20/20W Changes - More info

Stagecoach in Hull have produced a leaflet detailing changes to service 20 between Hull, Kingswood, North Bransholme and Wawne from Monday 4th April. See this blog post

To clarify some points, Bodmin Road is no longer served, neither is Kingswood Leisure Park apart from evenings and Sundays. Along with this services will no longer operate via the City Centre Loop in Hull inbound. This helps makes the service quicker and more direct, and contributes towards saving one bus. Passengers between Bodmin Road and Beverley Road can change at North Point Shopping Centre to make their journeys.

With regards to Wawne, Stagecoach explain that East Riding of Yorkshire Council only require an hourly Monday to Saturday service to Wawne, which Stagecoach go beyond at peak times, and in the early morning, evenings and Sundays when no service is required, but Stagecoach will provide a limited service. Still a good service level for Wawne, and Stagecoach aren't providing the bare minimum service level which is to be comended.

Major Changes to Services 42 in East Hull

From Monday 4th April Stagecoach in Hull will significantly revise service 42 in East Hull. It will now operate via Maybury Road and Holderness Road instead of Southcoates Lane. This will restore links lost to Morrisons and Astoria Bingo, amongst other locations on Holderness Road, in the controversial East Hull 2009 service recast. Maybury Road is currently only served by infrequent EYMS service 50.

There will be some associated timetable changes to service 42, and associated service 41, which covers the links lost on Monday to Saturday daytime, by the rerouted service 42.

A solution to the early morning Humber Flyer being axed

A solution has been found to cover the controversial withdrawal of the 0620 Humber Flyer from Grimsby. A new Monday to Friday only 0605 will be introduced from Grimsby to Barton, enabling a connection onto the 0653 350 Humber Fastcat to Hull.

Also from April 4th the current 0725 Hull to Cleethorpes becomes a 0720 Hull to Grimsby, giving an earlier arrival for commuters in Grimsby and removing the current situation of two buses to Barton departing Hull Interchange Stand 3 at 0725 (the other service being a Humber Fastcat). The curtailment at Grimsby is in connection with Hull depot operating part of the Humber Flyer from next week.

The Summer Sunday Humber Flyer service is also starting earlier this year, on April 10th, again serving Barton but not Grimsby.

New Humber Flyer timetable

Stagecoach in Hull Nightbus Changes

Stagecoach in Hull are making changes to their Nightbus network from April 4th, based around new routes in Hull City Centre for services N15, N32 and N43. The N15 to Orchard Park and Kingswood will now start in George Street and operate via Wilberforce Drive, Alfred Gelder Street and Carr Lane to the current Ferensway starting point. The N32 and N43 from the Welly Club to East Hull will now operate via Spencer Street, Prospect Street, King Edward Street (N32), Jameson Street (N32), Albion Street (N43), Bond Street (N43), George Street and North Bridge rather than Paragon Sqaure, Carr Lane, Alfred Gelder Street and Lowgate.

Walton Street Park and Ride cancelled?

From the VOSA website. Usual health warnings apply - services can be re-registered. But worth noting the Walton Street service is commercially operated, after Hull City Council axed the previous tender. So if EYMS have cancelled the service, the chance of a replacement service would be slim. VOSA - Bus Registration Search Results: "PB0000328/345 - EAST YORKSHIRE MOTOR SERVICES LTD, 252 ANLABY ROAD, HULL, HU3 2RS Cancellation Accepted: Operating between Walton Street Park and Ride Site and Walton Street Park and Ride Site given service number 700 effective from 22-May-2011."

EYMS May Changes, Including 48 Future?

Amongst various May variations for EYMS services posted on VOSA today was this:

VOSA - Bus Registration Search Results: "PB0000328/85 - EAST YORKSHIRE MOTOR SERVICES LTD, 252 ANLABY ROAD, HULL, HU3 2RS
Cancellation Accepted: Operating between Hull and Maplewood Avenue given service number 48 effective from 15-May-2011."

As ever with the VOSA website, don't take at face value. Services can be re-registered. But equally EYMS could have cancelled this daily daytime service which operates every 70 minutes serving various 'back roads' in West Hull. Monday to Saturday services are commercial, but Sunday services receive financial support from East Riding of Yorkshire and Hull City Councils.

EYMS Bank Holiday/Royal Wedding Service Levels

It will be a case of guesswork for bus operators in deciding how many people are going to stay in and watch The Royal Wedding on April 29th and how many will use the bank holiday for other purposes. The other unknown is how many people will be taking an 11 day holiday covering Easter, the Royal Wedding and early May Bank Holidays.

EYMS have released details of their service plans for the period

Good Friday - Sunday serrvices except the 120 (Bridlington-Scarborough), 350 Humber Fastcat and Goole Town Services operating normal Friday timetables
Easter Monday - Sunday services except the 120 which will operate a Monday timetable
April 29th - Sunday services except the 120 and 350 which will operate a Friday timetable
May 2nd - Sunday services except the 120 operating a Monday timetable

As for me, I hope to watch the Royal Wedding - but if I am work at least I am lucky to have a normal service on the Humber Fastcat. Far more useful than the Sunday timetable.

Stagecoach in Lincolnshire return to Goole

As expected the Saturday service between Goole and Scunthorpe will no longer be operated by Sweyne Coaches from the end of March. Stagecoach in Lincolnshire are the new operator instead. This will be the first time in some years that Stagecoach in Lincolnshire or it's predecessors have operated north of Garthorpe on the corridor. An old NBC timetable booklet I have from 1980 shows Lincolnshire, a predecessor of the current Stagecoach in Lincolnshire operation, as the operator of the service between Goole and Scunthorpe. I'm not sure when they stopped serving Goole however.

VOSA - Bus Registration Search Results: "PB0001484/183 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Registration Accepted by SN
Starting Point: Goole
Finish Point: Scunthorpe
Via:
Service Number: 357
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 02-APR-2011
Other Details: Saturday Service, four return journeys. The service is registered due to the award of a tender by East Riding of Yorkshire Council."

I guess this Saturday service will opperate via Crowle rather than Amcotts?

Barton-Cleethorpes Rail Service Retimings

From my latest Friends of the Barton Line minutes, from Sunday 22nd May times on Northern Rail's Barton to Cleethorpes service will see minor changes. It's related to the new East Coast Main Line timetable, which in turns affects the Cleethorpes-Manchester Airport service. Changes to that then impact the Barton Line. Below are the new times, and the old times for comparison.

Current Monday to Saturday
Barton D. 0658 0800 0958 1158 1358 1558 1800 1958 2158
Cleethorpes D. 0600 0700 0900 1100 1300 1500 1700 1900 2100
New Monday to Saturday
Barton D. 0658 0758 (0800 Sat) 0952 1152 1352 1552 (1554 Sat) 1755 1958 2158
Cleethorpes D. 0600 0700 0855 (0900 Sat) 1055 1255 1455 (1500 Sat) 1655 (1700 Sat) 1900 2103

Current Summer Sunday
Barton D. 1100 1400 1615 1915
Cleethorpes D. 0955 1255 1501 1755
New Summer Sunday
Barton D. 1100 1400 1615 1915
Cleethorpes D. 1005 1258 1458 1758

While there is still time to make connections onto the 350 Humber Fastcat to Hull at Barton in most cases, there are two connections which are going to be very tight. The current 2100 from Cleethorpes Monday to Saturday arrives in Barton at 2148, leaving 5 minutes before the 2153 bus. With the 2100 moving to 2103 this would leave 2 minutes to make the connection, assuming the journye time remains 48 minutes. On Sundays the 0955 from Cleethorpes currently arrives in Barton at 1044 to connect with the 1055 bus, but the train retiming would give an arrival in Barton at 1054.

Also noteworthy is the 1700 from Cleethorpes starting 5 minutes earlier on weekdays. What impact, if any, will this have on commuter traffic? Assuming the journey time between Cleethorpes and Grimsby Town remains 5 minutes, this would give a 1704 departure from Grimsby Town - very tight for anyone finishing at 5pm.

678 gone, 677 cutback

From April 4th weekday early morning/peak service Stagecoach Hull's 678 is cancelled, while the 677 circular becomes a Beverley Road (Clough Road junction)-Hull Interchange-Hedon Road-Salt End-Cranswick Foods Preston service, no longer serving Ings Road, Holderness Road, Bilton or the Ferry Terminal.

The 677/8, previously private workers services, were made part of the 'public' network last July.

New 677 timetable

X62 Weekday Changes - Full details

North Yorkshire County Council may have got confused over April's service X62 (Hull-Brough-Goole-Leeds) changes, but the new Stagecoach timetable explain all.

On weekdays the 0830, 1030 and 1230 departures from Hull are replaced by 0930 and 1130 departures. The 1430 moves to 1530, and the 1630 to 1700. The 0630 is unchanged. The same changes, two hours later, for Leeds departures. These changes mean a 1730 departure from Leeds, ideal for commuters, a slightly later last departure from Leeds at 1900 rather than 1830. But a rather large mid afternoon between 1330 and 1730 from Leeds. Not ideal for shoppers.

Saturday changes as North Yorkshire County Council reported (2 hourly all day) and no changes on Sundays.

43A gone, Longhill becomes EYMS only

Early morning 43A's from Longhill via Bilton Grange and Greatfield into Hull are axed from April 4th, and will operate as normal 43's instead. This means Stagecoach will no longer serve the Longhill estate, which will be served by frequent EYMS services 56/7 only.

New 43 timetable

52/53 Friday/Saturday evening service axed

The Friday and Saturday evening service on the 52/52 services operated by Stagecoach in East Hull appears to be axed from April 4th. These were introduced a year ago, replacing the 52C.

New 52/3 timetable

Hull service 49 gone

It appears that service 49 in East Hull, operated by Stagecoach for Hull City Council is axed from April 4th. Currently service 49 and 46 co-ordinate to serve Victoria Dock and parts of the Preston Road Estate before diverging to Marfleet (46) or Jalland Lodge (49). Frequency of the 46/49 combined is around every 30-45 minutes.

However the revised timetable for the 46 shows an hourly 46 only, operating as a 46D avoiding Hull Marina at peak times. The 46 was also extend to serve The Deep, currently served by the 49. Better for those previously served by only the 46, such as Marfleet Village, a slight reduction for others. currently served by the combined 46/9. Jalland Lodge will only be left with the limited EYMS service 50 however.

New 46 timetable
New 46 map

Stagecoach Hull 38 Changes

Some minor changes to service 38 between Hull and North Point Shopping Centre from April 4th. The 0845 weekday service is cancelled, but a new Saturday 0845 is added. Meanwhile the Saturday 38A's to Kingsbury Way are curtailed to operate as 38's to North Point only.

The core frequency remains hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes, and weekday 38A's remain

New timetable

Service 28A/30/51A changes

From April 4th Stagecoach are revising early morning weekday service on route 30 between Hull, North Point Shopping Centre and North Bransholme. There are now 3 as opposed to 1 30X journeys from Hull Interchange operating via Sutton Fields Industrial Estate, while the first departure from North Bransholme is now at 0440 rather than 0535. The early morning 28A's from North Bransholme into Hull, also serving Kingsbury Way and Kingswood, are however curtailed to operate as normal 28's starting from North Point. As are the current 51A's from North Bransholme. Connections can be made from the 30 to the 28 or 51 at North Point.

Morning peak services from Hull are revised with more journeys to North Point (every 15 rather than 20 minutes), but less to North Bransholme (every 30 rather than 20 minutes).

Finally the 30W evening journeys to Wawne are now shown as normal 30's, so I presume will terminate at North Bransholme

New 30 timetable

Wawne Service Cuts

From April 4th cuts will be made to service 20 (Hull-Kingswood-Kingsbury Way-North Bransholme-Wawne) operated by Stagecoach Hull, mostly financially supported by Hull City and East Riding of Yorkshire Councils. It's another case of a marginal service which the operator is struggling to make viable. I recall from a Hull Bus Forum a few years ago that new development in North Hull around Kingswood is a primary reason why the service has been kept going, hoping to develop a new long term market.

Currently the 20 is mostly half hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes, with an hourly Friday and Saturday evening service to North Bransholme only (except the last journey extending to Wawne). Sunday daytimes see an hourly service operating the full route to Wawne.

From April 4th the Monday to Saturday daytime service will be half hourly between Hull, Kingswood Retail Park and Kingsbury Way, with an hourly extension to Wawne via North Bransholme, operating as a 20W. Peak times see half hourly 20W's. Most of the weekday gaps in the service seem to have been removed, but the weekday afternoon peak extension from the Guildhall is removed. Overall these changes 'save' 1 bus.

Friday and Saturday evenings now see a frequency of 75 minutes terminating at Kingsbury Way rather than North Bransholme. The last departure from Hull continues to serve Wawne.

Sunday daytimes also see a 75 minute frequency with all but the first service into Hull and last departure from Hull terminating at Kingsbury Way, not serving North Bransholme or Wawne. This 'saves' 1 bus, but the Sunday service level to Wawne is rather unattractive for visting Hull City Centre or Kingswood for leisure.

Not the best news for Wawne, but peak time links remain, as does an hourly daytime service, and a very limited evening/Sunday service. Not a bad service level for the village.

Unsure if this means a route change or not, but timings points at Kingswood Leisure Park and Bodmin Road have been removed from the new timetable.

Hull Circular - Saturday/Peak Time service gone

The Hull Circular service has seen various changes in recent years; once a tendered service, Stagecoach have been battling to make it commercially viable. More changes from April 4th, and this time it's pretty savage cuts.

Perhaps most notably the Saturday service is gone. As is the weekday peak time 10A variation via Hull University and Sutton Road. What remains is an hourly daytime Monday to Friday service. Will this be more viable, or a last ditch attempt providing the minimum possible provision to still be worthwhile?

New service 10 timetable

Some extra short journeys at peak times on service 110 to Bricknell Estate partially replaces the 10 at peak times. New timetable

Stagecoach Hull Service 1/2 enhancements

No official announcement yet, but new Stagecoach Hull timetables from 4th April are starting to be uploaded to the Stagecoach website. Services 1/2 in West Hull will see extra journeys between 6pm and 7pm Monday to Saturday, while the Friday and Saturday evening frequency shall be doubled from half hourly to every 15 minutes.

A new weekday journey on service 1 from Boothferry Estate shall depart at 0505 on weekdays, 35 minutes earlier than currently, and continuing as a service 677 at Hull Interchange.

Welcome enhancements here to services that received new Enviro 300 single deckers last year.

New 1/2 timetable

Nice idea, Waste of time? and the Humber Flyer Finances

Back to the Humber Flyer again. Earlier this week I blogged about the cutting of the 0620 from Grimsby and 1900 from Hull in April, which had got the small number of regular users understandably concerned. The latest idea to retain the 0620 is to make it exempt from the £10.90 Humber Bridge toll, which would reduce the costs of operating it.

Buses being exempt from tolls would be great on both environmental and economic grounds, and in that respect it is to be supported. But realistically the Humber Bridge Board are not going to exempt any bus service from the toll. They have a very strict remit to look at the Bridge Board finances and nothing else. So really this all seems a waste of time.

The Grimsby Telegraph article also contains information on the finances of the Humber Flyer. This year Stagecoach have received just £28,000 in financial support, down from £40,000 when it first started. North East Linconshire Council has not cut back their contribution, but North Lincolnshire Council, Hull City Council and Humberside Airport have. So far only £21,000 funding is committed for next year, and there are rising fuel costs to consider. Stagecoach have projected a £27,000 loss for the next year.

With figures like that Stagecoach should be commended for keeping the Humber Flyer going. Financially it would be very easy for Stagecoach to justify giving it up, yet they are persevering in keeping going. Yes perhaps there is political and PR sensitivity of the service to consider, but given time any backlash would probably go away. The withdrawal of the 0620 and 1900 is causing severe hardship for some, and that is to be recognised and acknowledged - no one wants that - but Stagecoach have, and will continue to, spend money subsidising a loss making service which is commendable when they have no duty to do so.

Relatively Minor Cuts = Bad PR

Changes to the Humber Flyer (Hull-Barton-Humberside Airport-Grimsby-Cleethorpes). Not anything new as Stagecoach battle to make the service viable. From April 4th the service will be revised, with Hull depot sharing operation with Grimsby, enabling the 0620 from Grimsby and 1900 from Hull to be withdrawn.

This isn't a fundamental change to the service, but understandably for those who use these journeys they aren't happy, and they are making their voices heard. However the journeys are not well used - just 4 to 10 people on the 0620, but with 25-30 needed to break even. From a commercial perspective it is hard to argue with Stagecoach. They have also pointed out that passengers from Grimsby can use the 250 to Barton and connect onto the 350 Humber Fastcat to get to Hull before what will be the new first arrival of the Humber Flyer. There is also the train, if passengers can get to a railway station on the Cleethorpes-Barton line. The 0600 Cleethorpes-Barton train connects into the 0653 Barton-Hull Humber Fastcat arriving in Hull at almost the same time as the current 0620 Humber Flyer. Likewise in an evening passengers can use the 1925 Hull-Scunthorpe Humber Fastcat and change at Barton for a train back home.

Is there a way to save these journeys? One option could be to divert the 0620 into Barton, replacing the current 0653 Humber Fastcat, which carries around 15 passengers based on a couple of recent trips on it. The problem though is that EYMS operate the 0653 and I doubt they would just give it up, especially as most passengers are buying weekly tickets or full fare returns (i.e. not many OAP concessionary fares). And what could Stagecoach give them in return (there is a qualifying agreement that allows co-ordination of timetables) - there are no other short Hull-Barton journeys and an all-day diagram would be a huge sacrifice by Stagecoach. So this idea is really a non-starter.

North East Lincolnshire Council funding is another option, but council budgets are being cut, and funding the 0620 and 1900 is unlikley to be a prudent use of taxpayers money due to the small number of affected passengers.

A better option maybe to promote the train/Humber Fastcat and 250/Humber Fastcat options. The latter will not even cost anymore for weekly ticket users, assuming it does not get into Hull too late for them. Showing the connection in the Humber Flyer timetable would be a start. I doubt Stagecoach really want to promote the train connection at the expense of their buses, but it's something North East Lincolnshire Council may wish to do.

What this situation also highlights is the sensitivity of the service. Even a relatively small change can provoke a big reaction. Plus it will probably overshadow the introduction of low floor vehicles onto the route. And it also highlights the impact of the Humber Bridge tolls once again.

EYMS Market Weighton and Pocklington area changes

From March 20th EYMS are making changes to services in the Market Weighton and Pocklington area, as previously noted here. Full details have now been announced.

The new EYMS X4 Market Weighton-York direct is as detailed here. The X46/X47 (Hull-Beverley-Market Weighton-Pocklington-York) sees extended journey times to improve reliability, while the Sunday X47 service is now operated commercially.

Service 744 (Bridlington-Driffield-Pocklington-York) and service 746 (Market Weighton-Pocklington-York) are retimed to improve co-ordination with the X46 and the new X4. Within York there is a revised route avoiding Tower Street. Despite what Traveline reports, the 746 will continue to serve the University of York.

Minor changes also impact on the 18A (Holme-York) and the 195/6 (Pocklington-York).

As a side note, why does the 744 still serve Dunnington which has the First/York Pullman 10 on a far higher frequency? Does it serve a part of Dunnington the 10 does not? The Pocklington-York corridor is rather complicated - the X46/7, 744 and 746 all have different routes making even headways between services impossible. Sending the 744 via the 746 route, serving the University of York rather than Dunnington would go some way to simplifying this.

500/501 axed - 502 partial replacement?

According to a comment on this post the Summer Sunday 500/501 in the Bridlington and Flamborough area has been axed, with the 502 (Bridlngton-Flamborough-Bempton-Buckton)operating on Sundays year round instead. If this happens then 1 vehicle less will be required to operate the Summer Sunday service.

This change would leave a number of tourist attractions around Flamborough without a bus service including the Lighthouse and the RSPB Reserve at Bempton, though Buckton would gain a Summer Sunday bus service while Bempton passengers would not have to change buses at Flamborough to reach Bridlington. The 502 has 5 journeys during Sunday daytimes, whereas the 500/501 operated hourly. TD Travel are taking the 502 from EYMS next month.

Sensible cost saving or a blow to the tourist industry?

TD Travel taking over 502

Confirmation of what has been mentioned on the East Yorkshire Yahoo Group, TD Travel have won the tender for weekday evening peak/Mon-Sat evening/Winter Sunday service 502 between Bridlington, Flamborough, Bempton and Buckton. Summer Sunday 500/501 should also be part of the same contract.

VOSA - Bus Registration Search Results: "PB1069418/13 - ANTHONY CROSSLAND T/A TD TRAVEL, UNIT 2, 37-41, HIGH STREET, OLD TOWN, BRIDLINGTON, YO16 4PR
Registration Accepted by SN
Starting Point: Bridlington
Finish Point: Buckton
Via: Flamborough ,Bempton
Service Number: 502
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 01-APR-2011
Other Details: Monday to Saturday Sundays and Public Holidays"

Current 502 timetable operated by EYMS

Stamford Bridge to loose Sunday Evening Service?

The tendered Sunday evening service on route 10 between Stamford Bridge, York and Poppleton is proposed for withdrawal in order to fund Sunday daytime services to Fulford Broadway and Naburn. The reason for cutting back the 10 rather than other services is fairness, with no tendered Sunday evening services elsewhere in York. More details in this City of York Council report.

York Pullman currently operate the Sunday evening service. They took over this and other early morning/evening services on route 10 from First York following cutbacks in 2009. Since then they have also added peak time buses in competition with First. Current York Pullman service 10 timetable.

Phoenix Buses to Malton

It would appear that Phoenix Buses/Busking have got the contract for Summer weekend service 133 this year, which last year was operated by Hutchinsons. From VOSA:

VOSA - Bus Registration Search Results: "PB1084446/5 - BUSKING LTD, 52, MAIN STREET, NORTH FRODINGHAM, DRIFFIELD, YO25 8LG
Registration Accepted
Starting Point: Driffield
Finish Point: Malton
Via: Sledmere, Fridaythorpe, Thixendale, Wharram
Service Number: 133
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 23-APR-2011
Other Details: Saturdays,Sundays and Bank Holidays From Easter Sunday to the last Sunday in September"

Following the loss of the 133, and also the 488, Hutchinsons will no longer operate into East Yorkshire.

Interconnect 3 new timetable

A Life of Lincolnshire Travel has details of the new Stagecoach Interconnect 3 (Grimsby-Lincoln) timetable from April. Fundamentally the service remains hourly Monday to Saturday daytime, though as already reported the Sunday service has gone and there is a revised route within Grimsby.

Grimsby depot will resume operating part of the service with Lincoln depot (connected to them loosing some or all of the Humber Flyer to Hull?). The 23/C, introduced last year to provide a later Lincoln-Grimsby journey after the 3 went to Lincoln depot only operation, is replaced by a journey on service 3.

New EYMS X4 further details

Thanks to an anonymous poster on my initial blog post, further details of EYMS's new X4 have been revealed. It will be a two hourly Monday to Saturday Market Weighton-York service avoiding Pocklington. Also changes to the 746 (Market Weighton-Pocklington-York) see the service avoiding the University of York as well as an extra morning journey from Market Weighton at 0910, while another has been retimed to leave after 0930 to allow free bus passes for OAP's to be used.

More details in the comments section of the blog post linked to above.

As a side note, has the X55 inspired the X4? An express service omitting a key location en-route to provide a quicker service for others. Not something EYMS had done in recent times until the X55, which omits North Cabe, Save Cave and North Ferriby for quicker journeys into Hull from Gilberdyke, Brough and Elloughton. Could this 'concept' be applied anywhere else in the EYMS network?

Selby-Goole cuts confirmed

Following confirmation of the proposed cuts to bus services in North Yorkshire, Arriva have revealed details of how it will affect their Selby depot operation, including the 400 Selby-Snaith-Goole. In addition to the withdrawal of Monday to Saturday tendered evening 1910 and 2110 from Selby plus 2000 and 2200 returns from Goole, the commercially operated 1810 from Selby to Goole will terminate at West Cowick and the 1900 from Goole to Selby shall be withdrawn.

No mention of the Sunday service though. I presume it is 'safe' despite this?

Lincolnshire Bus Cutbacks

There are a number of cutbacks being made to Lincolnshire County Council supported services from April 4th. Full details here but below are the changes impacting also on North and North East Lincolnshire:

Stagecoach Interconnect 3 (Grimsby-Lincoln) - all Sunday and Bank Holiday journeys withdrawn (also a separate re-routing in Grimsby)

Stagecoach Interconnect 51/X51 (Cleethorpes-Grimsby-Louth-Skegness) - all Sunday and Bank Holiday journeys withdrawn as well as the 0640 and 2120 from Louth, plus 2010 and 2310 from Cleethorpes Monday to Saturday (Guess this question is answered!)

Hornsby 94 (Glentham-Brigg-Scunthorpe) - Saturday Glentham extension withdrawn, will start from Bishop Norton instead

Barnards 325 (Kirton Lindsey-Gainsborough) - This Tuesday shopping service is withdrawn

There are also changes due to commercial services across Lincolnshire including cross boundary services; the A Life of Lincolnshire Travel blog has attempted to compile full details, but there is conflicting information on some services, especially those part tendered and part commercial.

X62 Confusing Changes

More changes are due in April for the Stagecoach Hull X62 between Hull, Brough, Goole and Leeds. According to North Yorkshire County Council's latest service changes pdf the service will see cutbacks. On Saturdays the 0930 and 1330 from Hull, plus 1130 and 1530 returns from Leeds will be axed. So far seems simple enough ...

However apparently the weekday 1030 Hull-Leeds and 1430 return will be withdrawn. I can't imagine it is as simple as this. Not only would it create long gaps at key times of day, but there would be no bus in Leeds to work the 1230 to Hull, while the bus on the 1230 Hull-Leeds would have no return working. So there must be other changes to the weekday timetable coming.

Utopia Coaches to takeover 488

It would seem that Utopia Coaches have won the contract for Wednesday only service 488 into Goole. It is currently operated by Hutchinson's Coaches, who only took the service over a year ago.

VOSA - Bus Registration Search Results: "PB1079814/4 - UTOPIA COACHES LIMITED, UNIT 4 THE MALTINGS, FENTON LANE, SHERBURN IN ELMET, LEEDS, LS25 6EZ
Registration Accepted
Starting Point: Hut Green
Finish Point: Goole
Via: Pollington, Snaith
Service Number: 488
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 17-APR-2011
Other Details: Wednesday Only"

Humber Flyer April Changes

The Humber Flyer (Hull-Barton-Humberside Airport-Grimsby-Cleethorpes) will see changes from April. Information on the Stagecoach East Midlands Yahoo Group indicates cascaded low floor vehicles from Manchester and possibly even a change of operating depot from Grimsby to Hull. Both the Grimsby Cleethorpes Transport and Cleveland Transit (Stagecoach Hull) registrations for the Humber Flyer will see variations from April 4th according to the VOSA website.

Stagecoach Hull April Changes

Posted on the VOSA website last week - almost every Stagecoach service in Hull will see alterations from early April.

X51 future?

From the VOSA website last week:

VOSA - Bus Registration Search Results: "PB0000163/40 - GRIMSBY CLEETHORPES TRANSPORT CO LTD T/A STAGECOACH GRIMSBY CLEETHORPES, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Cancellation Accepted: Operating between Cleethorpes and Skegness given service number X51 effective from 04-Apr-2011."

Is the X51 gone, or just being altered to operate under domestic driver hour regulations? For those unaware the X51 operates Cleethorpes-Grimsby-Louth-Skegness on Summer Sundays.

Interconnect 3 back to Weelsby Road

From 4th April Stagecoach in Lincolnshire Interconnect 3 (Grimsby-Lincoln-Newark) will return to operating via Weelsby Road and Hainton Avenue in Grimsby, rather than the quicker route via Bargate thanks to North East Lincolnshire Council funding. The Bargate route was introduced when the service was extended to Newark, leaving Weelsby Road unserved until temporary Stagecoach Grimsby Cleethorpes service 6 was introduced last Autumn - this will be withdrawn from April.

Grimsby Telegraph article

EYMS April Service Changes

Posted on the VOSA website today:

VOSA - Bus Registration Search Results: "PB0000328/186 - EAST YORKSHIRE MOTOR SERVICES LTD, 252 ANLABY ROAD, HULL, HU3 2RS
Cancellation Accepted: Operating between Bridlington coach Park and Bridlington Coach Park given service number 500/501 effective from 03-Apr-2011."

Also variations for services 155/6 (Hull-Goole corridor), 241 (Aldborough-Beverley), 358 (Holme on Splading Moor-Goole) and 502/10 (Bridlington-Buckton), plus the Moorsbus services from Hull. This ties in with the interesting tender results I alluded too earlier.

Bye Bye 909, and Crowle Bus Wars?

The 909 (and the 910) are going again, replaced from Monday 31st January by new service 90. The 909 was restarted in November 2009 as an hourly Brigg-Scunthorpe-Doncaster service. April 2010 saw the Doncaster section reduced to 3 return journeys a day, while new service 910 saw some Brigg to Scunthorpe journeys extended to Garthorpe via Crowle, approximately every 2 hours. Then last September the remaining Doncaster journeys were withdrawn.

Now more changes, but largely positive. The 909 and 910 have gone, replaced by an hourly Brigg-Scunthorpe-Crowle service Monday to Saturday daytimes. The Brigg section retains it's hourly frequency while Scunthorpe to Crowle increases from 2 hourly to hourly. However Eastoft, Luddington and Garthorpe loose their Stagecoach service. The Scawby diversions on the 909 are retained on service 90. Hopefully Stagecoach have now found a suitable service pattern for the corridor and some stability can be provided.

The college service 556 from Garthorpe and Crowle to Scunthorpe is also being withdrawn, replaced by service 590 from Eastoft and Crowle only (so Eastoft retains a limited Stagecoach service on college days only). Garthorpe and Luddington have Sweyne Coaches services to the Scunthorpe Colleges.

New service 90 timetable
New service 590 timetable

However also from Monday Sweyne Coaches are making changes to their Scunthorpe-Goole service (new timetable in a user unfriendly format on traveline east midlands). On weekdays most services currently operate via Amcotts, apart from one service operating via Crowle to provide a shopping link into Goole. All journeys serve Luddington and Garthorpe. Presumably in response to the Stagecoach changes, Sweyne are switching most weekday journeys to operate via Crowle instead. This maintains weekday service to Eastoft, and from Garthorpe and Luddington into Crowle.

Additionally though it means that as well as a doubling of it's Stagecoach service, Crowle sees a roughly 2 hourly daytime service from Sweyne on weekdays. Sweyne services appear to depart Crowle 12 minutes before Stagecoach, and from Scunthorpe 25 minutes after Stagecoach. The question here is, are Sweyne going after the Scunthorpe-Crowle market, or is it just a side effect of replacing Stagecoach in Eastoft? I suspect the latter, with no attempt to serve the Scunthorpe-Crowle market at peak times by Sweyne. However it does mean a substantial increase in services between Scunthorpe and Crowle, more than a doubling of it's current service provision. Too much too quick? Service enhancements are to be supported, but they need to be sustainable.

Finally a quick note about Sweyne Coaches Scunthorpe to Goole Saturday service, all of which operate via Crowle. Traveline East Midlands shows it finishes at the end of March, and information posted on a yahoo group indicate another operator has won the tender for it. As far as I am aware the Saturday service was a commercial operation from Sweyne, but it was notable how it was not enhanced along with the weekday service last year, so maybe it has been struggling and at some point Sweyne have had to give up operating it commercially. Not the only interesting tender in East Yorkshire either apparently.

Stagecoach Scunthorpe Town Service Changes

From Monday 31st January, Stagecoach are making alterations to some Scunthorpe town services.

An extra journey on service 6 will operate from Scunthorpe Bus Station at 0710 to Ashby High Street, Manifold Road and back into Scunthorpe Town Centre to provide an earlier first arrival at 0751. Service 11, which links parts of Bottesford with Scunthorpe Town Centre will be increased from 4 journeys a day to hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes.

The 37 to Speedwell Crescent will gain an additional 1555 departure from Scunthorpe Bus Station on Saturdays and School Holidays, while the 1705 will depart from Scunthorpe Bus Station 10 minutes earlier at 1655. Meanwhile Service 38 to Crosby gains a revised timetable all day.

Nice to see some enhancements to Scunthorpe Town Services, which have generally only seen reductions in recent years.

New Service 6 timetable
New Service 11 timetable
New Service 37 timetable
New Service 38 timetable

First South Yorkshire North Lincolnshire Changes

From Monday 31st January, First South Yorkshire will make changes to their two services operating into North Lincolnshire. The 59 from Wroot to Doncaster will see minor timetable changes of up to 5 minutes. Meanwhile the morning peak only 391 from Epworth to Doncaster will be retimed with the weekday, but not the Saturday, journey now omitting Finningley and Robin Hood Airport.

New 59 timetable
New 391 timetable

New EYMS X4

Alongside some variations to services in the Market Weighton/Pocklington/York area, there was this interesting new registration on the VOSA website today from EYMS.

VOSA - Bus Registration Search Results: "PB0000328/372 - EAST YORKSHIRE MOTOR SERVICES LTD, 252 ANLABY ROAD, HULL, HU3 2RS
Registration Accepted
Starting Point: Market Weighton, Sancton Road
Finish Point: York Railway Station
Via:
Service Number: X4
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 20-MAR-2011
Other Details: Mondays to Saturdays."

Variations to existing services cover the 18A (route only), 195/6/9, 743, 744, 746, X46, X47

Isle Shopper to be withdrawn

North Lincolnshire Council are currently consulting over proposals to withdraw the two day a week Isle Shopper network, based around Epworth and extending to Crowle and Wroot. Subsidy is over £7 per passenger journey (the becnhmark is £3) and usage is low. With such high subsidy being required, it is not surprising withdrawal is being considered, but it would lead to some local links being sadly lost.

Wolds Villager cutbacks

From 31st January 2011, North Lincolnshire Council operated service 68 'Wolds Villager' between Brigg, Wrawby, Barnetby and Kirmington will have it's Saturday service withdrawn, as well as the last two weekday journeys. The service is not expectionally well used, and North Lincolnshire Council have also had isues with their bus fleet and staffing, as noted on the 260 Villager post. Operation by a commercial operator was considered, but the tender prices were more expensive than 'in-house' operation.

From September 2011, costs potentially could be lowered through interworking with a schools service, though the council report does warn that "it will become more difficult to justify the cost" of the service medium term.

On Saturdays Stagecoach service 366 will still retain links to Brigg (and Scunthorpe) from the Villages concerned, so the 68 Saturday withdrawal seems a sensible saving to make. Again though, has an opportunity been missed to make further savings? An extension to Ulceby could allow the Thursday 366 to be withdrawn. Parts of the Brigg Town Service could also be incorporated into the 68, which could be diverted via Churchill Avenue or Woodbine Avenue in Brigg for example.

Stagecoach to takeover 260 Villager

From 31st January 2011, Stagecoach East Midlands will take over operation of weekday service 260, the 'Villager' bus service that links Barrow, Goxhill, New Holland and East Halton (Thursday only) to Barton. There is also a Thursdays only link to Victoria House in Barton, as well as a schools service in Barton operated as part of the same diagram. The service is currently operated directly by North Lincolnshire Council.

In the current climate of spending cuts, you may think this is an attempt to make savings. However the cost of the service will actually rise, short term at least. Instead the motivation for contracting the service out is the age, and therefore increasing unreliability, of the North Lincolnshire Council bus fleet, as well as difficulties covering abscences from the council's small pool of bus drivers.

After putting the 260 out to tender, North Lincolnshire Council received two bids, with the winning bid being from Stagecoach. No mention of who the other bidder was, but I suspect Hornsby Travel (operators of the Barton Town Service), or less likely either Holloways Coaches or Johnsons. Stagecoach bid was for £38.729 per year, or £1.08 per passenger journey (including the interworked schools service). This is apparently higher than the council's current costs, but under the council 'limit' of £3 per passenger journey subsidy and can be offset by savings elsewhere. The contract will for five and half years, and the current timetable will be only slightly modified. No mention of what Stagecoach depot will operate the service.

Clearly the aim here is for a more reliable service and with less of a burden in terms of vehicles on the council. However have opportunities been missed, especially in terms of making savings that inevitably will have to be made next year? My idea to integrate the 260 with the Barton Town Service potentially could produce some signficant savings, eliminating the three day a week town service contract without any substantial changes in the level of service provision. In their defence, North Lincolnshire Council have not yet confirmed future budgets, but it won't be long before cuts have to be contemplated.

North Lincolnshire Council report

Stagecoach Grimsby Cleethorpes 366 Split

From the VOSA website it looks like the Saturday service on route 366 operated by Stagecoach Grimsby Cleethorpes between Goxhill, Barrow, Ulceby, Brigg and Scunthorpe, is being technically split into two sections; Goxhill-Ulceby and Ulceby-Scunthorpe, in the new year.

VOSA - Bus Registration Search Results: "PB0000163/51 - GRIMSBY CLEETHORPES TRANSPORT CO LTD T/A STAGECOACH GRIMSBY CLEETHORPES, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Scunthorpe and Ulceby given service number 366 effective from 04-Jan-2011. To amend Timetable.
PB0000163/58 - GRIMSBY CLEETHORPES TRANSPORT CO LTD T/A STAGECOACH GRIMSBY CLEETHORPES, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Registration Accepted by SN
Starting Point: Ulceby
Finish Point: Goxhill
Via:
Service Number: 366G
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 08-JAN-2011
Other Details: New Service to provide connections between Ulceby and Goxhill on Saturdyas only."

This means that Stagecoach's Grimsby depot only have summer Sunday service X51 (Grimsby-Louth-Skegness) that remains under EU driver hour regulations (due to the length of the route). The X51 could easily be 'technically split' into two sections at Louth if desired. Over recent years the amount of EU drivers hours work at Grimsby has been reduced, with the Interconnect 3 transferred to Lincoln depot (and then later split itself at Market Rasen) while the Humber Flyer has been technically split at Humberside Airport, and a previous evening peak service 250/45B service from Barton having a diversion via New Holland and Goxhill withdrawn, bringing it into domestic driver hours regulations.

With the conditions attached to EU driver hours compared to domestic rules, splitting routes makes commercial sense, though perhaps a bit confusing at first for passengers. It does show though how a 'well meaning' European rule is adding bureaucracy and complexity to the bus industry.

Whats hapenning to Sunday services 356, 400 and 401?

North Yorkshire County Council appears to be going ahead with it's planned withdrawal of financial support for evening and Sunday bus services within the county, including Monday to Saturday evening journeys between Goole and Selby. This is one of many evening and Sunday supported services operated by Arriva Yorkshire's Selby depot, and as a result Arriva has announced that Selby depot will be closed in the evening Monday to Saturday, and except for the main York service, also on Sundays.

That implies that the Sunday service between Selby, Snaith and Goole on services 400/401, and the interworked 356 between Goole and Swinefleet, are to be withdrawn. But on Sundays these are funded by East Riding of Yorkshire Council, not North Yorkshire County Council and therefore were not proposed for withdrawal in the North Yorkshire consultation. So what is the status of these Sunday services? Withdrawn? Staying? Going to another operator?

Lincolnshire County Council Bus Cuts

Not the first, won't be the last, but Lincolnshire County Council is planning to make cuts to the bus services it supports. This could affect cross-boundary routes into North and North East Lincolnshire.

These cuts are as result of reduced council funding following the comprehensive spending review.

Stagecoach Hull 46/49 Changes

From Tuesday 4th January Stagecoach in Hull are making revisions to services 46 and 49 which link Hull City Centre with Hull Marina (46 only), Victoria Dock Estate and parts of East Hull including Marfleet (service 46) and Bilton Grange (service 49). The timetable is revised while morning and afternoon peak journeys into Hull City Centre will operate via Drypool Bridge to reduce delays as either service 46D or 49D. This is instead of the usual route via Myton Bridge, the Marina (46 only) and Hull Old Town.

New Timetable
Route Map

Stagecoach Scunthorpe area Christmas and New Year 2010-11

Stagecoach have released Christmas and New Year service plans for their Scunthorpe area services:

Christmas Eve - Normal Friday service with early finish
Christmas Day/Boxing Day - No services
Bank Holidays Monday 27th/Tuesday 28th - Sunday service
Wednesday 29th/Thursday 30th - Normal service
New Years Eve - Normal Friday service with early finish
New Years Day - No services
Sunday 2nd/Bank Holiday Monday 3rd - Sunday service

Stagecoach Leaflet

Stagecoach Grimsby Cleethorpes Christmas/New Year 2010-11

Stagecoach Grimsby Cleethorpes have released details of their Christmas and New Year service plans:

Christmas Eve - Normal Friday service with early finish
Christmas Day/Boxing Day - No Services
Bank Holidays Monday 27th/Tuesday 28th - Sunday service
Wednesday 29th - Saturday service on all routes except services Interconnect 3 (Grimsby-Lincoln-Newark), 25 (Grimsby-Binbrook), 51 (Grimsby-Louth) and 150 (Grimsby-East Halton) which will have operate a normal weekday service. Service 366 shall not operate
Thursday 30th - As the 29th but the 366 (Ulceby-Brigg) shall operate a normal Thursday service
New Years Eve - As the 29th with an early finish
New Years Day - No services
Sunday 2nd/Bank Holiday Monday 3rd - Sunday services

Stagecoach leaflet

NB - Stagecoach services 250 (Grimsby-Barton) and 450 (Barton-Brigg) shall be operating a normal weekday service on the 29th/30th/31st according to Stagecoach however the School Holidays weekday service is the same as the Saturday service. I suspect North Lincolnshire Council requires a weekday service on these tendered routes on these days, but why confuse the customer by saying these services are an exception to the general operating pattern when they aren't?