Stagecoach North East Lincolnshire Changes

The start of May (Sunday) sees Stagecoach introduce changes to it's local services in North East Lincolnshire.

Services 3 and 4 between Laceby Road Morrisons, Grimsby and Cleethorpes unfortunately see their Monday to Saturday evening frequency after 2100 drop from half hourly to hourly. The last journey on service 3 from Cleethorpes will be at 2245 rather than 2315, while on service 4 the last full route departure from Cleethorpes will be at 2215 rather than 2245; the 2315 'short' from Cleethorpes to Grimsby remains. Some weekday early morning journeys are also retimed.

Daily evening journeys on service 5 between Immingham, Grimsby and Cleethorpes will be diverted via Wybers Way Top; other than a very limited 'Europarc workers' service on route 20, Wybers Wood does not currently have an evening bus service.

Services 7 between Grange Estate, Grimsby and North Sea Lane, 8 between Grimsby, New Waltham and North Sea Lane and services 9 and 10 between Waltham, Grimsby and Cleethorpes have revised timings but no changes to their frequency.

Finally new service 11 will be introduced between Grimsby Town Centre, Grimsby Hospital and Scartho Top, operating via Bargate and Scartho Road before serving Matthew Telford Park. I'm not familiar with that area of Grimsby but a quick look on Google Earth shows it has seen a lot of new housing development. Service 11 will operate hourly Monday to Saturday mornings and early afternoons.

Proposed York Bus Cuts

City of York Council are currently consulting on reducing subsidies for bus services in the city council area, including some services that extend into the East Riding of Yorkshire which are discussed below. The council intends to implement the cuts from 28th August 2016.

Service 10 from Stamford Bridge to York and Poppleton is proposed to have it's subsidised Sunday to Thursday mid to late evening service, currently operated by Transdev, withdrawn. This service currently costs City of York Council £36,000 per year. The daytime operator, First, provides early evening journeys commercially, and Transdev provides a commercial Friday and Saturday evening service - however the consultation document warns that they "may decide to withdraw this service when the Sunday to Thursday evening is withdrawn".

There is less certainty surrounding the plans for Monday to Saturday daytime service 36 from Sutton on Derwent to York, and peak time service X36 from Pocklington to York. City of York Council state they are "currently considering what level of service (and times of operation) to include in the specification for a new contract". With respect to the X36, funding from parish councils has now ceased and City of York Council are working with East Riding of Yorkshire Council to consider if the service should continue. Service X36 currently costs City of York Council £12,000 a year. Service 36 and weekday service X36 is operated by Transdev, with EYMS operating the X36 on Saturdays.

There is however some good news to end on - EYMS have advised City of York Council that they are willing to operate the evening service on route 18 between York and Holme on Spalding Moor without financial support. The service would likely have been proposed for withdrawal otherwise, in line with all other supported evening services in York.

EYMS Bridlington Area Changes

Monday (11th April) sees EYMS make changes to 3 services in the Bridlington area. Weekday service 131 to the Carnaby Industrial Estate has a revised afternoon timetable to improve punctuality while town service 503 is rerouted and slightly retimed due to "badly parked cars" causing delays - as a result it will no longer go around Bempton Oval. Finally on service 510 to Flamborough, all journeys will now serve North Landing (and Thornwick Bay Holiday Centre when open), increasing the frequency from 2 hourly to hourly.

Last Wednesday also saw EYMS take over operation of the Wednesday and Thursday journeys on service 124 from Acklams Coaches - the service runs between Bridlington and Driffield via various villages including Burton Fleming. When operated by Acklams Coaches the service provided two journeys in each direction, offering 3 hours 35 minutes in Bridlington and 1 hour 20 minutes in Driffield. The new timetable has one Ruston Parva-Bridlington journey on a Wednesday, providing 2 hours 40 minutes in Bridlington, and one Boynton-Driffield journey on a Thursday, offering 2 hours 45 minutes in Driffield. A search on Traveline Yorkshire brings up no results for the Saturday service that Acklams Coaches had also previously operated, indicating this may have been withdrawn.

New EYMS 124 timetable

Scunthorpe Service 16 passes to Stagecoach

On Friday (1st April), North Lincolnshire Council tendered Scunthorpe Town Service 16 passed from Hornsby Travel to Stagecoach. The service runs from Parklands Caravan Site and Brumby Wood Lane to Scunthorpe Bus Station on Tuesdays and Fridays, and to Ashby on Thursdays.

Hornsby Hospital Service 9

On Friday (1st April), the Scunthorpe Hospital Park and Ride service from Glanford Park was replaced with use of a Scunthorpe Town Centre car park, and passengers then using Hornsby service 9 to the Hospital. As a result the weekday timetable for service 9 now starts at 0700 from Scunthorpe Bus Station rather than 0755, and finishes with an 1850 departure from Church Lane as opposed to a 1727 last departure (a later journey is also available on service 4). The weekday daytime frequency remains every 20 minutes.

New Service 9 timetable

Hornsby Saturday Reductions in Scunthorpe

Hornsby Travel have introduced reduced Saturday timetables on two town services in Scunthorpe from today (2nd April).

Service 12 from Scunthorpe Bus Station to Ashfield is reduced from a half hourly daytime service to a largely hourly service. The occasional extensions to Burringham and East Butterwick are unaffected. Between Ashfield and Ashby Town Centre, the 12 largely follows the route of Stagecoach's 31/32 services which operate every 20 minutes on Saturday daytimes. Between Ashby and Scunthorpe Town Centres, the 12 follows the same route as Stagecoach's hourly circular services 33/34. From Scunthorpe Bus Station the 34 leaves at :00 minutes past the hour and the 12 at :30 minutes past the hour, however from Ashby the 33 leaves at :07 past the hour and the 12 at :10 past the hour.

Service 22 from Scunthorpe Bus Station to Lakeside is reduced on Saturday mornings from half hourly to hourly, matching the afternoon frequency.

New Hornsby 12 Timetable
New Hornsby 22 Timetable

Hornsby 35 Revised

Today (Friday 1st April), Hornsby Travel have introduced a new timetable on North Lincolnshire Council tendered service 35 between Scunthorpe, Keadby and Amcotts. The previous hourly Monday to Saturday daytime service now operates every 75 minutes, with some slightly shorter and longer intervals between certain journeys. Journey times are extended, so I guess this change maybe driven by punctuality issues?

New Hornsby 35 timetable

Hornsby 94/95 Changes

Tomorrow, Friday 1st April, sees changes introduced to the weekday timetables on Hornsby Travel services 94 and 95, which are operated under contract to North Lincolnshire Council. The 94 operates from Kirton and Gainsthorpe/Lime Sidings to Brigg via Redbourne, Hibaldstow and Scawby, where most journeys continue as a service 95 to Scunthorpe via Scawby, Greetwell Crossroads and Lakeside Retail Park.

Until today on service 94 only one weekday journey to Brigg and one schoolday journey from Brigg served Kirton, however in the new timetable there are 4 journeys from Kirton to Brigg and 2 journeys from Brigg to Kirton. Traveline East Midlands shows the Kirton Klipper local service is no longer serving Lime Sidings, Redbourne or Hibaldstow, so increasing the number of service 94's to Kirton would appear to be a replacement for this, though the timetable from Redbourne and Hibaldstow requires nearly five hours to be spent in Kirton between arrival and departure. The timetable change also enables Kirton to Brigg shopping trips.

As a result of these changes the 94 timetable is retimed, as is the 95, but with no changes to the number of journeys. The 1805 service 95 from Brigg to Lakeside is extended to the Hornsby depot in Ashby. The single Saturday journey each way on the 94/95 from Redbourne to Scunthorpe is unchanged.
New 94/95 Weekday Timetable

Substantial Saturday Improvements to Grimsby 1/2/20

These days improvements to tendered services are rather rare, but on Saturday (2nd April) that will happen in North East Lincolnshire, as the 1/2/20 group of services operaed by Stagecoach gain an improved Saturday service. The routes provide a link to the Europarc Industrial Estate on the edge of Grimsby, and also serve residential areas in West Marsh and around Victor Street.


On weekdays the 1 and 2 each operate hourly during the daytime; the 1 between Grimsby Town Centre, Lord Street, Gilbey Road, Europarc and Wybers Wood Top and the 2 between Riby Square, Victor Street, Grimsby Town Centre, Corporation Road, Gilbey Road and Europarc. Service 20 provides a limited early morning and evening link between Cleethorpes, Grimsby Town Centre, Corporation Road, Europarc and Wybers Wood Top, to meet the needs of Europarc commuters.


Until last week the Saturday service had been far more basic, with the 1 operating hourly between Grimsby Town Centre and Europarc only, and the 20 only in the early morning. However from this week the weekday timetable will also apply on a Saturday, so the 1 will extend through to Wybers Wood Top, the 2 gains a Saturday service, and the 20 gains a limited evening service. The introduction of the 2 on Saturdays is arguably most significant as Victor Street gains a Saturday bus service, and Corporation Road gains a Saturday daytime service.

Humber Flyer New Timetable, and a look at co-ordination with other services

Recently the weight restriction on Melton Ross railway bridge on the A18 in North Lincolnshire was lifted, enabling buses to use it once again, instead of having to divert via Croxton. The main service to benefit is Stagecoach's Monday to Saturday Hull-Barton-Humberside Airport-Grimsby-Cleethorpes Humber Flyer, which has had a temporary timetable since 29th September 2014. While the diversion via Croxton was quite short, on a fairly tightly timed long distance route it was enough to require an extra vehicle and revised timetable to maintain an hourly service.

Tomorrow, Monday 14th March, the Humber Flyer reverts back to it's pre-September 2014 timetable with the Croxton diversion removed. There are however a couple of enhancements and amendments to the service being made at the same time. The first morning journey from Grimsby to Barton is extended to Hull, and there is a new later 1910 journey from Hull to Grimsby (1800 last departure pre-September 2014, 1820 in the temporary timetable). The first morning journeys continues to leave Grimsby at 0555 as happened in the temporary timetable, rather than revert to it's pre-September 2014 0605 departure time. The evening peak timetable from Hull is heavily revised with a 90 minute gap after the 1450 departure until 1620, then 1720, 1810 and the new 1910. It appears there are 40 minute layovers in Hull for two journeys late afternoon, I guess to ensure evening peak departures from Hull leave on time.

It is also worth checking intermediate times, as some have changed from the pre-September 2014 timetable.

The new timetable does not see one journey a day divert into Barnetby; this is due to the construction of a roundabout causing a road closure until the Summer, though there is no explanation of this in the new timetable.

The co-ordination between Barton and Hull on the Humber Fastcat and Humber Flyer is good (though not excellent) for most of the day. The morning peak from Barton has departures at 0640 (Flyer), 0650 (Fastcat), 0740 (Fastcat), 0810 (Fastcat), 0810 (Flyer) and 0900 (Fastcat). During the day departures are at :00 (Fastcat), :10 (Flyer) and :30 (Fastcat), while in the evening the Flyer departures at 1730 and 1830 are at the same time as the Fastcat. From Hull the 0715 Flyer operates in between the 0655 and 0725 Fastcat (better than the 0720 Flyer departure pre-September 2014), then departures during the daytime are at :05 (Fastcat), :35 (Fastcat) and :50 (Flyer). In the evening peak departures from Hull are at 1620 (Flyer), 1635 (Fastcat), 1710 (Fastcat), 1720 (Flyer), 1740 (Fastcat), 1810 (Flyer), 1825 (Fastcat), 1910 (Flyer) and 1925 (Fastcat). Not entirely perfect, especially in the morning from Barton to Hull, but Barton-Hull co-ordination will not be the only factor in determining timetables.

One of those other factors is Laceby to Grimsby co-ordination of the Humber Flyer with the 7 and 53. In the morning peak journeys leave Laceby at 0630 (7), 0700 (7), 0730 (7), 0800 (7), 0804 (53), 0825 (Flyer) and 0909 (53). During the daytime Laceby departures are at :00 (Flyer) plus 1009, 1159, 1359 and 1559 (not schooldays). Non-existent co-ordination. From Grimsby to Laceby things are much much better though, with the Humber Flyer leaving at :10 during the day, and the 53 at 0840, 1040, 1240, 1440 and 1540. In the evening peak departures from Grimsby are at 1630 (Flyer), 1710 (53), 1730 (Flyer), 1740 (7), 1740 (53). Worth noting that among the factors at play here is co-ordination of the 53 with other services between Lincoln and Dunholme/Welton.

North Lincolnshire Concessionary Fare Changes Deferred

The North Lincolnshire Council Neighbourhoods Cabinet Member has decided to defer the introduction of a revised concessionary fare reimbursement scheme from 2016/17 to 2017/18. A decision to change the scheme was made in January, but the option of deferring it's introduction was published last week. It's introduction could have resulted in commercial services being cut and tendered services being surrendered back to the council.

The cabinet member also noted that the decision "would require future reports on savings proposals to fund the one year saving if the costs cannot be contained within the service area’s budget".

North Lincolnshire Concessionary Fare Scheme Update

A report to the North Lincolnshire Council Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods offers an alternative option to the new concessionary fare reimbursement scheme approved in January. The new scheme, based on a Department for Transport (DfT) model, would mean a lower reimbursement rate for operators, which Stagecoach and Hornsby indicated could cause tendered services to be handed back, and commercial services to be cut.

The alternative option is to defer the proposed to changes for one year. A "review of the use of concessionary services by eligible customers" would still result in savings of £115,000, while a year's delay would allow further consideration of bus operators concerns, and allow for the Call Connect network across North Lincolnshire to be established during this year. Bus operators provided assurances that retaining the current reimbursement scheme would seem them "continue with the existing transport routes", albeit before the savings of £115,000 were found.

The issue caused by the alternative option is that the savings are less than the £200,000 expected with the DfT model, and less than the £250,000 savings target in the council's budget. Therefore savings in other budgets will be needed regardless of the reimbursement scheme chosen, but these will be £85,000 higher if the DfT model is not introduced.

CB3 Hedon Shuttle

On Tuesday (1st March), a new service starts from Burton Pidsea and Roos into Hedon, operated by Holderness Area Rural Transport (HART). The CB3 Hedon Shuttle will operate on Tuesdays and Wednesdays providing 2 journeys in each direction. It will serve the main shopping area in Hedon, as well as doctors' surgeries and the Netto Supermarket, and provide connections onto EYMS service 76 into Hull. The Inmans Estate in Hedon is also served.

The service is initially a pilot, operating until 26th October, and has been organised by the Burton Pidsea Better Transport Group. It is funded through the Tedder Hill and Burton Pidsea Wind Farm Funds, with Roos Parish Council also a partner. East Riding of Yorkshire Council have provided advice and support.

One of the reasons for launching the CB3 is to respond to a 2014 service withdrawal - however this seems very odd to me as the service withdrawal in 2014 was the weekday commuter services 174/175, that served a very different purpose, and the 174 didn't even serve Hedon! If anyone can correct me, please post a comment.

Regardless of the 'backstory' to the service, good luck to it. Links from Burton Pidsea and Roos into Hedon are only available on Saturdays at present, so the CB3 fills a gap in service provision. As well as the Saturday EYMS 173 into Hedon and Hull, Roos and Burton Pidsea are also served by Pearsons Coaches 76C to Withernsea, East Riding of Yorkshire Council's 243 to Beverley, and Roos by EYMS's 129 between Withernsea and Hornsea.

Hedon Blog Article
HU12 Online Article
CB3 Hedon Shuttle Leaflet

EYMS New 23 - New Details

Hull City Council have released details about EYMS's new Hull service 23, which starts on 11th April. It will operate from Paragon Interchange via Spring Bank, Chanterlands Avenue, Fairfax Avenue, Cottingham Road, Chanterlands Avenue North, Chanterlands Avenue and Spring Bank back to Paragon Interchange. The service will operate approximately hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes, departing Paragon Interchange between 0935 and 1525 on weekdays (the 1525 as far as Cottingham Road only) and between 0935 and 1725 on Saturdays. Both Fairfax Avenue and Chanterlands Avenue North are currently without a bus service.

Lincolnshire Bus Cuts

On Friday (19th February), Lincolnshire County Council will announce a decision on subsidies for 'traditional' fixed bus services - the demand responsive Call Connect service is not impacted. It currently fully or partially supports 148 routes at an annual cost of £2.8 million, but wishes to save £2.2 million from it's public transport budget. Helpfully the council has detailed exactly what it funds at the moment, and the full list can be found on this page. Below are the cross-boundary services into North and North East Lincolnshire that receive financial support from Lincolnshire County Council, and which could be at threat from withdrawal or reductions.


North Lincolnshire


Stagecoach 103: Lincoln-Scunthorpe - Monday to Saturday 0645, 1100 and 1300 from Scunthorpe, and 1030, 1430 and 1755 from Lincoln, plus diversions via RAF Scampton
Dents 161: Market Rasen-Brigg-Lakeside - All journeys (1 Thursday journey in each direction)
Stagecoach 367: Gainsborough-Kirton - All journeys (Schools service)
Dents 9811: Brigg-Lincoln - All journeys (1 Friday journey in each direction)
Barnards N93S: Kirton-Scotter - All journeys (Schools service)


North East Lincolnshire


Stagecoach 25: Ludford-Binbrook-Grimsby - All journeys (1 weekday peak journey in each direction between Binbrook and Grimsby, one Tuesday, Friday and Saturday daytime journey in each direction)
Amvale 50: Saltfleet-Grimsby - 0735 from Saltfleet and 1725 from Grimsby on Saturdays and School Holidays, 1030 from Saltfleet and 1400 from Grimsby on Schooldays
Stagecoach 51: Louth-Grimsby - 1815 Monday to Saturday journey from Grimsby to Louth only
Stagecoach 53: Lincoln-Grimsby - 'Various journeys to boost frequency'
Stagecoach 104: Tollbar-Holton Le Clay - Afternoon Schools journey

EYMS New 23

A rather intriguing registration with VOSA today:


PB0000328/488 - EAST YORKSHIRE MOTOR SERVICES LTD, 252 ANLABY ROAD, HULL, HU3 2RS

• Registration Accepted
• Starting Point: Hull Interchange
• Finish Point: Fairfax Avenue
• Via:
• Service Number: 23
• Service Type: Normal Stopping
• Effective Date: 11-APR-2016
• Other Details: New Service

CallConnect comes to North Lincolnshire

The network of demand responsive CallConnect services set up by Lincolnshire County Council comes to North Lincolnshire from Monday 15th February (CallConnect currently does offer the ability to travel into Brigg, but is not designed for use by North Lincolnshire residents). The first service will cover the 'Brigg, Caistor and Ridge' areas - these are the areas of Lincolnshire around Caistor currently covered by the 53C CallConnect, plus large parts of southern North Lincolnshire, stretching from Kirmington in the east to Messingham in the west, including Barnetby, Bonby, Broughton and Kirton in Lindsey. The service can be used for local journeys within the area covered, including local journeys within Brigg, and to Brigg Garden Centre, to connect with traditional bus services at Caistor (53), Humberside Airport (Humber Flyer), Brigg and Messingham (100), or to connect with rail services at Barnetby. CallConnect operates between 7am and 7pm on weekdays, and from 8am to 6pm on Saturdays.


Later this year CallConnect will extend to cover all other rural parts of North Lincolnshire, with three further new services. One is described as covering 'Ferry Ward' - the area around Barrow, Ulceby and South Killingholme - but will also cover Barton (would be very silly if it didn't) plus Brigg, Wrawby, Barnetby, Humberside Airport and Kirmington. Another is described as covering 'Burton Upon Stather and Winterton', but as well covering the area north of Scunthorpe extends east to Barton. The third covers the Isle of Axholme, while the North Lincolnshire village of East Butterwick will be served by the existing Gainsborough CallConnect service. There is a map available on this page.

The new services are operated in co-operation with Lincolnshire County Council saving North Lincolnshire Council the need to set up a demand responsive operation themselves, and allowing for service boundaries to reflect geography rather than administrative boundaries.


Taken in isolation, CallConnect is a welcome addition to the public transport provision in North Lincolnshire. It offers far more flexibility than traditional bus services, both in terms of where you can travel between, and at what times. There will now at least be some bus connections to rail services at Barnetby. However it does come with two 'barriers' compared to a traditional bus service; firstly users must register to use CallConnect, and then they need to book journeys in advance. This maybe acceptable for those without their own transport, who would otherwise need to book a taxi, ask a friend/family member or use options such as the voluntary car scheme - however it seems unlikely to me to be attractive for those with access to a car.


Unfortunately CallConnect is not being introduced in 'isolation', it is being launched as part of 'Connecting Rural Communities' that will also see fewer traditional bus services, and then there is the impact of North Lincolnshire Council concessionary fare reimbursement rates being cut to consider. This will surely impact on hopes that the more popular traditional tendered bus services will be taken on commercially. If CallConnect leads to the cutting of lightly used traditional tendered bus services then that might be hard to complain about, but if CallConnect is used to make cuts to fairly well used traditional tendered bus services more 'acceptable' then it would be a very retrograde step. CallConnect would provide a 'safety net' against isolation, but to me, not much else. It seems unlikely to grow the market and provide an attractive alternative to the car. I'm looking at the North Lincolnshire bus network rather nervously at the moment, hopefully that nervousness turns out to be unwarranted.

North Lincolnshire Concessionary Fare Changes Approved

The changes to North Lincolnshire Council's Concessionary Fares Scheme, that Hornsby and Stagecoach have indicated may lead to commercial service cuts and tendered services being handed back, have been approved by the responsible cabinet member.

North Lincolnshire Concessionary Fare Budget Cut

North Lincolnshire Council are reducing their budget for concessionary fares for the 2016/17 financial year, and a report to the cabinet member responsible gives options as to how to do this. The recommendation is to change the methodology for calculating concessionary fare payments to operators, which would lead to a lower reimbursement rate than presently provided. Consultation with Hornsby Travel and Stagecoach indicates that if this happens tendered services could be surrendered and commercial services would be under threat. Savings could also be made by removing discretionary elements of the North Lincolnshire concessionary fares scheme.

It is perhaps also worth noting that changes to bus services in North Lincolnshire are due to happen anyway next year as part of the 'Connecting Rural Communities' project that will see the launch of demand responsive services and fewer traditional tendered bus services.

North Lincolnshire has been rather protected from cuts to buses in recent years - the last major cuts were in 2006 - and has instead seen improvements - but 2016 seems set to be a year of major change.

Christmas and New Year Services 2015/16

Below is a summary of Christmas/New Year services in the Humber region provided by Arriva Yorkshire, EYMS, First South Yorkshire (who still serve the Humber region with a morning peak service from Epworth), First York, Hornsby Travel, Stagecoach and Transdev (York and Yorkshire Coastliner). Services provided by these operators outside of the region are not covered. If anyone has information for other operators, please post a comment and I will update this post. Please check exact details before travelling.

Christmas Eve - Normal weekday service with an early evening finish around 7-8pm, except First South Yorkshire, First York and Transdev who shall provide a Saturday service. Transdev service X36 shall operate a normal Thursday service.

Christmas Day - No Services

Saturday 26th - Special daytime services on certain routes only in the Hull Area:

EYMS:
34: Hull-Willerby - Hourly
56: Hull-Longhill-Asda Bilton - Hourly
64: Hull-Cottingham-Castle Hill Hospital - Hourly
66: Hull-Hessle - Hourly
115: Hull-Avenues-Cottingham-Castle Hill Hospital - Hourly (circular with 154)
154: Hull-Willerby-Castle Hill Hospital - Hourly (circular with 115)

Stagecoach:
1: Hull-Boothferry Estate - Hourly
2: Hull-Boothferry Estate - Hourly
3: Orchard Park-Hull-Greatfield- Half Hourly (increased from hourly between Hull and Greatfield in 2014)
4: Orchard Park-Hull-Bilton Grange - Hourly (reduced from half hourly between Orchard Park and Hull in 2014)
5: Hull-Orchard Park-Kingswood - Half Hourly
8: Hull-Sutton Park-North Point - Hourly
10: Hull-North Point-North Bransholme - Hourly
11: Hull-North Point-Kingswood - Hourly (limited additional journeys provided in 2014 not provided in 2015, service 13 partially replaces)
12: Hull-North Point - Hourly
13: Hull-North Point - Hourly (new for 2015)
14: Hull-Greatfield - Hourly
Plus Football Buses to the KC Stadium
There will be no buses in Grimsby and Cleethorpes on the 26th this year.

Sunday 27th - Normal Sunday service.

Bank Holiday Monday 28th - A Sunday service will be operated.

Tuesday 29th - A Saturday service for most operators, except Hornsby Travel who will provide a normal Tuesday service. There are exceptions as follows:

• EYMS Services 134, 195, 196, 198, 199, 360, 361, S1 and S2 will operate a normal Tuesday service
• EYMS Services 106, 107, 143, 160, X36 and the Beverley Town Shopper Shuttle will not operate (these services would not usually operate on a Tuesday). Oddly the Saturday only service 173 is not stated in EYMS publicity as not operating.
• EYMS Friday and Saturday evening only journeys on routes 18, 75, 121 and X47 shall not operate (i.e. a normal Tuesday evening service will operate)
• EYMS service 135 will have normal Tuesday departures from Driffield at 0910 and 1140, however the 0655 and 1710 journeys will not operate
• Stagecoach services 1, 2, 20 and 25 in North East Lincolnshire will operate a normal Tuesday service
• Transdev York services 10 and X36 will operate a normal Tuesday service

Notable are Stagecoach services in North Lincolnshire operating a Saturday service on the normal weekdays between Christmas and New Year, rather than a normal timetable as is usually provided. However while a change from normal, on most routes the Saturday and School/College Holiday timetables are either identical or very similar, so the impact will be very small.

Wednesday 30th - A Saturday service for most operators, except Hornsby Travel who will provide a normal Wednesday service. There are exceptions as follows:

• EYMS Services 195, 241, 360 and 361 will operate a normal Wednesday service
• EYMS Services 106, 107, X36 and the Beverley Town Shopper Shuttle will not operate
• EYMS Friday and Saturday evening only journeys on routes 18, 75, 121 and X47 shall not operate (i.e. a normal Wednesday evening service will operate)
• Stagecoach services 1, 2, 20 and 25 in North East Lincolnshire will operate a normal Wednesday service
• Transdev York services 10 and X36 will operate a normal Wednesday service

New Years Eve - A Saturday service for most operators, with an early evening finish around 7-8pm, except Hornsby Travel who will provide a normal Thursday service with an early evening finish around 7pm. There are exceptions as follows:

• EYMS Services 134, 196, 360 and 361 will operate a normal Thursday service
• EYMS Services 106, 107, X36 and the Beverley Town Shopper Shuttle will not operate. Oddly the Mon/Wed/Sat only service 143, and Wed/Sat only 160 are not stated in EYMS publicity as not operating.
• EYMS service 135 will have normal Thursday departures from Driffield at 0910 and 1140, however the 0655 and 1710 journeys will not operate
• Stagecoach services 1, 2, 20 and 25 in North East Lincolnshire will operate a normal Thursday service
• Stagecoach services 5+ and 11+ in Hull shall provide a limited service until around 11pm
• Stagecoach services 2 (serving Hessle), 3 (to Greatfield and Bilton Grange but not Orchard Park), 5+ and 11+ in Hull shall provide a nightbus service, with last departures from Hull City Centre at 0200 (later than the residual Saturday nightbus service)
• Transdev York service X36 will operate a normal Thursday service

(As a result the usual Thursday variation to Stagecoach service 260 'Barton Villager' will not be provided, however East Halton will be inaccessible without a significant diversion anyway due to a level crossing closure, and residents of the Dam Road area of Barton will still have the Hornsby operated Town Service on Wednesday 30th).

New Years Day - No Services

UPDATE - Please see the comments section for details of coach services.

Stagecoach Simplibus Amendments

Sunday 1st November was meant to see all Hull City Centre buses that use King Edward Street and Jameson Street diverted via Albion Street and Bond Street due to the start of works to pedestrianise further parts of the City Centre. Before these works could begin however, roadworks were required in Albion Street and Bond Street, however sadly these have not finished on time, delaying the changes to Hull City Centre bus routes.

In September, Stagecoach introduced their Simplibus network in Hull (see here and here). Inevitably after such a major network change, further amendments are needed, and there are also issues with increased traffic congestion. Stagecoach sensibly decided to make these amendments on 1st November since they would have to change City Centre bus routes on that day anyway. That good plan hasn't worked out with the over-running Albion Street and Bond Street roadworks however the non-City Centre changes have still gone ahead as planned. Here is a round-up of the changes, some of which are fairly significant. Apologies in advance if I have missed anything, and for this post not appearing until a week after the changes.

Simplibus 3: Orchard Park-Hull-Greatfield
The first weekday departure from Hull Interchange to Greatfield operates at 0657, 10 minutes earlier than the previous 0707. On Sundays the first service 3 from Greatfield is half an hour earlier at 0730, restoring an early service that had been provided from Greatfield into Hull until September. The Sunday 1730 from Greatfield to Hull is extended to Orchard Park delaying the start of reduced hourly evening frequency.

Simplibus 4: Orchard Park-Hull-Bilton Grange
Times for the Marfleet Lane/Barham Road timing point are amended to reduce waiting time. There is change to Stand 15 at Paragon Interchange for journeys towards Orchard Park.

Simplibus 6: Hull Kingswood
Departures from Kingswood between 0620 and 1650 will operate 5 minutes earlier due to City Centre delays. The stand used at Paragon Interchange is altered to Stand 16.

Simplibus 7 and 8: Hull-Sutton Park-Bransholme-Kingswood
Simplibus 7 arguably isn't so Simplibus anymore, as daytime, but not evening and Sunday, journeys on service 7 become a circular. Instead of operating direct in both directions between North Point Shopping Centre, Bodmin Road and Kingswood Retail Park, services to Kingswood will operate from Bodmin Road via John Newton Way, Wawne Road, Kingsbury Way, Richmond Lane and Runnymede Way to Kingswood Retail Park before returning direct to Bodmin Road and North Point.

This reintroduces daytime links between the residential areas of Kingswood and North Point lost in September, using what appears to be layover time at Kingswood. An easy and quick way to restore links but as well as giving the 7 different daytime/evening+Sunday routes it increases journey time from Sutton Park to Kingswood and the journey time from Kingsbury Way to North Point is a rather unattractive 25 minutes. More attractive solutions would be to either extend the 6 to North Point or run the 8 to Kingswood all day, but these would probably require an extra vehicle and driver(s).

Elsewhere the 3 morning peak journeys on service 8 from Kingswood will start 5 minutes earlier to improve punctuality and Monday to Saturday inbound evening services from Kingswood will depart 5 minutes later.

Simplibus 9: Cottingham-Hull-Bransholme
Simplibus 9 gains a new variation, 9k. The hourly daytime journeys between Paragon Interchange and Kestrel Avenue will adopt this variation, that sees journeys route via Lambwath Road – currently only served by infrequent service 50 – instead off the eastern part of James Reckitt Avenue and Ings Road that remains served by the ‘main’ service 9 route. Lambwath Road is a shorter route that should improve punctuality. As a result the frequency for Leads Road and Dorchester Road is no longer exactly half hourly.

Other changes see many times amended by up to 5 minutes. The eastbound Saturday only service 9 from Paragon Interchange at 1615 now operates via the peak route to Noddle Hill, rather than to Kestrel Avenue as previously. As a result the last departure from Hull Interchange to Dorchester Avenue, North Point and Kestrel Avenue is now an hour earlier at 1515, however all Saturday departures from Hull Interchange from 1545 now follow the same route. The last departure from Paragon Interchange to Noddle Hill Monday to Saturday is now at 1850 rather than 1815, as the last departure from Castle Hill Hospital no longer terminates at the Interchange.

Simplibus 10: Hull-Bransholme-North Bransholme-Wawne
3 morning peak departures from Wawne into Hull on Simplibus 10 become the x10, and omit Sutton Road and Leads Road, instead operating direct via Holwell Road; this is to improve punctuality with a slightly shorter route. Sutton Road and Leads Road remain served by all other journeys. The 0740 from Hull Interchange on weekdays no longer extends from North Bransholme through to Wawne, and the 0830 from North Bransholme on weekdays no longer starts in Wawne.

Simplibus 11: Hull-Bransholme-Kingswood
The timing point for journeys operating into Hull City Centre is moved from Bellfield Avenue to Dunvegan Road.

Simplibus 13: Hull-Salthouse Road-Bransholme-Orchard Park
The weekday peak journeys serving Hall Road will now operate as through journeys from/to Simplibus 3. The 0715 and 0745 from Hall Road will now start as service 3W from Paragon Interchange at 0650 and 0720, changing into service 13W at Hall Road. The 0700 and 0730 Simplibus 13’s from Paragon Interchange to North Point will operate at 0710 and 0740, extend to Orchard Park Tesco and then return into Hull as service 3. The 1554, 1624 and 1654 Simplibus 13’s from Paragon Interchange to Hall Road will now operate to Orchard Park Tesco then operate as service 3’s back to the Interchange via Hall Road.

There is also a new weekday 1650 journey from Orchard Park to Hull, and the 1732 from North Point to Hull now starts back at Orchard Park at 1720; previously the last journey from Orchard Park was at 1620.

The timing point for journeys operating into Hull City Centre is moved from Bellfield Avenue to Dunvegan Road.

Simplibus 16: Hull-Marfleet
Morning peak journeys operate 5 minutes earlier to remove stand clashes with Simplibus 14 at Paragon Interchange.

North Lincolnshire Council take 327 'in-house'

Since yesterday (6th November), Friday Only service 327 from Dragonby to Scunthorpe has been operated directly by North Lincolnshire Council, instead off being tendered to Hornsby Travel. Departures from Scunthorpe Bus Station are at 1015 and 1245, and from Dragonby at 1030 and 1300.

Possible move away from bus franchising in East Yokshire?

When the East Riding of Yorkshire Council jointly submitted a devolution proposal with the City of York and North Yorkshire last month, it included bus franchising:

"Responsibility for franchised bus services in the devolved geography for integrating smart ticketing across all local modes of transport, including integrated smart ticketing extension to the Transport for the North connected cities ticketing initiative."

Today there is a new Greater Yorkshire Devolution Proposal covering East, North and West Yorkshire (including Hull). It lacks support from all the areas proposed to be included and lacks many firm proposals as a result, instead spending a lot of time highlighting where 'common ground' can be found. There is however this 'ask' on public transport:

"We need a range of models that not only leads to cheap and plentiful services within in our cities and major towns, but connects with the wider hinterland and travel to work areas. We must align objectives so that both the franchising approach in CA/ITA areas and the partnership approach more appropriate to rural networks will stimulate greater workforce mobility and reduce congestion. We need plans for Transpennine electrification to be joined to up along the whole route, in order to harness the private sector commitment from Hull Trains."

To me that indicates that franchising would probably be limited to West Yorkshire, with other areas adopting a partnership model.

It is also worth noting on a pan-Humber blog that there are 'warm words' about pan-Humber co-operation:

"Equally, the value of sustaining a coherent approach to developing the Humber Estuary across both North and South Banks is a major factor in establishing a workable devolution package. With the reduction in Humber Bridge tolls and the Hull and Humber City Deal, we are seeing the benefits of massive private sector investment to deliver our global gateway and energy estuary ambitions. Sustaining a pan-Humber partnership in conjunction with a Greater Lincolnshire Combined Authority will be built into the governance arrangements from the outset."

EYMS reduce 35/35A

From tomorrow, Monday 28th September, EYMS are reducing Hull to Willerby services 35 and 35A from hourly combined to every 90 minutes combined, with journey times slightly extended to improve punctuality. The 35 and 35A serve areas such as Willerby Parkway, Maplewood Avenue and Albert Avenue not served by the main Hull to Willerby services, and also provide a Hull Royal Infirmary link from Willerby Road, Wold Road and Spring Bank West.

EYMS Hull Minor Changes

Today, Sunday 27th September, has seen EYMS divert more services around the Hull City Centre "bus loop" on their inbound journey, improving access to areas of the City Centre located away from Paragon Interchange, such as Princes Quay and the Old Town. All Anlaby Road services (excluding EYMS journeys on the 350 Humber Fastcat?) will now use the City Centre loop except between 1500 and 1800 when they will operate direct to the Interchange via Ferensway.

Also today punctuality changes have been made to West Hull services 103, 105, 115, 151, 152, 153 and 154.

EYMS York City Centre Route Change

Some EYMS York services - routes 45, 45A, 46, X4, X46 and X47 - had a minor route change in York City Centre yesterday, Saturday 26th September, to operate outbound via Piccadilly instead of Merchantgate.

EDIT - This is not a route change, just a bus stop change from Merchantgate to Piccadilly. Thanks to the below comment for pointing this out

Transdev York 36/X36 minor changes

Yesterday, Saturday 26th September, Transdev York made slight revisions to service 36 between Sutton Upon Derwent, Elvington and York. Services now depart York 10 minutes later than previously with most services departing Sutton Upon Derwent 12 minutes later than previously.

This might be nothing new, but the Saturday service is now listed as "Saturdays and Bank Holidays", meaning the 36 is in the relatively unusual position of having a bank holiday service but not a Sunday service. This will be useful not just for villagers in Wheldrake, Elvington and Sutton Upon Derwent, but also for visitors to Elvington's Yorkshire Air Museum. Sunday and Bank Holiday service 18A operated by EYMS also serves the Museum, giving it a better service on Bank Holiday's than normal weekdays.

Most service 36 journeys have a 32 minutes layover in Sutton Upon Derwent, so it remains disappointing the time isn't used to enhance services to another nearby village, such as Newton Upon Derwent or Melbourne.

Transdev York weekday X36 also has a minor change to route via Piccadilly instead of Merchantgate in York City Centre.

EYMS York Services September Changes

The following EYMS services have had variations registered with VOSA appear on the VOSA website today, to take effect from 26th September:

45/46 Market Weighton-Pocklington-York (Timetable)
195/196/X36 Pocklington-York (Route and Timetable)
747 Pocklington-York (Timetable)
X4 Hull-Brough-Market Weighton-York (Route and Timetable)
X46 Market Weighton-Pocklington-York (Route and Timetable)
X47 Market Weighton-Pocklington-York (Route and Timetable)

EYMS Hull-Withernsea Changes

EYMS made some changes to their Hull to Withernsea services yesterday - Sunday 6th September. The weekday 1550 service 75 from Keyingham to Hull and 1535 service 75 from Withernsea to Hull and have been replaced by a 1512 service 75 from Withernsea. The weekday 1637 service 77 from Burstwick to Hull has been replaced by a 1612 service 77 from Withernsea to Hull. Some other journeys have been retimed to improve punctuality.

Small Improvements, Exciting Changes

Tomorrow - Monday 7th September - Stagecoach takeover the East Riding of Yorkshire Council contract for Monday to Saturday evening services on the 78 and 277 routes between Hull and Hedon from EYMS, who operate daily daytime services. There are a couple of small but very useful enhancements at the same time.

Departures on service 78 from Hull Interchange at 1810 and 2110, and from Hedon at 2019 and 2359 remain, as do service 277 departures from Hull Interchange at 1940 and 2320, and from Hedon at 1850 and 2150, however the 1850 277, 2019 78 and 2150 277 departures from Hedon will extend beyond Hull Interchange to Newland Avenue while the 2110 78 and 2320 277 departures from Hull Interchange will start back on Newland Avenue 15 minutes earlier. These extensions provide new access to the various restaurants and nightlife in the Avenues area of Hull. As a result the evening 78/277 services will now require more than one vehicle, but Stagecoach will have factored that into their bid.

There is also one further enhancement, a new 0005 Saturday night (early hours Sunday morning) journey on service 277 from Newland Avenue to Hedon. Arguably the villages of Bilton, Sproatley and Preston now have a nightbus service! I do wonder if diverting this journey via the Longhill estate would also be worthwhile as it's current last departure from Hull Interchange is at 2300 on EYMS service 56.

I'm not sure how much is Stagecoach's initiative and how much was in the East Riding of Yorkshire Council tender specification, but these changes are fantastic news for the communities on the 78 and 277 - small improvements can transform a basic evening service into something more exciting and useful. Lets hope these changes are well used and justified and similar improvements could be tried out elsewhere - some Barton Town Councillors for example want a later last service from Hull (currently 2125).

Goodbye to First in Goole, Hello larger EYMS operation

Yesterday, Saturday 5th September, was arguably the end of an era, as First operated their last services to and from Goole and truncated service 87 between Doncaster and Goole at Moorends. I'm not sure of the exact history of First, and Mainline before them, in Goole, but for many years they also operated the Goole Town Services which at one point included Sunday journeys to Swinefleet and Snaith. Now First in Goole is no more.

While Goole has lost it's bus link with Doncaster and other destinations south of Thorne, a Goole to Thorne replacement service 88 will be introduced by EYMS on Monday, ensuring Rawcliffe Bridge retains a bus service and that Goole and Rawcliffe continue to be linked by bus with Moorends and Thorne where onwards connections can also be made if required. It is also worth noting that for Goole to Doncaster travel the train is faster and more frequent that the First bus services ever where.

First 87 had provided an hourly Monday to Saturday daytime services, however EYMS 88 is less frequent with 8 weekday and 6 Saturday return journeys. The weekday service is generally every 90 minutes with first departure from Goole at 0725 and last departure at 1740. From Thorne the first departure is at 0806 and the last at 1820. This allows for commuting and the timetable has been designed to meet the needs of Goole College students as well. The Saturday timetable is clearly designed to be run with less resources, with services every 80 minutes except for a 130 minute gap at lunchtime. There is a good spread of journeys throughout the day with departures from Goole between 0850 and 1620 and from Thorne between 0930 and 1700.

The EYMS 88 timetable is far from perfect and not very memorable, especially on Saturdays, however it is a lot better than nothing and for First to have cancelled the 87 north of Moorends indicates the demand for an hourly services may not have been there. Hopefully over time the service can be improved and at least there are commuter friendly services as well as shopper and college student friendly services.

So while it's goodbye First in Goole, EYMS continue to grow their presence. From just operating services from Hull (and the Wed/Sat 160/162) at one point to operating the town service, Scunthorpe service, Thorne service and Sunday Selby service as well.

Franchising: An Opportunity mostly for Foreign Owned Operators?

Labour London Mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan is apparently proposing to set up a 'not for profit' organisation to bid against foreign owned bus operators for London bus routes, if he is elected. The Evening Standard reports he is concerned about money spent of buses going to "subsidise the cost of a bus ticket in other European cities", a reference to ownership of various London bus operators by Deutsche Bahn, Abellio and RATP Group (he is also concerned about money being spent on dividends).

This sentiment isn't new, and has been expressed before with regards to the ownership of certain rail franchises. Personally so long as British companies have equal access to foreign markets I don't have an issue with it, but many do.

I can't help but think introducing bus franchising in England outside of London will be to the benefit of foreign owned companies more so than British ones. First have exited the regulated London market, and Stagecoach did at one point; while returning since it has been kept separate from the rest of their UK operations. Clearly neither business is keen on the franchised model and are far more comfortable in a deregulated operating environment. National Express also exited the capital some years ago and even Go Ahead who are a major operator in London would prefer partnerships outside of the capital. Independent operators could see the loss of significant parts of their business if their current commercial routes are franchised and they are unsuccessful in bidding for them. It is also worth noting that in many places the incumbent operator with potentially the most to loose is British.

The big British bus groups will adapt - they will have to otherwise they would have to significantly downsize. Rotala are enthusiastic for franchising. I'm sure some British independents will embrace a franchised model while others would accept it and get on with it.

However I can see foreign owned companies being the big beneficiaries. They know the franchising model and are comfortable with it and will embrace it. If a large or medium sized independent operators wants to sell up it could be Abellio, Transdev, RATP, Tower Transit or Comfort DelGro that will purchase. They would also have the resources to set up new operations from scratch in any areas likely to have a large franchised operation. What is a threat to First and Stagecoach is an opportunity to yes Rotala, but also to Abellio, Transdev, RATP etc.

If Arriva get refloated on the London Stock Exchange by Deutsche Bahn that could change things a bit given their large London and continental European franchised operations, but even still I do wonder if the biggest winners will be overseas based companies. That is not a problem to me, but it maybe to others.

Thoughts?

Stagecoach Simplibus Hull

Tomorrow, Sunday 6th September, Stagecoach launches it's simplibus network in Hull. I've already written extensively about the changes as first announced, so this post focuses on the timetables that were released later.

Simplibus 1 and 2: Hull-Boothferry Estate
The biggest changes of note are a new 0500 departure from Hull Interchange on weekdays, half an hour earlier at present, and the first four Saturday morning service 2's continuing as service 10 to North Bransholme, as happens on weekday mornings. The service 1W weekday morning variation via Smith and Nephew now starts at 0530 rather than 0645. Otherwise there are just some minor retimings and slight changes to when the 'every 10 minute' Monday to Saturday daytime frequency starts and ends.

Simplibus 3: Orchard Park-Hull-Greatfield
Not much to add. The first three Saturday morning services from Greatfield will operate via Smith and Nephew, as happens on weekday mornings. The only comment to add is that first Sunday departure from Orchard Park on service 3 is at 0800 compared to 0835 on the old service 13, while from Greatfield it is at 0800 compared to 0735 on the old service 43.

Simplibus 4: Orchard Park-Hull-Bilton Grange.
Again not a huge amount to add. The first weekday departure from Hull Interchange to Orchard Park is at 0625 compared to 0710 on the old service 14, while the last Monday to Saturday departure from Hull Interchange to Orchard Park is at 2335 compared to 2310 on the old service 14. The last Sunday departure from Orchard Park is at 2300 compared to 2230 on the old service 14.

From Bilton Grange the first Saturday departure is at 0605, 25 minutes earlier than previous service 54. On Sundays the first departure is at 0730 rather than 0830. From Hull Interchange to Bilton Grange the first weekday departure is 90 minutes earlier at 0530 rather than 0700.

Simplibus 5: Hull-Orchard Park-Kingswood
Nothing further to note other than the current Monday to Saturday evening and all day Sunday through journeys to East Hull continue (onto renumbered services 11 and 12).

Simplibus 6: Hull-Kingswood
This is the brand new service in the network, operating Monday to Saturday daytimes every half hour, with departures from Kingswood between 0620 and 1750, and from Hull Interchange between 0736 and 1806. The service will serve both the Leisure and Retail Parks in Kingswood.

Simplibus 7 and 8: Hull-Sutton Park-Bransholme-Kingswood
The first departure from Hull Interchange Monday to Saturday is at 0617 rather than 0655 on the previous service 29, and on Sundays at 0820 rather than 0855. On weekday mornings there are three service 8 departures from Kingswood, which is otherwise only served on evenings and Sundays. The first two Saturday morning services from North Point will operate via Smith and Nephew as on weekday mornings.

Simplibus 9: Cottingham-Hull-Bransholme
Only further note to add is that only hourly Monday to Saturday daytime journeys will extend beyond North Point to Kestrel Avenue; these will be the 'short' journeys that terminate at Hull Interchange rather than the journeys operating through to Cotttingham.

Simplibus 10: Hull-Bransholme-North Bransholme-Wawne
There is a new 2340 departure from Hull Interchange to Wawne, half an hour later than at present.

Simplibus 11: Hull-Bransholme-Kingswood
The first three Saturday morning journeys start at North Point rather than Kingswood, but operate via Smith and Nephew, as on weekday mornings. The first Saturday departure from Hull Interchange is 30 minutes earlier at 0655 rather than 0725.

Simplibus 12: Hull-Sutton-Bransholme
Only further item to note is the first three Saturday morning departures from North Point operating via Smith and Nephew matching the weekday timetable.

Simplibus 13: Hull-Salthouse Road-Bransholme-Orchard Park
In Orchard Park most services will operate a clockwise loop, serving Greenwood Avenue, Ellerburn Avenue, Hall Road and Beverley Road. College time journeys serve the full length of Hall Road (i.e., starting at the Cottingham Road roundabout), though seemingly on all weekdays. The last departure from North Point on Monday to Saturday is at 1732 (1730 Sat) as opposed to 1805 (1815 Sat) on previous service 10. The first Saturday departure from Hull Interchange is at 0854 rather than 0810.

Simplibus 14: Hull-Greatfield
Nothing further to note.

Simplibus 16: Hull-Marfleet
This service has seen a significant change to the initially published timetable, as it has been rerouted via Newbridge Road  to replace service 41, and therefore no longer serving Victor Street and Belmont Street. The first Saturday morning departure from Marfleet is significantly earlier at 0637 rather than the previous 0802 on service 46.

Hopefully in conjunction with my initial post that has covered everything! Please post a comment if it hasn't.

Bus Franchising Proposal for East Yorkshire

Yesterday, East Riding of Yorkshire Council submitted a joint devolution proposal with the City of York and North Yorkshire County Council (but not Hull City Council). In the proposition document, the following included:

"Responsibility for franchised bus services in the devolved geography for integrating smart ticketing across all local modes of transport, including integrated smart ticketing extension to the Transport for the North connected cities ticketing initiative."

If ticketing is the sole motivation, then franchising is using a sledge hammer to crack to a nut. The big bus groups have committed to a smart ticketing initiative and EYMS are part of the proposed Hullcard scheme - I'm sure something could be worked out voluntarily to meet the specific desires of this proposal without destroying the ability of operators to innovate and invest in a deregulated market that has given East Yorkshire an (on the whole) excellent network of services. And without the need to administrate a franchising scheme, money that could be better spent supporting enhancements to the bus network and reversing some of North Yorkshire's extensive cuts to tendered services.

There was also a Greater Lincolnshire expression of interest submitted covering North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire and Lincolnshire, which is far less well developed and references "Improving transport links regionally, nationally and internationally". Until the expression of interest becomes a more detailed proposal then it's uncertain what this could mean in practice.

A couple of final thoughts:

• Hopefully councils will take a close look at the partnerships in South Yorkshire which have potential to achieve a far more stable, co-ordinated and integrated network without removing operator's ability to innovate and develop services
• I wonder if Hull could end up regretting not pursuing a Humber approach to devolution? In the North East Lincolnshire Council statement they went as far as stating they were not bound yet to any geographical arrangement and I sense North Lincolnshire Council could have been convinced. However right now Hull has been snubbed by Leeds in it's Greater Yorkshire bid, and snubbed by York, North Yorkshire, and most significant of all East Yorkshire, with their bid that leaves Hull isolated in submitting it's Greater Yorkshire bid with no support from other Yorkshire councils. Unfortunately probably not going to happen, but it would be great to see a Humber-wide proposal emerge from the current mess.

EYMS X80 (and X46) Beverley Route Change

EYMS Monday to Saturday service X80 from Hessle, Anlaby, Willerby and Cottingham to Beverley gets a new route from Monday 7th September within Beverley. The service will now operate as a circular within the town, operating inbound via it's current route to Beverley Bus Station before leaving the town via Armstrong Way and Flemingate to serve East Riding College and the new Retail and Leisure development in the area. There are minor retimings to the service as a result. EYMS re-routed service 246 via Flemingate earlier this year when it recast it's Hull to Beverley services.

A good time to note as well that from the same date, EYMS's 0805 journey on the X46 from Pocklington to Hull will also route via Armstrong Way within Beverley to serve the East Riding College Campus.

Further EYMS September Changes

EYMS have today registered variations to various services with VOSA from 27th September:

• 33/34/35/35A/44 Hull to Willerby
• 103 Hull to Cottingham
• 105 Hull to Cottingham
• 115 Hull to Cottingham/Castle Hill Hospital (route as well as timetable)
• 151/152 Hull to Anlaby/Willerby
• 152/153 Hull to Anlaby/North Ferriby/Brough/South Cave
• 154 Hull to Willerby/Castle Hill Hospital

 

Acklams re-register the 124

Earlier this month Acklams and EYMS both cancelled their VOSA registrations for service 124 between Driffield and Bridlington. Acklams Coaches had been operating the route on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and EYMS on Saturdays.

Today VOSA re-registered the 124 with VOSA, this time including the Saturday service. The start and finish points do not reference Bridlington, but VOSA registration summaries are not always accurate/could refer to a circular service, so until further information is available I wouldn't draw conclusions one way or the other.

PB1075166/35 - ACKLAMS COACHES LTD, BUS & COACH DEPOT, BARMSTON ROAD, BEVERLEY, HU17 0LA

• Registration Accepted by SN
• Starting Point: Driffield
• Finish Point: Driffield
• Via:
• Service Number: 124
• Service Type: Normal Stopping
• Effective Date: 09-SEP-2015
• Other Details: Wednesday, Thursday & Saturday

Simplibus comes to Hull

After being rolled out in Grimsby last year, Stagecoach’s simplibus branding and approach comes to Hull from 6^th September. There are some major changes to Stagecoach’s local network in Hull and Cottingham as a result in what is being called “a plan for the long term”. If successful the relaunched network “would increase opportunities to both increase frequency of buses and to invest in new, more environmentally-friendly vehicles”. Thank you very much to Stagecoach for providing me with a copy of the press release, the new frequency guide/map as well as answering my questions.

Starting in West Hull with the current 1 and 2 services from the City Centre to the Boothferry Estate via Hessle Road and Anlaby Road respectively – these do not see any substantial changes, with the frequency remaining every 10 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes, half hourly Monday to Saturday evenings and Sunday daytimes, and hourly on Sunday evenings. The 1K extensions to Sutton Fields Industrial Estate and Kingswood Retail Park remain.

The City Centre to Orchard Park via Chanterlands Avenue service currently provided by the 13 and 13b routes is replaced by service 3 which will operate as a cross city service from Orchard Park to Greatfield, providing new cross-city links and improved access from West Hull to the Old Town area of the city centre. As a result the service will operate inbound to the city centre via Park Street direct to Paragon Interchange before serving other parts of the city centre, but outbound West Hull passengers will have the ability catch the service at a stop somewhere other than the Interchange, unlike at present. The 13b variation currently serves Fairfax Avenue which will become unserved with the Simplibus network, as all services take the current service 13 route serving a longer part of Bricknell Avenue.

Simplibus 3 will maintain the same frequency as the 13/13b combined on weekdays; every 10 minutes daytime and every half hour in the evenings. It will also maintain the same frequency of half hourly Saturday evenings and hourly Sunday evenings. However the Saturday daytime frequency shall fall from every 10 minutes to every 15 minutes with the Sunday daytime frequency doubling from half hourly to every 15 minutes.

The City Centre to Orchard Park link via Beverley Road currently provided by service 14 becomes the 4, and like the 3 also becomes a cross city service linking Orchard Park and Beverley Road to the Old Town, Holderness Road and Bilton Grange. Monday to Saturday daytime frequency increases from every 20 minutes to every 15 minutes, with Monday to Saturday evenings and Sunday daytimes remaining half hourly and Sunday evenings hourly.

Services 3 and 4 will operate as a circular cross-Orchard Park in the same way services 13 and 14 currently do so.

Current service 15 from the City Centre to Kingswood Retail Park via the Avenues and Orchard Park becomes the 5, with the evening service 16 variation that omits Orchard Park but extends to Kingswood Health Centre abolished. The biggest change sees alternate Monday to Saturday daytime services no longer extending beyond Orchard Park to Kingswood, otherwise frequencies remain the same at every 10 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes, every 15 minutes Monday to Saturday evenings and Sunday daytimes and every half hour on Sunday evenings.

New Simplibus service 6 doesn’t directly replace a current route, and is reminiscent of the former service 20. The 6 will provide a direct link from Hull Centre via Beverley Road to Kingswood Retail Park before serving the residential areas of Kingswood including the Health Centre and, after making use of a new link road on the estate, Kingsbury Way before terminating at the Wawne Road/Cumbrian Way/Kesteven Way roundabout. Around Kingsbury Way the 6 replaces current service 28. The 6 will operate every half hour Monday to Saturday daytimes, the same frequency as the 28, with evening and Sunday services provided by route 8. The 6 will be a far faster route into Hull City Centre than the 28 and serves more of the Kingswood estate, however the Monday to Saturday daytime link to North Point Shopping Centre is lost – also useful for connecting to other services – and parts of Kesteven Way become unserved.

Simplibus 7 and 8 replace the current 29 and 28 services respectively; they both run from Hull City Centre via Beverley Road and Sutton Park to North Point, with the 7 running via Bodmin Road to Kingswood Retail Park as per the current 29 route, while Monday to Saturday evenings and Sundays only, the 8 will extend beyond North Point to Kingsbury Way, Kingswood Health Centre and Kingswood Retail Park. The 7 and 8 will each operate every half hour Monday to Saturday daytimes and every hour Monday to Saturday evenings and Sunday; this is the same frequency as at present except for Sunday evenings when the frequency is doubled between the City Centre and North Point, and Kingswood gains a new Sunday evening service. Peaktime service 101 between Hull City Centre, Clough Road and North Point is renumbered 8X.

Next up in the new network is Simplibus 9 which replaces the current 110 between Castle Hill Hospital, Cottingham, Bricknell Estate, the City Centre, James Reckitt Avenue and North Point. In Cottingham the service is rerouted via Northgate and Newgate Street rather than South Street and Hallgate, and in East Hull it is rerouted via Witham, Holderness Road and Mount Pleasant rather than New Cleveland Street. Peak time journeys will omit Dorchester Road and instead operate via Midmere Avenue before serving the full length of Noddle Hill Way. The Western part of the route will operate hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes, as with the present 110, however the eastern half of the route will double to half hourly.

Simplibus 10 is not related to the current service 10 but instead replace the current 30 and 30A. The ‘new’ 10 adopts the current evening and weekend route of the 30 serving Leads Road and Sutton Road instead of part of Holwell Road while continuing to link Hull City Centre to North Point, Bodmin Road and North Bransholme. The 10 will operate every 10 minutes weekday peaks, every 15 minutes weekday off-peak and Saturday daytimes, every half hour Monday to Saturday evenings and Sunday daytimes, and every hour on Sunday evenings. This matches the current 30/30A frequency except on weekday daytimes where the 10 minute frequency currently operates during the daytime as well as at peak times. The 30A along the northern parts of Leads Road is replaced by the increased frequency on service 9, allowing this variation to be dropped. Not mentioned in the new Simplibus frequency guide, but Wawne continues to be served and the ‘X’ variation via Sutton Fields Industrial Estate also remains.

Current service 51 between Hull City Centre, Holderness Road, Ings Estate, Spring Cottage, North Point and Kingswood Retail Park is renumbered service 11, continuing to operate every 15 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes and every half hour evenings and Sundays.

The 12 replaces current service 32 between Hull City Centre, Gillshill Road, Sutton Village, Noddle Hill Way and North Point, with services operating every 15 minutes to Monday to Saturday daytimes, every half hour Monday to Saturday evenings and Sunday daytimes, and every hour Sunday evenings.

Simplibus 13 replaces part of the 10, and means the end of the traditional city circular – in recent years the 10 had not served the variety of areas the city circular had done in the past, but now it largely becomes an East Hull only service. The new 3 and 4 do provide some replacement cross city links.

The western section between the City Centre and Orchard Park is axed without replacement, but it largely duplicated the ‘old’ 13 and 15 (‘new’ 3 and 5) anyway; Cottingham Road (main stops for Hull University) is no longer served by Stagecoach (though Cranbrook Avenue is served by service 5 and is just as convenient for parts of the campus), while a small part of Greenwood Avenue becomes unserved. The link between Orchard Park and North Point via Sutton Park is reduced from Monday to Saturdays to weekdays only and continues to operate via Cheltenham Avenue.

In East Hull the service continues to operate from Hull City Centre via Holderness Road direct to Salthouse Road before serving Spring Cottage en-route to North Point. Monday to Saturday daytime frequency remains half hourly, while the Sunday daytime service is increased from hourly to match, and extended from it’s current Spring Cottage terminus to North Point. Spring Cottage therefore will have 4 services an hour into Hull City Centre on Sunday daytimes combined with the 11.

Continuing our clockwise look around Hull it’s time to return to the new service 4 which will replace the current 54 and 55 services between Hull City Centre and Bilton Grange. All services will operate via Marfleet Lane (service 55 route) rather than Maybury Road (service 54 route) and no services will serve Hopewell Road. The 4 will operate as a circular with service 3 to provide through links to Greatfield and Preston Road. Service 4 will operate every 15 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes, every half hour Monday to Saturday evenings and Sunday daytimes and every hour Sunday evenings; a reduction from every 10 minutes on Monday to Friday daytimes but otherwise matching the current frequency provided by the 54/55 combined.

Service 3 replaces the 43 in East Hull linking Hull City Centre with Preston Road and Greatfield. The every 10 minutes weekday daytimes, every 15 minutes weekend daytimes, every half hour Monday to Saturday evening and every hour Sunday evening frequency matches the current frequency except for the doubling of the Sunday daytime services from half hourly.

Simplibus 14 replaces the 41 and 42; all services operate via the 42 route between Hull City Centre, Portobello Street, Wingfield Road and Greatfield Falkland Road, leaving Newbridge Road and parts of Marfleet Lane unserved. Weekday daytime frequency reduced from every 10 minutes to every 15 minutes while Saturday daytimes remain every 15 minutes, Monday to Saturday evenings and Sunday daytimes remain half hourly and Sunday evenings hourly.

The final simplibus route is the 16, replacing the current 46 in linking Hull City Centre with the Marina, Victoria Dock, the Preston Road Estate and Marfleet; services continue to operate hourly daytimes. The hourly service 17 shorts from Hull Interchange to the Marina are withdrawn due to low usage; when opened the new Castle Street Bridge will offer far easier pedestrian access from the City Centre to the Marina area.

A couple of other network-wide points work noting, peak time extensions to Smith and Nephew remain, as do the early morning connections from the 2 and 3 (currently 2 and 13) onto the 10 (currently service 30) and the residual Saturday nightbuses (that don’t use the N prefix anymore). Workers Service 677 is unaffected as are the ‘out of town’ services; the Humber Flyer and Humber Fastcat do get good-sized adverts in the new simplibus frequency guide.

Positives and negatives, and a lot to digest. One thing is that simplibus lives up to it’s name, with both the route numbers 1-16 (minus 15) and the ending of some route variations.

Stagecoach Information Events:
Mon 27 July Greatfield, Elmbridge Parade 2-7pm
Tue 28 July Greenwich Avenue 2-7pm
Wed 29 July North Point Shopping Centre 2-7pm
Thur 30 July Kingswood Medical Centre 2-7pm
Fri 31 July Queen Victoria Square 11am-4pm
Mon 3 August Orchard Park, Tesco 2-7pm
Tue 4 August James Reckitt Avenue (East Park) 2-7pm
Wed 5 August Princes Quay Shopping Centre 11am-4pm
Thu 6 August St Stephens Shopping Centre 11am-4pm
Fri 7 August Paragon Interchange 11am-5pm