Extending the 31

As off Monday 1st September, Stagecoach are altering their service 31 between Hull City Centre, Holderness Road, Summergangs Road, Gillshill Road, Sutton Village and Spring Cottage. The service will no longer serve Spring Cottage (Dunvegan Road and Howdale Road), and instead operate to North Point Shopping Centre and Kingswood Retail Park. This provides a more direct service from Summergangs Road, Gillshill Road and Sutton Village to North Point than provided by the 32 (which operates via Noddle Hill Way, and introduces new links from these areas to Kingswood.

The loss of the service to Spring Cottage is not hugely significant as that area has the frequent 51/52 services into Hull City Centre and also gains service 10 from Monday. One of the main reasons for the 31 (originally 32A) serving Spring Cottage was to link the area with the Old Town area of the City Centre, however from Monday the 10, 51 and 52 will serve all the Old Town operating via Drypool Bridge and Alfred Gelder Street.

Weekday peaktime services on the 31 will extend from/to Kingswood Health Centre, in the newer part of Kingswood, replacing similar extensions on the 28A. The Saturday peaktime extensions on the 28A are not replaced.

One negative is the Saturday frequency of the 31 is reduced from every 20 minutes to half hourly; combined with a similar change to the 32, the frequency between Hull City Centre and Sutton Village on Saturday daytimes drops from every 10 minutes to every 15 minutes. Weekday services on the 31 remain every 20 minutes, combined with the 32 to provide a Hull-Sutton daytime service every 10 minutes.

The 46, and 17

One very useful change by Stagecoach in Hull from Monday 1st September is the doubling of the frequency between Hull Interchange and the Marina/Fruit Market area, utilising what is otherwise layover time between journeys on the 46. The 46 provides an hourly Monday to Saturday daytime link between Hull Interchange, the Marina, Victoria Dock, the Preston Road Estate and Marfleet. New short journeys double the frequency to the Marina to half hourly.

The odd thing however is the service number. 46a, 46b, 46f, 46m, 45, 47 could all have been logical to me considering the 46 is the main service number. However the number 17 has been chosen. Anyone know why?

The practice of peaktime service avoiding the Marina, operating as service 46d, ends and instead all journeys operate via the main route as service 46. The weekday 1810 from Hull to Marfleet also starts operating on Saturdays.

X62 September Change Update

Last month I posted information on the changes to the Stagecoach X62 between Hull, Brough, Goole, Junction 32 Glasshoughton and Leeeds from Monday 1st September based on information published by North Yorkshire County Council. This information however is not totally complete.

While it has been confirmed that the Monday to Saturday 0450 Hull-Leeds and 0645 return plus the Sunday 0910 and 1430 Hull to Leeds and 1125 and 1640 return are withdrawn, so are the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 1010 and 1430 from Hull to Leeds and 1225 and 1640 return. There continues to be journeys one hour earlier and later than those withdrawn, and these journeys will continue to operate on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays.

There will also be minor timetable revisions to other journeys.

Replacing the 53

Tomorrow, Sunday 31^st August, is the last day of operation for Stagecoach in Hull service 53 between Hull City Centre, Garden Village, Lambwath Road, Cavenidish Road, Ings Road, Savoy Road and Salthouse Road.  The service provides a half hourly Monday to Saturday daytime frequency and an hourly Sunday daytime frequency. According to a comment on this blog post, Hull City Council withdrew Stagecoach’s contract to serve Lambwath Road due to extensive housing demolition in the area.

The section of route in Garden Village along James Reckitt Avenue, and also along Savoy Road is replaced by a diversion of existing service 52 between Hull City Centre, Bellfield Avenue, Spring Cottage, Noddle Hill Way and Kingswood. The 52 will now omit large parts of Holderness Road (plenty of other services into Hull available), and part of Bellfield Avenue (which retains service 51). As part of this change, the section of James Reckitt Avenue between Gillshill Road and Ings Road gains a far increased service as it is currently only served by limited tendered service 50.

The 52, while not operating Sundays or serving Wilberforce College, provides a slightly improved Monday to Saturday service for James Reckitt Avenue and Savoy Road. Inbound to Hull the first journey from Kingswood is at 0505 on weekdays and 0607 on Saturdays, compared to 0700 weekdays and 0730 Saturdays from Salthouse Road on the 53. Additionally on weekdays the frequency on the 52 is every 20 minutes, though parts off James Reckitt Avenue also loose the hourly 30W service so this just retains 3 buses an hour, but at even intervals.

Lambwath Road, Cavendish Road and Ings Road lose their bus service (apart from the limited 677 along Cavendish Road and Ings Road), as does Middlesex Road. Salthouse Road does not have a replacement Monday to Saturday service, but already has the direct service 10 to Hull City Centre via Holderness Road. The 10 also gains an hourly Sunday daytime service between Hull City Centre, Salthouse Road and Spring Cottage, ensuring Salthouse Road retains a Sunday daytime bus service.

Overall this package of changes provides a fairly good replacement for a service that has fallen victim to the Ings Road Estate redevelopment. Hopefully the additional passengers that should be created for the 10 and 52 will help to make these services more successful.

Stagecoach Boothferry Estate Services Changes

From Monday 1st September, Stagecoach in Hull are making some changes to their West Hull services 1 and 2 which operate between the City Centre and the Boothferry Estate; the 1 via Walker Street and Hessle Road and the 2 via Anlaby Road and Anlaby Park Road.

One of the main change affects early morning services, as part of Stagecoach's city wide Workers+ initative, with the first four weekday journeys on service 1 from Boothferry Estate (0510, 0540, 0610 and 0640) now operating as service 1K. They will follow the existing route to the city centre, serve Hull Truck Theatre instead of the Interchange and then operate via Prospect Street, George Street, Cleveland Street, Stoneferry Road, West Carr Lane, Stockholm Road and Thomas Clarkson Way to Kingswood Retail Park, providing access to the industrial areas around Stoneferry and Sutton Fields. I suspect Kingswood Retail Park is just a convienent terminus point, and possibly the start of the next journey for the bus and driver.

Also as part of Workers+ certain weekday early morning services on route 2 will, upon arrival at Hull Interchange, continue as a service 30 via Stoneferry to Bransholme. This includes new departures at 0455 and 0525 (first departure previously 0555). Overall these Workers+ changes do provide easier access to key employment areas and hopefully will be a success - though I'm not aware of any return services from Sutton Fields later in the day, unless passengers walk to Holwell Road and catch service 30?

A more minor early morning change sees the weekday 'at least every 10 minute' frequency start from the Boothferry Estate on service 1 start at 0700 rather than 0715. On Saturdays there is a new 0600 service 1 from Hull Interchange, returning as a new 0625 service 2 from Boothferry Estate, half an hour earlier than the present first service,

Stagecoach are also reducing the number of services using the city centre loop inbound. Apart from the 1K and those journeys on service 2 continuing as a service 30, all services will use the city centre loop inbound until 1400 daily after which they will operate directly to the Interchange via Ferensway. Currently only services between 1500 and 1800 Monday to Saturday omit the inbound city centre loop, which provides easy access to Princes Quay and the Old Town. I am therefore slightly surprised that evening services will not serve the inbound city centre loop.

The early evening service is being reduced from every 20 minutes to half hourly Monday to Saturday, affecting departures from Hull Interchange on service 1 between 1800 and 2100, and on service 2 between 1810 and 2050, plus associated return services from the Boothferry Estate.

Finally the N2 service number seems to have been withdrawn, with the Saturday nightbus between Hull and Hessle using service number 2 instead; the last departures each way at 0125 from Hessle and 0200 from Hull have been withdrawn, leaving just the 0000 and 0100 from Hull and 0025 from Hessle.

Stagecoach North East Lincolnshire Changes

On Monday (1st September), Stagecoach are making major changes to their services in North East Lincolnshire. Unusually it's not timetable changes that are the most significant aspect, but a renumbering of certain services. All the main local services within North East Lincolnshire will be numbered 1-10, with the Interconnect 3 service renumbered as service 53 to accommodate this. Below are details of the changes:

Service 1: Grimsby-Europarc-Wybers Wood - The service remains hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes (not serving Wybers Wood on Saturdays). A previous weekday gap in service is plugged with a new 1535 from Grimsby to Wybers Wood.

Service 2: Riby Square-Grimsby-Europarc - This service is unaltered and remains operating hourly during weekday daytimes.

Service 3: Cleethorpes-Grimsby-Nunsthorpe-Laceby Road Morrisons - Existing service 13 is renumbered service 3, closer to it's historical service 3F route number. While there are some extra early morning and early evening journeys, the main frequency remains every 10 minutes on weekday daytimes and every 15 minutes on Saturday daytimes, followed by a half hourly early evening service. The late evening service Monday to Saturday increases from hourly to half hourly, including a new 2315 departure from Cleethorpes, 30 minutes later than present. Sunday’s retain a half hourly daytime service followed by an hourly evening service.

Service 4: Cleethorpes-Grimsby-Laceby Acres-Morrisions – Existing service 14 is renumbered service 4; the historical number for this service; the evening and Sunday variation 14A is similarly renumbered as service 4A. The main frequency remains every 10 minutes on weekday daytimes and every 15 minutes on Saturday daytimes, followed by a half hourly early evening service, with extra early evening journeys. The late evening service Monday to Saturday increases from hourly to half hourly. Sunday’s retain a half hourly daytime service followed by an hourly evening service.

Service 5: Grimsby-Immingham-South Killingholme – Existing services 45, 45C, 45M and 46 are renumbered services 5 and 5C, meaning the loss of the historical service 45 route number, and that the evening and Sunday route variation via the Willows Estate will no longer have a separate route number (why not number these journeys 5A?). The main service remains half hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes between Grimsby and South Killingholme (some journeys operating as 150 or 450 between Immingham and South Killingholme) and hourly evenings and Sundays between North Sea Lane (evenings only), Cleethorpes, Grimsby and Immingham. Peak time services to the MIC Plant, Habrough and Ulceby also remain.

There are some interesting minor tweaks to the timetable, most notably the Monday to Saturday 0515, 0545 and 0615 from Grimsby to Immingham (extending to the MIC Plant on weekdays) will now start in Humberston, operating via North Sea Lane, Chichester Road and Cleethorpes Town Centre to Grimsby, offering new early morning links, albeit not quite matching the evening route between North Sea Lane and Cleethorpes that omits Chichester Road.

The Monday to Saturday early evening timetable is altered, with the 1815 from Grimsby diverted to operate via the Willows Estate and no longer extending beyond Immingham to South Killingholme. The 1800 from Immingham to Grimsby is also diverted via the Willows Estate while the 1805 and 1835 from South Killingholme will start from Immingham instead. The Sunday evening service is extended from Cleethorpes Town Centre to North Sea Lane, matching the Monday to Saturday evening service. North Sea Lane services will then become a service 8 extending to New Waltham and Scartho.

Finally it is a shame Stagecoach have linked on their service change page to a summary timetable that shows all services as terminating in Immingham. The extensions to South Killingholme, the MIC Plant, Habrough and Ulceby are shown by searching for the 5C college day timetable which brings up an internal Stagecoach timetable showing the full service.

Service 6: Asda-Grimsby-Willows Estate-Wybers Wood – Existing service 16 is renumbered service 6; 16 is the historical route number for the service. The service continues to operate every 15 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes and hourly on Sunday daytimes. There are slightly less services to/from Asda while the last journey from Grimsby Town Centre Monday to Saturday will be half an hour earlier, and from Wybers Wood 40 minutes earlier. Changes to the 5 noted above partially replace this early evening cutback.

Service 7: North Sea Lane-Grimsby-Grange Estate – Apart from some timetable changes to improve punctuality this service is unaltered, with a half hourly Monday to Saturday daytime frequency and some peaktime services extending to/from Laceby.

Service 8: North Sea Lane-New Waltham-Scartho-Grimsby – The service continues to operate half hourly daily daytimes and hourly daily evenings. The first journey from North Sea Lane is half an hour earlier on weekdays at 0620 but the last journey each way is half an hour earlier each way (2245 rather than 2315 from Grimsby, 2315 rather than 2345 from North Sea Lane). Evening journeys will continue from North Sea Lane as service 5 to Cleethorpes and beyond. The overall timetable is amended to improve punctuality but most significantly off all is that all journeys will operate into the grounds of Grimsby Hospital. A new college day 8C service is also added to the timetable with one journey each way between North Sea Lane and Grimsby College via Hewitts Avenue and the New Waltham bypass.

Services 9/10: Waltham-Grimsby-Cleethorpes-North Sea Lane – With existing service 9A renumbered as service 10 there continues to be a service every 15 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes (alternate 9 and 10), a half hourly Sunday daytime service 10 and an hourly daily evening service 10. There are timetable changes to improve punctuality

Service 12: Bradley Park-Grange Estate-Grimsby-Cleethorpes-New Waltham – There is a new weekday 0900 from Bradley Park with the 1040 from Grimsby to Bradley Park instead starting in New Waltham at 1000, otherwise the timetable is unchanged with an hourly weekday morning/early afternoon service and an hourly Saturday daytime service plus a Monday to Saturday peak journey from/to Waltham.

Service 17: Cleethorpes Seafront Open Top Service – This service is unchanged

Service 20: Cleethorpes-Grimsby-Europarc – This service is unchanged and continues to provide a limited early morning and evening service to the Europarc industrial estate.

Service 25: Ludford-Binbrook-Grimsby – This Lincolnshire County Council tendered service is unaltered, with one weekday peaktime return journey between Binbrook and Grimsby one daytime return journey between Ludford and Grimsby on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday only. A renumber to service 52 might have been logical in line with other services from Grimsby into the Lincolnshire County Council area.

Service 51: Grimsby-Tetney/Louth – Almost all services are diverted into the grounds of Grimsby Hospital, with resultant timetable revisions to accommodate this. Otherwise the service remains half hourly between Grimsby and Holton Le Clay with hourly extensions to Louth and Tetney.

Service 53: Grimsby-Caistor-Market Rasen-Lincoln – This is the present service 3, renumbered to avoid confusion with the newly renumbered local network in North East Lincolnshire. The timetable is unchanged.

Services 150/450: Immingham-East Halton, Immingham-Barton-Brigg – These services, operating as extensions of service 5 between Grimsby and Immingham continue, but the ‘route number synergy’ between the 45 and 450 has been lost.

College Flyer: This is a new college day only service between Barton and the Grimsby Colleges, operating via Kirmington, Great Limber, Keelby, Aylesby and Laceby. The morning departure operates at 0740 and extends into Grimsby Town Centre while the evening return leaves Grimsby College at 1640. I am rather surprised that demand exists for this service as Grimsby College run their own extensive network of free bus services.

Humber Flyer: Hull-Barton-Humberside Airport-Grimsby-Cleethorpes – This hourly Monday to Saturday service is unaltered according to Stagecoach (though Traveline East Midlands shows the weekday 0605 Grimsby-Barton as starting to operate on Saturdays) and has recently gained route branded vehicles.

EYMS 121 Winter Timetable

A reminder that from Sunday 31st August, EYMS will introduce a winter timetable on the 121 between Hull, Beverley, Driffield, Bridlington, Filey and Scarborough.

From EYMS:
"The only difference between the summer and winter timetables is that some journeys take a few minutes longer in summer due to heavy tourist traffic around the coast, so the time the bus reaches your stop may alter very slightly."

Minor Goole Town Service Change

In a minor change, from Monday 1st September, the EYMS operated Monday to Saturday Goole Town Service journey at 0908 from Goole Interchange will instead start at North Street at 0910.

Goodbye 358

After operation on Tuesday 2nd September, EYMS will no longer operate the 358 Tuesday Holme Upon Spalding Moor to Goole via Bubwith, Wressle and Howden service. The timetable currently comprises a 0930 departure from Holme Upon Spalding Moor and 1330 return from Goole with a 50 minute journey time. There does not appear to be a replacement service planned.

(While the EYMS website states the timetable runs until 2nd September, it is showing as currently operating one last time on 9th September on Traveline Yorkshire).

After 15 years, changes for the 160/162

Look at the EYMS website for the pdf for the current 160/162 timetable and the timetable available is dated 15th August 1999. The two services run on Wednesdays and Saturdays linking various small villages into Goole and Howden.

The Wednesday service starts with an 0945 from South Cave to Goole via North Cave, Newport, Blacktoft and Howden, followed by a 1100 162 from Goole direct to Barmby on the Marsh and an 1116 return operating via Howden. Then after lunch there is a 1320 162 from Goole to Barmby on the Marsh via Howden and a 1340 return direct to Goole. The cycle finishes with a 1400 160 from Goole to South Cave via Howden, Blacktoft and North Cave. At least back in 1999 the Wednesday service was commercially operated.

The Saturday timetable is a bit more extensive, with all journeys running as the 160 under contract to East Riding of Yorkshire Council. There is an 0840 from Newport to Goole via Blacktoft, Howden and Barmby on the Marsh followed by a 1120 return, and a second journey from Newport to Goole at 1225 that omits Barmby on the Marsh. A short Goole to Barmby on the Marsh journey operates at 1315, not serving Howden, returning at 1332. Finally the cycle finishes with a 1620 from Goole to Newport via Barmby on the Marsh, Howden and Blacktoft.

After the 15 years of continuity, Wednesday 10th September 2014 brings in very significant changes to the only bus service for the villages off Staddlethorpe, Blacktoft, Yokefleet, Laxton, Skelton, Howdendyke, Barmby on the Marsh and Knedlington. Due to "low passenger numbers" the timetable will be significantly cut back, with the 162 no longer running. The service will just comprise a 1000 Staddlethorpe to Goole via Blacktoft, Howden and Barmby on the Marsh, returning at 1330. This timetable will run on both Wednesdays and Saturdays. As a result as well as a lower Saturday frequency, some Wednesday passengers will have longer journey times due to the Barmby on the Marsh diversion, while the Wednesday Barmby on the Marsh-Howden shopping link is lost.

However in some parts of the country, sadly these small East Riding villages would be lucky to have a basic 2 day a week service like this. If passengers numbers are low, then reducing mileage while retaining a service seems like a prudent measure to try and help ensure a service can be justified long term. Really what stands out most here is that the service has been unchanged for so long.

EYMS Weekday Morning 155/X55/X57 Changes

From Monday 1st September EYMS are amending the weekday morning timetable on their Petuaria Express service between Hull, Brough, Elloughton, Gilberdyke, Howden and Goole

• The 0615 X57 Elloughton to Goole will operate 10 minutes earlier throughout
• The 0700 X55 from Hull to Gilberdyke will be withdrawn
• The 0713 X55 Goole to Hull will start at Gilberdyke at 0747

From the same date the weekday 0740 Gilberdyke-Hull journey on service 155 will be extended to start in Goole at 0705; as a result the journey will technically be split into two sections at Elloughton. This change replaces the 0713 X55 from Goole.

(The EYMS announcement referred to extra weekday journeys on the 155; if anyone can find any further changes please let me know).

As a reminder EYMS also cease to operate the Sunday service 155 next month.

EYMS Full 360/361 Timetable Published

EYMS have announced the full timetable for the 360/361 between Goole, Swinefleet, Crowle and Scunthorpe that they takeover from Monday 1st September, operating under contract to East Riding of Yorkshire Council. This replaces Sweyne Coaches weekday services 360-2, Stagecoach and Sweyne Coaches Saturday service 357, and Arriva Sunday service 356. Service 361 will provide the main service, operating via Crowle and serving Goole Tesco. Meanwhile the 360 will provide slightly more direct journeys omitting Goole Tesco and operating the quicker route via Amcotts and Keadby rather than Crowle.

The weekday service is similar to the current timetable provided by Sweyne Coaches, except that the daytime short journeys between Goole and Swinefleet will no longer operate. From Goole departures will be at 0725 (360), 0922 (361), 1122 (361), 1322 (361), 1522 (361) to Scunthorpe, at 1715 (360) to Garthorpe and at 1835 (360) to Swinefleet. In the opposite direction a 0715 from Swinefleet (360) and 0810 from Garthorpe (360) are provided, followed by journeys from Scunthorpe at 0930 (361), 1130 (361), 1330 (361), 1605 (360) and 1730 (360).

Co-ordination with Hornsby Travel service 90 means the 90/361 combined provides an hourly Scunthorpe-Crowle service during the morning and early afternoon, and an almost hourly service in the return direction.

The Saturday timetable has already been reviewed here. One oddity is that a Saturday peak service is provided from Eastoft and Luddington to Goole but that on weekdays the equivalent service does not serve these villages and instead operates between Goole and Garthorpe only.

On Sundays 4 return journeys will be provided between Goole and Swinefleet on service 361 from 14th September onwards, leaving Goole at 1110, 1310, 1510 and 1710, returning 9 minutes later; this is the same service as currently provided by Arriva service 356.

Brough Town Service cutbacks

Due to low passenger numbers, the first and last journeys on the 158 Brough and Elloughton Town Service will no longer operate from Monday 8th September onwards. This means the withdrawal of the 0725 and 1730 departures from Elloughton depot; the only two journeys on the service to omit Beech Road and Hunter Road. The first weekday journey from Elloughton depot will now be at 0810 and the last departure at 1655.

In addition the above two journeys, additional journeys will be withdrawn on Saturdays. Both th 0810 and 0845 from Elloughton will be withdrawn, leading to a first departure at 0935. Additionally the three journeys between Elloughton, Welton and Melton will be withdrawn; these supplement service 155 which will continue to provide Saturday links between these communities. The Melton extensions use otherwise 'dead' time in between journeys on the main town service, so I guess they either don't justify their marginal cost, or that their withdrawal is to allow for a driver break or more efficient driver rostering.

The 158 is operated by EYMS under contract to East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

EYMS Sunday 400/401 Timetable Published

From Sunday 14th September, EYMS are taking over the Sunday and Bank Holiday service 400/401 between Goole, Snaith and Selby from Arriva, who operate the main Monday to Saturday service. The Sunday service is operated under contract to East Riding of Yorkshire Council. The services will be the only EYMS services to Selby and presumably will be operated by Elloughton depot.

EYMS's timetable is little changed from that provided by Arriva. 5 journeys continue to operate in each direction; 4 operate as service 400 via Goole Hospital and Airmyn, while one omits these destinations, operating as a service 401. EYMS have departures from Selby at 0845 (401), 1020, 1220, 1420 and 1620; the only difference is the 0845 operates 5 minutes earlier than at present. From Goole EYMS have departures at 0930, 1130, 1330, 1530 and 1730 (401), all 10 minutes earlier than at present.

As the timetable starts/finishes in Selby the but the service will likely be operates from Elloughton, it is a shame EYMS aren't running an earlier Goole-Selby and later Selby-Goole service en-route to/from the depot. This would take up very little time, and could even just run Rawcliffe-Selby if EYMS did not wish to divert into Goole town centre.

EYMS are also taking over the Sunday Goole-Swinefleet service, currently operated by Arriva in between service 400 journeys. The 400/401 tender win joins EYMS successfully gained tender for the Monday to Saturday Scunthorpe to Goole service. On the negative side EYMS have lost the Sunday service 155 tender between South Cave, Gilberdyke and Goole. As a result while the Goole-Swinefleet-Scunthorpe corridor goes from three (Sweyne, Stagecoach, Arriva) to one operator, the Gilberdyke-Goole and Goole-Snaith-Selby corridors go from one 7 day a week operator to having a separate Sunday service provider.

EYMS Scunthorpe-Goole Saturday timetable published

Traveline East Midlands has the new timetable uploaded for Saturday services between Scunthorpe and Goole from 6th September. They will be numbered service 361 and operated by EYMS on a tendered basis replacing the current tendered Stagecoach and limited (commercial?) Sweyne Coaches services.

The new timetable has 3 departures from Scunthorpe at 1015, 1315 and 1615, plus a 'short' 0746 Eastoft to Goole services. From Goole there are three departures to Scunthorpe at 0826, 1126 and 1426, plus a 1726 to Eastoft. Interestingly the timetable has only 1 minute layover at Goole between services which seems very short, especially as I guess driver changeovers will need to occur here?

The current Stagecoach 357 Saturday service has 4 departures from Scunthorpe at 0715, 1000, 1315 and 1645 with returns from Goole at 0830, 1145, 1530 and 1753. The new EYMS timetable provides almost the same service but at a standard three hour interval, albeit with the first service of the day starting at Eastoft rather than Scunthorpe and the last service of the day being truncated at Eastoft rather than running to Scunthorpe. The bigger loss is the apparent non-replacement of the Sweyne Coaches 0915 Eastoft to Goole and 1000 Goole to Swinefleet. I guess that may well be annoying for some passengers who will have to travel either 90 minutes earlier or later. However in these times of cutbacks, things could be a lot worse.

Coordination between the 361 and the Hornsby Travel operated tendered service 90 between Scunthorpe and Crowle is good, with the 90 offering departures from Scunthorpe at 0720, 0915, 1215, 1515 (to Luddington) and 1725, giving an almost hourly service. While not a clockface, similar good coordination also occurs in the opposite direction.

No details of the weekday changes, which see EYMS takeover the Scunthorpe-Goole corridor from Sweyne Coaches on a tendered basis, have yet been put on Traveline East Midlands.

Stagecoach to operate Priory Park Park and Ride Commercially

Last week I posted that Stagecoach had registered the Priory Park Park and Ride service in Hull, and assumed they had won the contract recently put out to tender by Hull City Council. However listening to BBC Radio Humberside tonight it seems that Stagecoach have registered the service commercially.

Stagecoach win Priory Park Park and Ride Contract

From VOSA:

PB0001484/315 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB

• Registration Accepted
• Starting Point: Priory Park Park & Ride Site
• Finish Point: Hull City Centre
• Via:
• Service Number: 701
• Service Type: Normal Stopping
• Effective Date: 29-SEP-2014
• Other Details: Monday to Saturday. Every ten minutes at peak periods and Saturdays and every fifteen minutes during off peak.

The Priory Park Park and Ride is tendered by Hull City Council and is currently operated by CT Plus. Prior to CT Plus, EYMS provided the service. As well as a Hull City Centre service, the park and ride operator is also required to provide a service to the KC Stadium for football and rugby matches (and Hull Fair?).

Enterprise Coaches to operate Sunday 155

It seems Enterprise Coaches have won the contract for the East Riding of Yorkshire Council tendered Sunday service between South Cave, Gilberdyke, Howden and Goole. This is currently operated by EYMS.

Colins of Goole operated the service from May 2011, having won the tender from EYMS, before EYMS took the service over again in Spring 2012.

From VOSA:

PB0004003/5 - GEORGE TIMOTHY JAMES MILLS T/A ENTERPRISE COACHES, TOCKI HOUSE, HULL ROAD, EASTRINGTON, GOOLE, DN14 7XL

• Registration Accepted by SN
• Starting Point: SOUTH CAVE MARKET PLACE
• Finish Point: GOOLE NORTH STREET
• Via:
• Service Number: 155
• Service Type: Normal Stopping
• Effective Date: 01-SEP-2014
• Other Details: SUNDAYS AND BANK HOLIDAYS

More Stagecoach September Changes

Following on from Wednesday's post, Stagecoach have registered more service changes with VOSA today, effective from the start of September:

• 1/2/20 Cleethorpes-Grimsby-Europarc
• 3/4/4A Morrisons-Grimsby-Cleethorpes
• 5/5C Grimsby-Immingham
• 6 Grimsby Town Centre-Wybers Wood
• 8 Grimsby-New Waltham
• 9/9V/10 Waltham-Grimsby-Cleethorpes-North Sea Lane
• Humber Flyer HF1/CF Cleethorpes-Grimsby-Humberside Airport section

It seems that as part of the Grimsby area changes quite a few services will be renumbered.

The following new registration has also been made:

PB0001484/313 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB

• Registration Accepted
• Starting Point: North Sea Lane
• Finish Point: Grimsby Colleges
• Via:
• Service Number: 8C
• Service Type: Normal Stopping
• Effective Date: 01-SEP-2014
• Other Details: New College Service. Hail & Ride will operate where traffic and safety conditions allow

X62 September Change Details

North Yorkshire County Council have published the following details about Stagecoach's September change to the X62 between Hull, Brough, Goole, Castleford and Leeds.

"The following journeys will no longer operate: Glasshoughton to Goole Monday to Saturday 0705hrs, Sunday 1145 and 1700hrs. Goole to Glasshoughton Monday to Saturday 0543hrs Sunday 1003 and 1523hrs. There are minor changes to intermediate running times."

From this it can be deduced that the Monday to Saturday 0450 Hull to Leeds and 0645 return plus the Sunday 0910 and 1430 Hull to Leeds and 1125 and 1640 return will be withdrawn. All these journeys were introduced in February. The next service in the current timetable from Hull to Leeds is at 0630 Monday to Saturday, arriving in Leeds at 0818, and from Leeds to Hull at 0845. On Sundays a service currently operates an hour later than all off the journeys which are being withdrawn.

While it is a shame to see services cutback, Stagecoach have tried a package of enhancements and some of their risky ideas sadly seem to not have been a success. At least they were tried. An 0450 from Hull to Leeds was always going to be a 'bold' move and the X62 will remain suitable for most commuters into Leeds, as well as continuing to offer suitable times for Sunday days out to Castleford and Leeds.

Stagecoach September Changes

Stagecoach have today registered variations to many services with VOSA, with effect from 1st September. I have noted selected other service numbers mentioned on the registrations; these may indicate a new service variation or they could be old service numbers for long cancelled services.

Hull Area

• Services 1/2 Boothferry Estate Circulars
• Service 10 Orchard Park/North Point/Salthouse Road Circular
• Services 13/14 Orchard Park Circulars
• Service 15 Orchard Park and Kingswood (registration also mentions a service 16)
• Service 28 Sutton Park, North Point and Kingswood (registration also mentions a service 29) - this service is also due to see changes in August
• Service 30 North Point, North Bransholme and Wawne
• Services 31/32 Sutton, Noddle Hill and North Point
• Services 41/42 Greatfield
• Services 43/54 Greatfield/Bilton Grange Circulars (registration also mentions a service 55)
• Service 46 Marfleet (registration also mentions a service 17)
• Service 51 North Point and Kingswood
• Service 110 Cottingham - the registration lists Chamberlain Road as the starting point which must be new as the 110 has never served Garden Village/Chamberlain Road - this service is also due to see changes in August
• Services 101/677 Clough Road and Cranswick Foods - this service is also due to see changes in August
• Service X62 Brough, Goole and Leeds

The separate registration for the 54 to Bilton Grange has been cancelled. This service is instead on the service 43 registration. More noteworthy is the cancellation of the Saturday evening/night LINQ services registration.

Service 52 has also been registered, but it seems to resemble part of the route of soon to be cancelled service 53 rather than the current service 52:

PB0001484/310 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB

• Registration Accepted
• Starting Point: Hull Interchange
• Finish Point: Kingswood
• Via:
• Service Number: 52
• Service Type: Normal Stopping
• Effective Date: 01-SEP-2014
• Other Details: New Service to cover James Reckitt Avenue, Garden Villag and Savoy Road.

There is also a new W5 Boothferry Estate-Wilberforce College registered.

Grimsby Area

• Service 7 Laceby, Grange Estate and North Sea Lane
• Service 51 Louth
• Services 53/53A/53B Market Rasen - this currently as service 3

A new service 17 Cleethorpes seafront registration has also been made to extend the operating season to November.

PB0001484/312 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB

• Registration Accepted
• Starting Point: Thorpe Park Reception
• Finish Point: Cleethorpes Pier
• Via:
• Service Number: 17
• Service Type: Normal Stopping
• Effective Date: 01-SEP-2014
• Other Details: Service extended from September until November. Hail & ride will operate where traffic and safety conditions allow.

Overall it looks to be a very interesting set of changes, especially in Hull.

EYMS Hull-Withernsea Change

EYMS have registered with VOSA to amend their Hull-Withernsea services:

PB0000328/6 - EAST YORKSHIRE MOTOR SERVICES LTD, 252 ANLABY ROAD, HULL, HU3 2RS
Variation Accepted: Operating between Hull and Withernsea given service number 75/75H/76/77/914 effective from 31-Aug-2014. To amend Route and Timetable.

I wonder if this is at least partly related the recast of the Wyke College bus network and the start of a dedicated Withernsea-Wyke College service?

Brough Town Service September Change

EYMS have registered with VOSA to amend the 158 Brough and Elloughton Town Service in September:

1.   PB0000328/245 - EAST YORKSHIRE MOTOR SERVICES LTD, 252 ANLABY ROAD, HULL, HU3 2RS

Variation Accepted: Operating between Brough and Town Circular given service number 158 effective from 08-Sep-2014. To amend Route and Timetable.

EYMS in Goole

Another tender win for EYMS? I guess this may relate to the Arriva operated tendered Sunday service 400 between Goole, Snaith and Selby? That service is currently interworked with Sunday service 356 between Goole and Swinefleet. From VOSA:

PB0000328/458 - EAST YORKSHIRE MOTOR SERVICES LTD, 252 ANLABY ROAD, HULL, HU3 2RS

• Registration Accepted
• Starting Point: Selby
• Finish Point: Goole
• Via:
• Service Number: 400
• Service Type: Normal Stopping
• Effective Date: 14-SEP-2014
• Other Details: Selby - Goole

The East Riding has a very good level of Sunday service (compared to many other parts of the country) with rural routes such as the 356, 142 between Beverley and Middleton and 220 between Hornsea and Aldbrough all enjoying East Riding of Yorkshire Council funded Sunday services. Many trunk routes enjoy commercially operated Sunday services as well, such as EYMS's hourly 121 between Hull and Scarborough.

EYMS have also registered with VOSA their tendered win for the Scunthorpe-Goole services currently operated by Sweyne Coaches, and on Saturdays only, by Stagecoach.

PB0000328/455 - EAST YORKSHIRE MOTOR SERVICES LTD, 252 ANLABY ROAD, HULL, HU3 2RS

• Registration Accepted
• Starting Point: Goole
• Finish Point: Scunthorpe
• Via:
• Service Number: 360
• Service Type: Normal Stopping
• Effective Date: 01-SEP-2014
• Other Details: Goole - Scunthorpe

Please correct me if I am wrong but at the start of 2009 EYMS only operated into Goole from Hull. In Spring 2009 they added the Tuesday only service 358 from Holme Upon Splading Moor via Howden following their takeover of Veolia's Hull operations. They then gained the Goole Town service in 2010 and soon services to Scunthorpe and Selby. Based on the VOSA cancellation however EYMS are to cease operating the 358. Will it be replaced?

PB0000328/342 - EAST YORKSHIRE MOTOR SERVICES LTD, 252 ANLABY ROAD, HULL, HU3 2RS
Cancellation Accepted: Operating between Holme upon Spalding Moor and Goole given service number 358 effective from 09-Sep-2014.

In addition to the above EYMS have also registered with VOSA to amend the 155 and X55/X56/X57 routes between Hull, Brough, Howden and Goole from September, as well as the 160 from South Cave and the Goole Town Service. Interestingly some of the changes are from the 1st September (commercial services?) and others with effect from dates in the 2nd week of September (tendered services?).

As a final side note the 160 timetable has not changed since 2008 according to the EYMS website and the pdf timetable leaflet dates from 15th August 1999. Can't be many services that have seen such few changes in the past 15 years.

Are East Midlands Trains really a suitable operator for the Barton Line?

In the current Department for Transport (DfT) consultation into the next Northern and TransPennine Express Rail franchises, one of the questions posed is:

NTSR5: What are your views on retaining the route from Cleethorpes and Grimsby to Barton-on-Humber within the Northern franchise? What evidence do you have to support your views?

Currently the service between Cleethorpes, Grimsby Town, Habrough and Barton is the responsibility of the Northern franchise. A single Northern Rail Class 153 Diesel Multiple Unit is usually used, operated by Cleethorpes based TransPennine Express crews; the exception being the first service in each direction on weekdays (and Saturdays?) which is worked by stock that then forms a Scunthorpe to Doncaster morning peak service. Services operate two hourly Monday to Saturday daytime and evenings (plus an extra early morning service) and there are four return services on Summer Sundays. When Northern need to rotate their stock to/from the Barton service they have to use their early morning service or their Saturday only Cleethorpes-Brigg-Sheffield service, which is the only other service they operate to Cleethorpes.

As can be seen the current operational set-up is not ideal.

As part of the DfT consultation one of the options is that TransPennine Express would cease to serve Cleethorpes, with a replacement service being operated by Northern Rail. This would not at all be welcome, but under these circumstances Northern Rail would remain the operator of the Cleethorpes to Barton service. They would inherit the TransPennine Express Cleethorpes crew depot and would have more options to swap the Barton Line stock as and when required. The current operational circumstances of the service would be greatly simplified.

However if TransPennine Express do continue to serve Cleethorpes, then the DfT proposes transfering the Cleethorpes to Barton service to East Midlands Trains. Here is the DfT's preamble to question NTSR5 explaining their thinking on the potential change:
In addition to the proposals for transfer of TPE services set out in Chapter 5, we are seeking views on the future franchise responsibility for the route from Cleethorpes and Grimsby to Barton-on-Humber. Since the previous 're-mapping' in 2004, this service has been operationally separated from the rest of Northern, making it difficult for the franchisee to develop the service strategically and for it to handle service disruptions.

These difficulties would be resolved if the main south Humberside service between Sheffield and Cleethorpes was transferred to Northern (see chapter 5), but if this change does not proceed we propose the transfer of the route from Cleethorpes and Grimsby to Barton-on-Humber to East Midlands Trains (EMT). EMT operates other local and regional services in Lincolnshire, and the route appears to fit better in its portfolio. However would transfer to East Midlands Trains really solve the issues surrounding the current arrangements?

The following arguements should be prefaced with the fact that the operational arrangements that any East Midlands Trains operation would involve are not known. However I would assume the status quo of TransPennine Express crewing most services would be unlikely since it would retain the current complexity of having two franchises involved in the service, and would not improve on the current operational arrangements. I would also assume that East Midlands Trains setting up a Cleethorpes crew base of it's own would be unlikely due to increased costs, and this could also be done under Northern Rail control. Therefore I am assuming that the use of Lincoln based crew, and possibly Lincoln 'overnighted' stock.

Firstly there needs to be a recognition that railway geography means a unit failure for example during the day on the Barton Line is not going to be quick to recover. There is no major depot or stabling point nearby with standby stock. Service disruptions will always be difficult to handle, whatever the operational arrangements.

We also need to look at East Midlands Trains current services to Cleethorpes. Two weekday departures, one weekday arrival (plus an empty stock working) and three Summer Sunday return services. Not much of an improvement on the current Northern Rail services to Cleethorpes excluding the Barton Line. Of course East Midlands Trains operate more regular services to Grimsby Town, however to maximise options for swapping stock between the Barton Line and the rest of the East Midlands Trains network either some Barton Line services would need to terminate/start from Grimsby Town not Cleethorpes, or more Lincoln-Grimsby services would need to extend to Cleethorpes. Times would also need to be altered to facilitate swaps between stock. Is East Midlands Trains really better placed to handle service disruptions? Would some Barton Line services need to be cutback to Grimsby Town? How easily can the Lincoln-Grimsby timetable be recast to facilitate more regular extensions to Cleethorpes if required? And if Lincoln based crew were used the ability to recover service disruptions quickly would be even less than at present with Cleethorpes based crew used.

It's not just about service disruptions or routine stock swapping. If you had Lincoln based crew, and potentially Lincoln based/ouststationed stock how do you get them home at the end of the day without adding extra cost? While there is an existing early morning empty stock working that arrives in Cleethorpes before the start of the days service (Mon-Sat), in the evening the last East Midlands Trains working is the 2116 from Cleethorpes on weekdays and 1945 on Saturdays. The last Barton line service arrives in Cleethorpes at 2248. So what would the options be? Cut the evening Cleethorpes to Barton service? Add, at cost to the taxpayer, a new 2250-ish Cleethorpes to Lincoln service? Taxi, at cost to the taxpayer, crew back to Lincoln at the end of the day? A similar sitation also surrounds the Summer Sunday service where the first Barton Line services leaves Cleethorpes at 0958 yet the first East Midlands Trains arrival at Cleethorpes is at 1316.

Am I making a case for an East Midlands Trains Cleethorpes depot to operate the Barton Line and the North East Lincolnshire-Lincoln service. Maybe. But what savings would that bring? It would eliminate the early morning Lincoln-Cleethorpes empty stock move but either a new late Lincoln-Cleethorpes service would have to be added to compensate, or the last service of the day from Cleethorpes/Grimsby to Lincoln would need to be withdrawn.

There is also the additional early morning service that requires an additional train to be considered; as already mentioned this is efficiently linked to a Scunthorpe-Doncaster peak service at present. What East Midlands Trains service could this be linked too without requiring an extra unit? There isn't one unless the 0740 Newark-Grimsby Town (0815 Lincoln-Grimsby Sat) was cancelled so to allow the stock to work the extra Barton Line services and then return on the 0920 from Grimsby to Lincoln. The only other option I can see is to get TransPennine Express to operate the extra early morning service as happenned for a number of years. Nothing wrong with that but it hardly simplifies operations. The current arrangement also supports an early morning Scunthorpe to Cleethorpes service.

Has the DfT actually done any analysis of how an East Midlands Trains operation of the Cleethorpes to Barton line would work in reality? Could this mean cuts to the Barton Line service by stealth as East Midlands Trains operation could increase operating costs? If so please hold an open consultation on cuts rather than trying to inflate costs first to try and justify them.

It is also worth pointing out the Barton Line is not within the East Midlands, and the DfT comment "EMT operates other local and regional services in Lincolnshire" is largely irrelevant. Relationships with Lincolnshire County Council are irrelevant. It is also worth noting that Community Rail Humber, the umbrella brand of the Barton Cleethorpes Community Rail Partnership and Yorkshire Coast Community Rail Partnership (Northern Rail operated Hull-Scarborough line) has recently advertised for a community rail officer to work across both partnerships. It is hardly going to help that officer if they have to work with two rather than one franchises.

The current arrangement for the Barton Line is far from ideal, but would East Midlands Trains be any better? Is the current arrangement the least-worst arrangement? Personally I think so. I would be interested to hear any opposing views however.

EYMS to operate between Goole and Scunthorpe from September

Last week I posted Sweyne Coaches's VOSA cancellations for their Scunthorpe-Goole services. A commentor posted a rumour that EYMS had won the contract for the replacement service. EYMS have confirmed today on their twitter feed they will be operating between Goole and Scunthorpe from September.

EYMS already serve Scunthorpe with their share of the 350 Humber Fastcat service from Hull and National Express contracts. In Goole they operate the town service and services along the 'A63/M62' corridor to Hull. I would presume EYMS will use their Elloughton depot to operate their new Goole-Scunthorpe service; this is their nearest depot to Goole.

If anyone has any details, there are some questions I have:

• Are Sweyne Coaches operating commercially or on a tendered basis at the moment?
• Are EYMS going to be operating a commercial service or will it be a contracted route?
• Does this affect the Stagecoach 357, the tendered Saturday service between Scunthorpe and Goole? (Sweyne do operate an Eastoft-Goole and Goole-Swinefleet journey on Saturdays as well)

Northern Rail and TransPennine Express franchise consultation

Early last week the Department for Transport released it's consultation on the new Northern Rail and TransPennine Express rail franchises, which contains some worrying proposals for the Humber Region. In summary:

• If the Hull to Selby line is not electrified one of the service options proposed is a Hull to Leeds diesel shuttle service. There is no guarantee that through services to Manchester will be maintained. A separate proposal raises the possibility of linking Hull to the South TransPennine service which could be an alternative option for Manchester links. This is not guaranteed however.
• A proposal is made to remove South Humberside from the TransPennine Express network. The new service pattern would be a TransPennine Express Doncaster to Manchester service and a Northern Rail Cleethorpes to Sheffield service. This would remove current through links to Manchester and Manchester Airport. What makes this proposal even more concerning is that the replacement Cleethorpes to Sheffield service could be an extension of the current Scunthorpe-Doncaster-Sheffield stopping service. This would increase journey times from Cleethorpes, Grimsby Town, Habrough and Barnetby and reduce Scunthorpe to Doncaster service frequency from two to one service per hour.
• If TransPennine Express continued to serve Cleethorpes the Northern Rail Cleethorpes to Barton service would transfer to East Midlands Trains.

I have submitted my own response to the consultation. To submit your response read the consultation document and submit your consultation response via this link. The response deadline is 2345 on 18th August.

Sweyne cancel Scunthorpe-Goole registrations with VOSA

From VOSA:

PB0000686/1 - JOSEPH ERIC HOLT & PARTNERS T/A SWEYNE COACHES, LONG SHORES, SWINEFLEET FIELDS, SWINEFLEET, GOOLE, DN14 8EL
Cancellation Accepted: Operating between Scunthorpe and Goole given service number 357/360/361/362 effective from 30-Aug-2014.

PB0000686/4 - JOSEPH ERIC HOLT & PARTNERS T/A SWEYNE COACHES, LONG SHORES, SWINEFLEET FIELDS, SWINEFLEET, GOOLE, DN14 8EL
Cancellation Accepted: Operating between Goole and Scunthorpe given service number 356/357/360/361/362 effective from 30-Aug-2014.

PB0000686/15 - JOSEPH ERIC HOLT & PARTNERS T/A SWEYNE COACHES, LONG SHORES, SWINEFLEET FIELDS, SWINEFLEET, GOOLE, DN14 8EL
Cancellation Accepted: Operating between Swinefleet and Goole High School given service number 501 effective from 30-Aug-2014.

'Health Warning' - in the absence of further information this could purely be a 'housekeeping exercise' with services being re-registered. I would not take the cancellation of any service on VOSA as proof of service withdrawal until further information is available to confirm.

Stagecoach in Hull 53 Withdrawn? Other August Changes

The following appeared on the VOSA website today, including the cancellation of the service 53 registration between Hull City Centre, Garden Village, Ings Road and Salthouse Road. If this was cancelled without replacement parts of Hull would be left either unserved or with significantly worse services than presently provided.

PB0001484/244 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Variation Accepted: Operating between Hull Interchange and Kingswood given service number 28A/28 effective from 04-Aug-2014. To amend Route and Timetable.

PB0001484/251 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Cancellation Accepted: Operating between Hull Interchange and Saltshouse Road given service number 53 effective from 04-Aug-2014.

PB0001484/254 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Variation Accepted: Operating between Hull Interchange and Cottingham Castle hill given service number 110 effective from 04-Aug-2014. To amend Route and Timetable.

PB0001484/257 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Variation Accepted: Operating between Beverley Rd and Preston Cranswick Foods given service number 677/101 effective from 04-Aug-2014. To amend Timetable.

Evening EYMS Service 103 withdrawn for Summer

During the Hull University Summer Holidays from Monday 16th June to Saturday 27th September inclusive the evening service on route 103 between Hull City Centre, the Avenues, Hull University and Cottingham which operates hourly Monday to Saturday will be withdrawn. The daily daytime service is unaffected, as is service 105 which will continue to provide a half hourly evening link between Hull and Cottingham via Beverley Road and the University.

Stagecoach Grimsby routes 1/20 gain Saturday service

Since yesterday, Saturday 31st May, Stagecoach operated services 1 and 20 in Grimsby have gained a Saturday service; these routes previously operated on weekdays only.

Service 1 now operates between Grimsby Town Centre and Europarc hourly during Saturday daytimes. Unlike weekday service 1, Saturday services will not extend beyond Europarc to Wybers Wood, which seems odd as there is 24 minutes layover time in the new Saturday timetable at Europarc. The weekday morning journeys on service 20 from Cleethorpes and Grimsby to Europarc and Wybers Wood now also operate on Saturdays; these comprise the 0510 and 0650 from Cleethorpes and 0608 from Wybers Wood.

Services 1 and 20 are operated by Stagecoach on behalf of North East Lincolnshire Council. While one of the main aims is to serve the Europarc industrial estate, service 1 also serves residential areas in the West Marsh area of Grimsby.

EYMS X47 Evening Changes

EYMS are altering their evening service X47 between Hull, Beverley, Market Weighton, Pocklington and York from Sunday 1st June. The Friday and Saturday only 1915 from Hull to York will operate 40 minutes later at 1955; this is the last through journey from Hull to York. The 2208 return will operate 20 minutes later at 2228; this is also the last journey from York to Hull.

The 2208 had previously travelled through Beverley at 2310 and was followed by a daily 2335 from Beverley to Hull. This short journey will operate at 2330 Sunday to Thursday only from 1st June, with the retimed 2228 from York serving Beverley at 2330 on Friday and Saturday.

The 2335 short journey was previously worked from the 2300 121 from Hull to Beverley though from 1st June this will only operate on Sundays as service 246 with the equivalent Monday to Saturday journey operating through to Hornsea. Instead the Monday to Thursday 2330 X47 from Beverley will be worked from the 2251 Nafferton to Beverley service 121. On Friday and Saturdays this working will operate a new 2330 Beverley to Driffield and 0000 Driffield to Hull on service 121.

EYMS Hull-Beverley-Hornsea changes

From Sunday 1st June, EYMS are altering their services between Hull and Hornsea. The main change is that the Monday to Saturday 2055 and 2300 journeys from Hull to Hornsea on service 240 via Skirlaugh are replaced by new journeys from Hull to Hornsea on service 246 via Beverley at 2025 and 2300. Additionally the 2300 shall operate on Sundays between Hull and Beverley only; this will be the only Sunday service 246 journey between Hull and Beverley. The new service 246 journeys partially mitigate the evening cutbacks to service 121.

The Monday to Saturday 1750 240 from Hull to Hornsea will operate 25 minutes later at 1815; this is now the last bus from Hull to Ganstead, Coniston, Skirlaugh and Long Riston. Evening journeys on service 240 from Hornsea to Hull at 1830 and 2200 are unaltered.

Finally the Monday to Saturday 0900 and Monday to Friday 0940 service 246's from Beverley to Hull shall instead operate at 0855 and 0915.

EYMS 121 June Changes

Following the closure of Driffield depot which operated most of service 121 between Hull, Beverley, Driffield, Bridlington, Filey and Scarborough, EYMS are amending the timetable from Sunday 1st June. The route will be transferred to Hull and Scarborough depots (not sure if Beverley and Bridlington depots may operate a small number of journeys?), meaning if the inbound bus arrives late, a different bus and driver can be more easily sent to ensure the outbound bus departs on time. Also to help punctuality EYMS are introducing separate summer and winter timetables, while all journeys will once again serve Reighton.

Comparing the new Summer timetable to the current timetable (excluding schoolday only services):

Northbound

• The 0630 Driffield to Bridlington (Mon-Sat) and 0705 Driffield to Scarborough (Mon-Sat) are replaced by a 0653 Driffield to Bridlington and a 0730 Bridlington to Scarborough. There is no 'balancing' working to get a vehicle to Driffield for this journey
• The 0640 Hull to Nafferton (Mon to Sat) will operate at 0630
• The 0700 (Mon-Fri)/0715 (Sat) Hull to Scarborough will operate at 0650
• The 0735 Driffield-Scarborough (Sun) is replaced by a 0826 Hunmanby to Scarborough. The first Sunday bus from Driffield to Scarborough is now at 0925
• The 0740 Driffield to Bridlington (Sat and School Holidays) is withdrawn
• The 0820 (Mon-Fri)/0830 (Sat) Hutton Cranswick to Bridlington is replaced by a 0825 Beverley to Bridlington (Mon-Fri)/0745 Hull to Bridlington (Sat)
• The 0823 Driffield-Scarborough (Sun) is replaced by a 0926 Hunmanby-Scarborough
• The 0825/0829 (Mon-Fri) Primrose Valley to Scarborough is withdrawn
• The 1725 Hull to Driffield is extended through to Scarborough. The current last through service from Hull to Scarborough is at 1525
• The 1835 Primrose Valley Lane End to Scarborough (Mon-Fri)/1836 Hunmanby to Scarborough (Sat) is replaced by a daily 1830 Bridlington to Scarborough that connects out of the 1625 Hull to Bridlington

The current daily evening service from Hull is hourly, with journeys at 1825, 1925 and 2025 to Driffield (1825 to Bridlington on Sundays), 2125 and 2225 to Nafferton and finally 2300 to Beverley. This is reduced to an 1825 (not Sun) to Beverley plus 1925 and 2125 to Nafferton. Enhanced service 246 will provide a replacement between Hull and Beverley. Additionally a new Friday and Saturday only 2330 Beverley to Driffield will operate, which connect from the 2300 service 246 Hull to Hornsea at Beverley.

Southbound

• The 0555 Driffield to Hull (Mon to Sat) is replaced by a 0615 Beverley to Hull (Mon to Fri). The first bus from Driffield to Hull is now at 0647.
• The 0615 Scarborough to Primrose Valley (weekday only) and 0737 Driffield to Hull (Mon to Sat) are replaced by a new 0555 (Mon to Sat) Scarborough to Hull. The current first through service from Scarborough to Hull is at 0925
• The 0636 Nafferton to Hull (Mon-Sat) will operate at 0635. There is no 'balancing' working to get a vehicle to Nafferton for this journey.
• The 0645 Scarborough to Primrose Valley (Mon-Fri) is replaced by a 0630 Scarborough to Bridlington that will now additionally operate on Saturdays
• The 0657 Driffield to Hull (Sun) is replaced by an 0704 Leconfield-Hull
• The 0730 Scarborough to Bridlington (Mon-Fri) will operate via Eastfield rather than Cayton Bay Holiday Village and will now additionally operate on Saturdays and Sundays
• The 0750 Scarborough to Primrose Valley (Mon-Fri) is withdrawn
• The 0807 Driffield to Hull (Sun) is replaced by a 0824 Leconfield-Hull
• The 0815 Bridlington to Hull (Sat) is split into a 0815 Bridlington-Driffield and 0904 Driffield-Hull matching the weekday timetable (see below)
• The 0851 Driffield to Hull (Mon-Fri)/0907 (Sun) will operate at 0904
• The 1007 (Sun) Driffield to Hull will operate at 1004
• The 1725 Scarborough to Hull is split into two seperate Scarborough to Bridlington and Bridlington to Hull journeys
• The 1755 Scarborough to Hunmanby (Sat) is withdrawn
• A new 1905 Beverley to Hull (Mon-Sat) journey is added
• The 2030 Bridlington to Hull is replaced by a 2051 Nafferton to Hull; the last journey from Bridlington to Hull is now at 1930
• A new 2251 Nafferton to Beverley is added
• A New 0000 Driffield to Hull (Fri and Sat) is added

Overall while there are some cutbacks following the closure of Driffield depot there are also enhancements, including the new late journey to Driffield on Friday and Saturday nights.

EYMS 180 June Change

From Monday 2nd June, on weekdays the 1400 EYMS service 180 from Beverley to Swanland will terminate in Hessle, while the 1535 return from Swanland to Beverley will start in Hessle at 1615. These journeys will continue to serve Swanland on Saturdays.

As a result Swanland and North Ferriby no longer have a 'usable' option to visit Beverley on weekdays. The first bus from these villages arrive in Beverley at 1115 with the last departure 45 minutes later. The 180 continues to provide usable weekday links from these villages to Hessle and Willerby Shopping Park 6 days a week, and to Beverley on Saturdays.

The 180 was extended to Swanland and North Ferriby last July replacing once-a-day Monday to Saturday service 184 from the villages to Hessle, and three day a week service 144 from the villages to Beverley.

EYMS 45/46/46A/142 Changes

Partly because of the closure of EYMS's Driffield depot, services 45, 46 and 46A between York, Pocklington, Market Weighton, Driffield and Bridlington will be amended from Sunday 1st June. Sunday services are unchanged so the below only applies to Monday to Saturday services.

The main changes are to the once a day 46A variation that provides a link to Driffield from Tibthorpe and Kirkburn. This variation to the main 46 service will also serve North Dalton, which is additionally served by the 45. Currently the 46A operates on weekdays only with a 0900 York-Bridlington and 1305 Driffield-York return. However from June the 0900 46A becomes a 46 (matching the Saturday service) with a new 0905 Pocklington-Driffield 46A added. The 1305 will operate earlier at 1255.

The 46A also gains a Saturday service, operating at the same times as on weekdays. This replaces the last two journeys on service 142 to continue serving Driffield, the 0930 from Middleton and 1250 return. The 142 previously provided an alternative through service between Beverley and Driffield serving various villages but in recent years the remaining EYMS service has comprised two seperate Beverley-Middleton and Middleton-Driffield links. While in some ways it's the end of an era with the 142 no longer serving Driffield, it does simplify the network. The 1255 46A from Driffield to York will replace the previous Saturday only 1310 service 46 from Driffield to York.

Elsewhere the 0945 York to Driffield service 45 is extended through to Bridlington but the 1730 weekday/1645 Saturday service 45 from York to Driffield terminates in Pocklington instead, Driffield passengers will instead need to use the earlier 1545 or later 1835. The 1750 service 45 from Bridlington to Driffield moves to 1635 and operates through to York replacing the previous 1710 from Driffield to York. The 0605 service 46 from Pocklington to York will operate at 0600 while the 1955 service 46 from Pocklington to York will operate at 2025.

EYMS New Moors Explorer

For many years EYMS had provided Summer links from Hull and Beverley to the North Yorkshire Moors as part of the Moorsbus network of services designed for visitors to the North Yorkshire Moors National Park. However the national park authority have pulled funding for the network and it has sadly ceased.

Starting on Sunday (25th May), EYMS are attempting to provide a commercial replacement. Every Sunday and Bank Holiday until the end of September, the new Moors Explorer service will link Hessle, Anlaby, Willerby, Hull City Centre, Cottingham and Beverley to Bainton, Wetwang, Malton, Pickering, Kirkbymoorside and Danby. A single journey operates in each direction over the whole route, allowing for daytrips to the North Yorkshire Moors, as well as an extra journey during the day between Pickering and Danby. Connections can be made onto other services at Pickering, Kirkbymoorside and Danby.

The service is classed as a tourist service so concessionary passes cannot be used; considering low reimbursement rates this is probably the only way to make the service viable. Hopefully this commercial experiment will be a success for EYMS.

New EYMS service to ABP Alexandra Dock

From VOSA's website. Is this a worker/commuter service?

PB0000328/444 - EAST YORKSHIRE MOTOR SERVICES LTD, 252 ANLABY ROAD, HULL, HU3 2RS

• Registration Accepted by SN
• Starting Point: Hull Interchange
• Finish Point: Alexandra Dock
• Via:
• Service Number: ABP
• Service Type: Normal Stopping
• Effective Date: 21-JUN-2014
• Other Details: Hull Interchange - Alexandra Dock

Hornsby 16/327 June Changes

Two Hornsby Travel operated services in Scunthorpe are getting revised timetables from 10th June. Service 16 from Parklands Caravan Site to either Scunthorpe Bus Station (Tuesday and Friday) or Ashby (Thursday) will have all journeys operating 30-40 minutes earlier. Meanwhile the two return journeys on Friday only service 327 to Dragonby will operate 50 minutes earlier.

Info taken from Traveline East Midlands

Busking 136 Changes

From Tuesday 7th May Busking are amending their Monday to Saturday 136 service between Bridlington, Skipsea, Beeford, North Frodingham and Driffield:

• The 0710 from Beeford to Driffield will operate at 0700
• The 0830 from Bridlington to Driffield has it's journey time increased by 10 minutes
• The 1100 and 1400 from Bridlington to Driffield will operate at 1130 and 1430 and have their journey time increased by 10 minutes
• The 1620 from Bridlington to North Frodingham will operate at 1700
• The 1730 from Bridlington to North Frodingham will operate at 1815
• The 2200 from Bridlington to Beeford is cancelled

While disappointing to loose the 2200 departure, with the last arrival into Bridlington having been over five hours earlier, it's usefulness was limited for evening's out.

In the reverse direction:

• The 0730 from Driffield to Bridlington will operate at 0720 and have it's journey time increased by 10 minutes
• The 0930 and 1230 from Driffield to Bridlington will operate at 0940 and 1240 and have their journey time increased by 10 minutes
• The 1510 from Driffield to Bridlington will operate at 1530 and have it's journey time increased by 10 minutes.

All comparisons in this post are between the current timetable as posted on the Busking website, and the new timetable as posted on Traveline Yorkshire.

EYMS 705 Details Revealed

Last month I asked what the new service 705 registered by EYMS to operate between Hessle and Barton was for. EYMS have now announced details.

The 705 is a vintage bus service (though EYMS reserve the right to substitute a standard bus) between Hessle Square, Hessle Foreshore, the Humber Bridge Country Park and Barton Station, operating to a roughly hourly timetable on 8 days this Summer; Saturday 3rd May, Sunday 4th May, Saturday 31st May, Sunday 1st June, Saturday 5th July, Sunday 6th July, Saturday 2nd August and Sunday 3rd August.

The pdf timetable contains an East Riding of Yorkshire Council logo, so I presume they are involved in the funding of this service. Ideally such a service would serve additional points in Barton such as Waters Edge Country Park, the Ropewalk (though that is very close to the Station) and the Market Place, but if East Riding of Yorkshire Council are funding the service understandably they aren't are going to place too much emphasis on Barton's tourist attractions. At least the Station is a fairly central stop for those who are able to walk for 10-15 minutes to wherever they want to visit, and it does allow connections with other services.

Fares are £2.50 for adults and £2.00 for children and over 60's, with tickets valid on the service all day, which enables a passenger to say travel from Hessle to the Humber Bridge Country Park then have a ride across the Humber Bridge before going back to Hessle. And while this is far from the intention of the service, these very good value fares mean it will be cheaper to travel from Barton to Hessle on service 705 then catch a bus into Hull (£3.75 adult return) than pay for a Barton to Hull return (£7.40 on Stagecoach, EYMS maybe a little cheaper).

Anyway hopefully the service is a success, both as a bus service and to help attract visitors to both banks of the Humber. I will be hopefully be trying it out at some point.