey was also added. The route ended in July 2013 though when service 180, operating between Hessle and Beverley at the time, was extended to become a Swanland to Beverley via Hessle service.

Fast forward 10 and a half years, and the 144 is back, in a slightly different form. The route recommenced on Tuesday 30th January, operated by East Yorkshire and funded from East Riding of Yorkshire Council's Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus allocation.

This time the 144 starts in South Cave (West End) before serving Elloughton, Brough, Welton, Melton, North Ferriby (including the Station area) and Swanland. From Swanland the 144 then routes to Beverley direct, serving only the Skidby Roundabout and Bentley Lane End stops in between. Willerby and Cottingham are presumably omitted to avoid extracting revenue from the commercial service 25. The new 144 departs South Cave at 0930, arriving into Beverley at 1030, with the return leaving Beverley at 1300. It operates Tuesdays and Thursdays only.

The 144 restores the link from Swanland to Beverley, last provided by the 180 in May 2018 (albeit arguably only usable for such a journey on Saturdays). South Cave, Elloughton, Brough, Welton, Melton and North Ferriby are already linked to Beverley on service 143, albeit on Monday, Wednesday and Saturdays only. The 144's return now gives them a five day a week Beverley link.

150 goes 5 Days a Week

Another beneficiary of East Riding of Yorkshire Council's Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus funding has been service 150, operated by East Yorkshire. The 150 is a morning and early afternoon local service from Hessle Sainsburys to Hessle Square, from where it then operates a large clockwise 'rectangle' via North Ferriby, Swanland and Anlaby back to Hessle Square and Sainsburys. As well as being a shopping service to Hessle and Sainsburys, it also serves a GP Practice in Anlaby used by North Ferriby and Swanland residents. Previously the 150 operated Tuesday and Thursday only, but since Monday 29th January, has become a Monday to Friday service.

Sunday Buses Return to Easington

Since Sunday 28th January, service 71 between Withernsea and Easington has gained a Sunday service. The route is operated by East Yorkshire with financial support from East Riding of Yorkshire Council, and the new Sunday journeys are funded from the council's Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus funding.

There are four daytime journeys in each direction on a two hourly frequency. All Sunday journeys operate via Holmpton, unlike Monday to Saturdays where some serve Patrington instead. There is a lot of layover in the new Sunday timetable, 30 minutes in Withernsea and 34 minutes in Easington, although the service is due to be extended (presumably on a seasonal basis) to Kilnsea and The Spurn Discovery Centre from Easter.

Going through my timetable collection, this is the first Sunday service to Easington since some time between 2003 and 2006. In the early 00's, service 71 had three Sunday journeys year round between Withernsea and Easington, supplemented by Summer service 73 from Withernsea to Kilnsea and Spurn via Patrington and Easington.

Better Evening buses between Hull and Withernsea

East Yorkshire's service 75 between Hull, Hedon and Withernsea has had an improved evening timetable since Monday 29th January, thanks to East Riding of Yorkshire Council's Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus funding.

The 1847 Withernsea to Hull and 2010 Hull to Withernsea now operate Monday to Saturday rather than Friday and Saturday only; this fills a two hour gap in the Monday to Thursday evening service. Meanwhile there are new 2047 Withernsea to Hull and 2210 Hull to Withernsea services Monday to Saturday, filling another two hour gap from Withernsea and a 1 hour 50 minute gap in departures from Hull. Overall the Monday to Saturday evening service is now hourly, with Sunday evenings remaining two hourly.

Hull Services 56 and 57 Frequency Increase

East Yorkshire revised service 56 and 57 on Sunday 28th January, primarily to increase their frequency. Both services run a common route from Bilton Asda via Longhill, Holderness Road and Hull Paragon Interchange to Hull Royal Infirmary, were they split; the 56 extends via Albert Avenue to Wymersley Road, whilst the 57 runs via Hessle Road and Summergroves Way to Hessle Square.

Both services had been running every half hour Monday to Saturday daytimes for a combined frequency of every 15 minutes, albeit with some 35 minute gaps on Saturdays (20 minute gaps on the combined section). Now both services are increased to every 20 minutes, with an every 10 minute frequency on the joint route; a couple of 25 minute gaps do exist on Saturday afternoons. Overall this is a significant increase, and a welcome one as the Holderness Road and Hessle Road corridors, especialy the latter, have felt underserved over the past year or two, whilst every 20 minutes provides much more flexibility for Wymersley Road area passengers.