One Last Timetable Change for the 63

East Yorkshire service 63 between Hull and Castle Hill Hospital via Anlaby Road, Setting Dyke and Cottingham only has two weeks remaining before it is incorporated into service 56. That didn't stop one final timetable change taking place on the 63 back on 1st September.

Monday to Friday mornings gained two new peaktime 'shorts' from Setting Dyke into Hull Interchange at 0720 and 0800, with two extra afternoon peak equivalents, departing Paragon Interchange for Setting Dyke at 1625 and 1740. The 63 is generally a half hourly service, with peak time variations. Whilst the morning timetable was thoroughly revised to incorporate the extra short workings, the afternoon extras slot into previous 35/40 minute gaps.

Saturdays also got extra 'shorts'; at 1157, 1227, 1257, 1327 and 1357 from Setting Dyke, which run 10-15 minutes ahead of the main service 63, which on Saturdays daytimes is also every half hour, with some 35 minute gaps. From Paragon Interchange, Saturday 'shorts' operate at 1650, 1720 and 1800, making a 30-ish minute frequency into a 15-20 minute frequency.

Another little cut back to the 250

When there were major, mostly positive, changes to Stagecoach bus services in North East Lincolnshire in May 2023, the 250 got the 'short straw', being truncated from a Cleethorpes to Hull service to become a Grimsby to Hull service; 90 minute gaps were also introduced to the hourly frequency. Along comes 21st July 2024. Another set of changes in North East Lincolnshire, once again mostly positive ... except for the 250. In fairness, the 250 doesn't seem to have lost any resource this time, so the timing is probably just for convenience.

The headline change is that the Monday to Saturday off peak service 250 goes from hourly with some 90 minute gaps to a standardised 90 minute frequency. Or viewed another way, the previous 11 round trips become 10. Peak journeys were also retimed. The driver behind this appears to be punctuality; from personal observations, the 250 did struggle to keep to the previous timetable so the old timetable was unsustainable. The July change increased journey times as well as layover time in both Grimsby and Hull. The route continues to require three vehicles.

As much as some change was necessary to restore punctuality, the reduced frequency is regrettable. As are some of the more minor details. Off peak at least, the 250 from Hull remains timed to fit in perfectly between the half hourly 350 over the shared section of route from Hull to Barton. From Barton (Ferriby Road) however the same is no longer true, with the 250 now around 7-8 minutes ahead of the 350. It should also be noted that the 250 now has longer running times than the 350 between Barton and Hull.

At an individual journey level, there is now a 0855 250 from Barton Market Place to Hull at the exact same time as the 0855 255 runs Monday to Friday. Returning from Hull, the previous last 1915 departure is now at 1945 - good news for 250 passengers wanting longer in Hull, but leads to very poor coordination between the service 350 departures at 1835 and 1950.

Hopefully Stagecoach maybe able to further tweak the timetable again in the future to mitigate some of these negatives. 

Whilst on the subject of the 250, I'm starting to wonder if dedicated single deckers in a bespoke livery aren't the best idea? At times the 250 can be quiet and a single decker is all that is needed, but at other times - e.g. Saturday mornings into Hull and late afternoons from Hull - buses are full and standing, to the point that on one occasion earlier this year I was unable to board a Saturday 1555 from Hull (thankfully I was only going to Barton so there was a 350 15 minutes later). I'm starting to think that regularly scheduling double deckers on the busiest journeys (wind restrictions on the Humber Bridge permitting) would be the best solution. No extra mileage, but extra capacity when needed. Of course the other unknown is the future of the £2 fare cap, and if that goes, what impact it has on patronage; Grimsby to Hull is currently a defacto very cheap £4 return. 

New Service 11 in North East Lincolnshire, plus the 12 back to Waltham

Stagecoach's service changes in North East Lincolnshire on 21st July included one new route - service 11 between Grimsby Riverhead Exchange and Waltham via Littlefield Lane, the Grange Estate, Laceby Road Morrisons and Bradley Road. The 11 operates hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes and incorporates the 12's previous hourly off peak 'short' journeys between Grimsby, Littlefield Lane, the Grange Estate and Bradley Park; co-ordination between the 11 and 12 ensures continued provision of a half hourly off peak frequency on the shared section of route.

There is a lot to like about the 11. Unlike the 12 it operates at peak times, providing a new peak time service for Littlefield Lane and the majority of the Grange Estate not served by the 8. Littlefield Lane, the Grange Estate and Waltham gain new links to Morrisons. The tiny Bradley village gains a service, as does the care home on Bradley Road (which going by Stagecoach and North East Lincolnshire Council publicity seems to be a key driver behind the 11). Bradley Park has lost out with a reduced frequency on the 12, but the 3 operates close by.

Talking off the 12 between Bradley Park, Grimsby, Cleethorpes and New Waltham, the remaining journeys are extended to Waltham again, not just at the start and end of the day, but all day for the first time in a number of years. This provides not only a local link from Waltham to New Waltham, but a direct route from Waltham to Hewitts Circus Tesco and Cleethorpes that doesn't involve going via Grimsby. A very welcome improvement to the bus network.

These changes have received Bus Service Improvement Plan funding.

Earlier Saturday service from Immingham to Grimsby

From Sunday 21st July, minor timing changes were made to Stagecoach service 5 from Immingham to Grimsby. In addition, the first Saturday departure from Immingham is now at 0535 rather than 0605, giving a first arrival into Grimsby at 0613 rather than 0643.

Annoying 25 Minute Gaps

Stagecoach services 9 and 10 between Waltham, Grimsby, Cleethorpes, Humberston and Hewitts Circus Tesco received a revised timetable on Sunday 21st July. Monday to Saturday daytimes each service remains half hourly for most of the day, every 15 minutes combined, but there are now occasional longer gaps of 40 minutes, or every 25 minutes on the common sections of route. Having 15 minute gaps on a 10 minute frequency is one thing - at least it's still turn up and go - but a 25 minute gap on a 15 minute frequency is more substantial and undermines the turn up and go proposition.

More positively, the first bus from Waltham is now 20 minutes earlier Monday to Saturday, at 0545 rather than 0605. 

North East Lincolnshire 3 and 4 go every 10 minutes, with extra services for Laceby

Utilising Bus Service Improvement Plan funding from North East Lincolnshire Council, Stagecoach services 3 and 4 between Laceby Road Morrisons, Grimsby and Cleethorpes were increased from every 15 minutes to every 10 minutes Monday to Friday daytimes from 21st July (occasional 15 minute gaps remain). The services continue to operate every 15 minutes Saturday daytimes, every half hour Sunday daytimes and hourly daily evenings.

On service 4 the opportunity was taken to start seven early morning journeys back in Laceby village Monday to Friday, with departures between 0420 and 0750, all before services 53 and 250 start serving the village (yes, Laceby village really does have a bus at 0420 in the morning!). Monday to Saturday two early evening journeys and two late evening journeys were also extended from Morrisons to Laceby village, after the final departures of the day from Grimsby on services 53 and 250. The last bus from Grimsby to Laceby is now at 2320. All of these extended journeys appear to be duties that start or end with a 'dead' run to the Stagecoach depot, so would appear to be worked in marginal time - certainly worth a try to see what demand is like.

From 2nd September, service 4 was further revised, with six Saturday morning journeys now starting back in Laceby village, between 0420 and 0745. 

Laceby is now in the curious situation of having a very early morning bus six days a week, but no Sunday service. I suspect the reason is that early morning improvements can be made in marginal time, but providing a useful Sunday service in marginal time would be impossible. Still a bit of a contrast though between Monday to Saturday and Sunday.

Extra Day of Town Buses for Four East Riding Towns

Four town services in the East Riding of Yorkshire gained additional operating days this Spring.

-70 Withernsea Town Service (operated by HART) - the existing Monday, Wednesday and Friday service gained a Tuesday provision, but the later Wednesday only afternoon journeys were withdrawn. I have been unable to establish the date off this change. The Tuesday service was funded from the East Riding of Yorkshire Council Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus allocation.

-84 Hedon Town Service (operated by HART) - the existing Wednesday service gained a Friday provision on 7th June. This enhancement is half funded by East Riding of Yorkshire Council and half funded by Hedon Town Council on a one year trial basis.

-183 Hessle Town Service (operated by East Yorkshire) - the existing Hessle Town Council funded Friday service was joined by an East Riding Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus allocation funded Wednesday service on 1st May. This means the route is now funded (indirectly) by the highest branch of government (Westminster) one day a week, and by the lowest branch of government (parish council) on another.

-530 Driffield Town Service (operated by HART) - the existing Tuesday, Thursday and Friday service regained a Monday provision though again I have been unable to establish the start date. This is another recipient of the East Riding's Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus funding allocation.

Barton Town Service Tweaked

The 254 Barton Town Service, operated by Hornsbys, got a revised route and timetable on Monday 13th May. It remains a Monday, Wednesday and Friday only service operating during the morning and early afternoon.

Firstly between Caistor Road and Baysgarth Leisure Centre, the 254 now operates a very slightly longer route via the Market Place, instead of using Preston Lane - a sensible change to reduce journey times to and from the Town Centre.

Secondly, rather than operating between Bowmandale and Tofts Road via Millfields, the 254 operates via Horkstow Road, serving the southern ends of Bowmandale and Tofts Road in the process.

Thirdly, Westfield Road and West Acridge - previously served only twice each operating day - have been cut from the route entirely.

Finally, a new short loop has been added three times a day from Tesco via Dam Road, Humber Road, Far Ings Road and Waterside Road back to Tesco, with connections available for Barton Town Centre. The 254 has previously done such a loop, and it partially replaces the 260 Thursday only Victoria Drive extension withdrawn in February.

260 Back to St Chad and Back on Saturdays

The 260 Barton Villager was revised on Tuesday 7th May. The service is operated by Stagecoach under contract to North Lincolnshire Council and runs between Barton, Barrow, New Holland, Goxhill, East Halton, North Killingholme, South Killingholme and Immingham - the Immingham extension having been introduced in February.

St Chad in Barrow was reintroduced to the service, having been dropped from the route in February. In addition to the overall timetable was tweaked, with some journeys retimed by up to 10 minutes.

However the biggest development was to (re)introduce a Saturday service onto this previously Monday to Friday only route, funded by Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus funding. The Saturday timetable is identical to the Monday to Friday School Holiday provision, with two Barton to Immingham round trips, and three short Barton to Goxhill round trips. The 260 had a Saturday service between 2012 and 2020, for the first five years as an 'all day' service, then reduced to a single timetabled CallConnect service in each direction, timed for Barton shoppers.