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

EYMS 361 via Ealand Village

EYMS are amending their tendered Scunthorpe to Goole services 360 and 361 from Monday 20th July.

The main change sees service 361 diverted to operate via Ealand village centre rather than just the nearby A161; as a result there are some minor retimings to most Monday to Saturday service 361 journeys.

The weekday service 360 from Eastoft to Goole at 0759 becomes a service 361 departing at 0749; unlike service 360, service 361 operates via Boothferry Road in Goole which will better serve college students using the service.

The case for Humber Devolution

Firstly apologies that this post largely isn’t about transport, however this is a very important topic for the Humber region, that I feel strongly about, and this blog is probably one of the best ways I can publically discuss my personal thoughts it.

Devolution to the English regions is happening, and in some form or another seems certain to cover all parts of England during the current parliament. The government are insisting on directly elected mayors, and while I think it is a shame local areas do not have the option to propose alternatives forms of devolution, if an elected mayor is necessary to get devolution, then one needs to be accepted in my opinion. That leads to a debate over the geographic scope of individual devolution deals, and the policy areas/responsibilities to be devolved. I believe it is essential that the Humber region works together as one area in securing a devolution deal, preferably on it’s own, but if it necessary with neighbouring areas too.

One potential area for devolution is skills. There is already extensive cross-Humber co-operation through the Local Enterprise Partnership, with the Humber Skills Pledge, Humber-wide springboard programme and Humber Apprentice Support Service, as well as the new Humber UTC and a potential National College for Wind Energy. This is all at risk of being diminished if skills policy in the Humber region is split across two different devolution deals and two different mayors. Policy divergence would be a risk, and to avoid this there would need to be extensive co-ordination to ensure policy alignment which in turn could detract from implementation. One Humber wide elected mayor and associated authority could develop and implement one policy without needing to worry about these risks.

Some of the skills work in the Humber region has been built around the emerging development of the off-shore wind industry in the region. This is a massive shared opportunity for the North and South Banks, with plenty of investments and jobs for all areas. To fully maximise this, the Humber needs to be fully united and co-ordinated across marketing the area, facilitating inward investment and ensuring the provision of a skilled workforce. Working across two different authorities with two different mayors would make this a lot harder. It’s also worth noting that both Lincolnshire and other parts of Yorkshire (potential alternative partners for the south and north banks of the Humber respectively) have far less potential to directly benefit from offshore energy given their lack of ports and docks. It very much is a shared opportunity for the Humber.

Health services are another potential area for devolution. The current organisation of health services on the South Bank largely looks to Yorkshire as a partner, whether through the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Trust or the provision of specialist services at Hull Royal Infirmary, Castle Hill Hospital, Sheffield Children’s Hospital, Pinderfields Burns Unit or in Leeds. Hull and East Yorkshire also look to South and West Yorkshire for very specialist care. It therefore would be most logical to partner at least within the Humber region from a healthcare devolution perspective. Also, I think that Lincolnshire generally looks to Nottingham and the East Midlands as a partner when required, a clear area of difference between North and North East Lincolnshire on one-hand, and Lincolnshire on the other. Any potential Greater Lincolnshire devolution deal would have to overcome this.

Transferring the role of police and crime commissioner (PCC) into a directly elected mayor has been suggested, a sensible suggestion in my opinion. However I can only see that this could work if a directly elected mayor’s boundaries matched that of the police. This leaves three options; a Humber-wide mayor replacing the Humberside PCC, retaining the Humberside PCC due to non-matching mayoral boundaries, or a costly and complex reorganisation of policing to match mayoral boundaries. Any reorganisation costs and complexity would be exacerbated by the increasing integration within Humberside Police and the recently introduced ‘one-force’ model replacing the traditional geographic based divisional structure. From a policing perspective I see the only sensible option as being a Humber-wide mayor.

Even in the area of transport, despite the estuary, there are common links between the North and South banks of the Humber. The most obvious link is the Humber Bridge, and any elected mayor and associated authority could potentially incorporate the Humber Bridge Board bringing the potential of administrative savings. Humberside Airport is a shared asset for the Humber region; a Yorkshire elected mayor and associated authority or even a Hull/East Yorkshire/parts of North Yorkshire elected mayor and associated authority maybe reluctant to support an ‘out of area’ airport while a Greater Lincolnshire elected mayor and associated authority may place more emphasis on links to East Midlands Airport given that for much of the Lincolnshire County Council area, Humberside is not the local airport. It would be far more preferable for one Humber-wide elected mayor and associated authority to be supporting the Humber region’s local airport. There are also shared interests across the North and South banks of the Humber covering the East Coast Mainline, A1 and M1, shipping/ports and some local bus services.

There could be potential for a directly elected mayor and associated authority to take over the role of the Humberside Fire Authority, however as with the police, this would only likely work if the directly elected mayor covered the entire Humber region. Like with Humberside Police, resources are shared across both banks of the Humber and any reorganisation would be complex and costly, yet without Humber region-wide devolution, the only other option would be to retain the Humberside Fire Authority as a standalone body.

While the government has stated that the South Bank will be part of the Northern Powerhouse initiative (and therefore I presume Transport for the North once it is formally established), south bank influence within the initiative would be limited should a Greater Lincolnshire mayor be established covering North and North East Lincolnshire as well as Lincolnshire. Presumably Lincolnshire would not be involved in the Northern Powerhouse – it would be very difficult to call Stamford, Long Sutton or even Skegness part of the North of England – so the result would be a mayor and associated authority ‘half-in, half-out’ and potentially therefore having limited influence over key policy. On the other hand a united Humber directly elected mayor and associated authority would be more likely to have greater influence.

It’s interesting how the Sheffield City Region has ignored traditional boundaries to reflect modern realities and local geography in the formation of it’s combined authority, including parts of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire as well as South Yorkshire. This is the type of working needed in the Humber region. Traditional boundaries are just that, traditional, historic, to be recognised in ceremonial counties. They do not reflect modern-day economic needs and sensible administrative boundaries. Not even the great Humber estuary presents a natural boundary any more, as the Humber Bridge and it’s reduced tolls have facilitated more integration between the North and South banks than ever before.

On the south bank I feel, as a Barton resident, that Barton at least is increasingly part of Greater Hull. There are residents moving to Barton from the North Bank to take advantage of cheaper house prices, and the reduced Humber Bridge tolls have made it far more affordable to travel to Hull and East Yorkshire for shopping and leisure. From a transport perspective, Barton had one bus per hour to Hull Monday to Saturday daytimes at the start of 2009; since 2010 it has had three per hour. Stagecoach (and EYMS) have invested in the Humber Fastcat and to a lesser extent Humber Flyer cross-Humber bus services. This tells a story of increasing inter-connectivity between the North and South banks of the Humber.

How successful it is remains to be seen, but looking at announcements from Hull City Council such as it’s City Plan, cruise terminal plans and concert venue plans, there is no shortage of vision for growth. Now is not the time for the South Bank to turn it’s back on the North Bank, weaken ties, marginalise existing co-operation or increase administrative hurdles to cross-Humber working. Now is the time for increased working together, so that the South Bank can influence these plans and capture the benefits as best as possible.

There may be times when a Greater Lincolnshire or Yorkshire approach is most appropriate, and one option could be to set up a formal leadership committee or similar to co-ordinate when appropriate. However I firmly believe these occasions are far less than when cross-Humber co-operation is the most sensible approach to take.

Finally I am struck that even when key figures in the debate are advocating other options than a Humber wide devolution deal, they still emphasise the need to work together across the Humber on business and economy issues. To me this shows that the Humber is a functional economic area with shared interests. Why is it being seriously contemplated ignoring this in the devolution debate? Why is the Humber region at risk of becoming the least united it has been since 1974? There are shared interests in a variety of areas; this is the time to boldly make the case for the Humber region in administrative and economic terms.

Please leave your comments – and even better contact your local politicians to let them know your views, whatever they may be. Whatever your view, the end result will not have legitimacy if the public are not involved.

Busking cancel Driffield Town Service registration

Busking have today cancelled their registration for the Driffield Town Service with VOSA:

PB1084446/12 - BUSKING LTD, 52 MAIN STREET, NORTH FRODINGHAM, DRIFFIELD, YO25 8LG

Cancellation Accepted: Operating between George Street, Driffield and George Street, Driffield given service number 530 effective from 06-Sep-2015.

(Yes, I have spotted some other Humber-area changes on VOSA today, which I will cover soon - hopefully in more detail than what is available on the VOSA website)

521 back to East Riding Community Hospital

Since Monday (6th July), EYMS have extended hourly Monday to Saturday daytime Beverley Town Service 521 to serve East Riding Community Hospital. This previously occurred until July 2013 when the link to the hospital was transferred to fellow town service route 523. The 523 ceased to serve the Hospital in late May when it was reduced to a Sunday only service, and the 121 and 246 also ceased to operate into the hospital site, the 121 and new 122 stopping on nearby Swinemoor Lane instead. Last Monday's change restores the bus link into the hospital grounds.

Acklams cancel 124

Acklams Coaches have cancelled service 124 between Bridlington and Driffield. EYMS cancelled their journeys on the route earlier this week. From VOSA:

PB1075166/33 - ACKLAMS COACHES LTD, BUS & COACH DEPOT, BARMSTON ROAD, BEVERLEY, HU17 0LA

• Cancellation Accepted: Operating between Bridlington and Driffield given service number 124 effective from 03-Sep-2015.

Further EYMS September Changes Planned

From VOSA:

PB0000328/6 - EAST YORKSHIRE MOTOR SERVICES LTD, 252 ANLABY ROAD, HULL, HU3 2RS           

Variation Accepted: Operating between Hull and Withernsea given service number 75/75H/76/77/914 effective from 06-Sep-2015. To amend Timetable.

 

PB0000328/50 - EAST YORKSHIRE MOTOR SERVICES LTD, 252 ANLABY ROAD, HULL, HU3 2RS           

Variation Accepted: Operating between Beverley and Swanland given service number 180/X80 effective from 06-Sep-2015. To amend Timetable.

EYMS September Changes

EYMS have registered changes to various routes with VOSA from 6th September:

• 78/79/80/277 Hull to Hedon
• 220/221/920 Hull to Hornsea
• X46 Hull to Pocklington

Plus various school and college services.

It has also cancelled it's registration for service 124 between Driffield and Bridlington from 12th September.

New Stagecoach Kingswood-Beverley Road service in September

Spotted this on the Stagecoach East Midlands twitter feed today, in response to a question about Hull to Kingswood services:

@JellyBabyMom2 We are currently developing a NEW service for September which will go direct via Beverley Rd. Thanks ^AB

Stagecoach last operated a direct Kingswood-Beverley Road-Hull service with route 20 that was withdrawn in September 2011. A new link road has recently opened in Kingswood, which maybe behind the changes Stagecoach will be making.

More Stagecoach North East Lincolnshire VOSA changes

Remember Stagecoach registered various changes to North East Lincolnshire area services from 6th July? Today this appeared on VOSA, and the other details on the service 12 registration probably explains what has happened to every service (note, to be clear this is purely my guess at what has happened). There is nothing on the Stagecoach website about any service changes, which also points towards whatever was planned as having been cancelled.

PB0001484/274 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB           

Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Grimsby Bus Station and North Sea Lane given service number 8/8S effective from 06-Jul-2015. To amend Timetable.

 

PB0001484/275 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB           

Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Waltham and North Sea Lane given service number 10/9 effective from 06-Jul-2015. To amend Timetable.

 

PB0001484/277 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB           

Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Morrisons and Cleethorpes Pier given service number 3/4/4A effective from 06-Jul-2015. To amend Timetable

 

PB0001484/278 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB           

Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Grimsby Town Centre and Wybers Wood given service number 6 effective from 06-Jul-2015. To amend Timetable.

 

PB0001484/281 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB           

Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Immingham and Grimsby given service number 5/5C effective from 06-Jul-2015. To amend Timetable.

 

PB0001484/284 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB           

Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Immingham and East Halton given service number 150 effective from 06-Jul-2015. To amend Timetable.

PB0001484/326 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB           

Registration Accepted by SN

Starting Point: Bradley Park
Finish Point: New Waltham
Via:
Service Number: 12
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 06-JUL-2015
Other Details: Normal Service timetable reinstated following agreement with NEL Council regarding contracted.

EYMS Scunthorpe-Goole July Change

EYMS have registered a change to their 360/361 services between Scunthorpe, Crowle and Goole in July. From VOSA:

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

• Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Goole and Scunthorpe given service number 360/361 effective from 20-Jul-2015. To amend Route and Timetable.

Stagecoach win Sunday 4 tender from Hornsby Travel

It appears that Stagecoach have won the North Lincolnshire Council tender to provide Sunday daytime journeys on service 4 between Scunthorpe and Brigg; these are currently provided by Hornsby Travel who also operate the Monday to Saturday service on the route. The 4 is one of only 4 Sunday services to operate in North Lincolnshire, and currently the only one operated by Hornsby Travel. From VOSA:

PB0001484/324 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB

• Registration Accepted
• Starting Point: Scunthorpe Bus Station
• Finish Point: Brigg
• Via:
• Service Number: 4
• Service Type: Normal Stopping
• Effective Date: 02-AUG-2015
• Other Details: New Service Registration for Sunday Tender between Scunthorpe and Brigg

Reregulation/Deregulation

It's very clear that bus re-regulation/franchising/quality contracts are on the agenda, with a Buses Bill due at some point in this parliamentary session; here is what the government says is the purpose of the bill:

"The Bill would provide the option for combined authority areas with directly elected Mayors to be responsible for the running of their local bus services."

Two key points to note are the word option - no area will be forced to move towards re-regulation - and that the powers are tied to a combined authority with directly elected mayor. Whether we get one in this region is an interesting debate on it's own. However sticking to buses, a few thoughts.

It's very hard to argue against the principle of devolution. If local communities want re-regulation and follow due process to get that, I don't think there are grounds to say no. Plus in some parts of the country there are probably very good reasons for trying an alternative approach to deregulation. Deregulation hasn't been a national success story, and it isn't perfect.

However there are places were deregulation has been, on the whole, a success. Free from the constraints of tender specifications and restrictions, operators have been able to innovate and take risks. Here in the Humber region there are many examples of commercial freedom leading to substantially improved services, such as:

• 6 and a half years ago there was an hourly Barton to Hull service. Thanks to investment from Stagecoach and EYMS the 350 Scunthorpe-Barton-Hull was doubled to half hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes with extra evening and Sunday services and relaunched as the Humber Fastcat. Then the Humber Flyer was also diverted via Barton to give three buses an hour to Hull Monday to Saturday daytimes
• The introduction of the X4 Wicstun Express by EYMS, initially as a fast service between Market Weighton and York, but latter extended to provide new York links from North Ferriby, Brough, South Cave, North Newbald and Sancton
• The introduction of an 'all-day' service from Walkington, Little Weighton and Skidby to Hull City Centre on the 61 by EYMS, and a faster Hessle-Beverley service on EYMS's X80
• The recent increase of Hull to Beverley services from 3 to 4 per hour Monday to Saturday by EYMS
• Last year's relaunch by Stagecoach of their North East Lincolnshire network
• An (almost) half hourly service for South Killingholme provided by Stagecoach, whereas previously the village had an hourly service at best

In some cases operators have tried and it hasn't worked out (Stagecoach Love Your X, LinQ) but at least they tried. There are other examples of improvements to commercial services in the Humber region both big and small as well.

But very little attention is being paid to the successes of deregulation. Lessons are not being learnt. It's almost like those areas that want reregulation, and the national debate as a whole, is ignorant of deregulation's successes. That is down to politicians, but also to operators. Why aren't operators being more vocal about their successes? Why aren't places like Hull and Grimsby being highlighted as examples of deregulation, on the whole (in my opinion) being a success?

It also strikes me that the debate is largely based on deregulation with partnerships or full re-regulation. However is the best option something in the middle? Far tighter rules for bus operators, but still giving them the freedom to compete and innovate. Compulsory multi-operator ticketing, service level requirements (e.g. to operate 4 services per hour on a lucrative corridor, operators must also provide early morning and evening services), mandatory restrictions on service change dates, requirements on timetabling to enable connections to other services. How well this would work would be down to execution, but it's a shame that the debate is simply deregulation vs reregulation.

Oddly it's Manchester, that wants reregulation, that is considering something close to this approach as part of a bus priority package. In return for it's investment it wants guaranteed quality standards covering areas such as vehicle emissions, CCTV fitment, driver training, driver uniform and vehicle appearance. This sort of approach, but not necessarily linked to investment in bus priority, could form the basis of a new approach to stricter rules within a deregulated environment. Bus operators could be compelled to meet high standards and operate as part of an integrated network while still being able to innovate. Quite a few issues with deregulation could be solved with stricter rules, not whole-scale reregulation.

On another note, I have been to a few Hull Bus Forums. One got very heated after Stagecoach changes to services in Greatfield. Another got a large turnout after Hull City Council replaced the tendered service 50 with the 58, therefore no longer serving Holderness Road and it's popular shops and services. I don't see how councillors and council officers are necessarily any better placed to plan networks that commercial bus operators. All can misjudge things and sadly both councillors and bus operators may have their own vested interests.

Deregulation isn't perfect, and reregulation won't be. London isn't perfect. Ultimately it is for local communities to decide on the local operating environment for their local bus services. However deregulation hasn't been a massive nationwide disaster and it would be a great shame if it's successes are lost.

A final thought. Imagine a dis-interested council/transport authority in charge of reregulated bus services...

Stagecoach Scunthorpe Minor Changes

Tomorrow (Monday 1st June), Stagecoach are making to slight changes to selected intermediate times on the anti-clockwise journeys on Scunthorpe Town Service circular route 10. Meanwhile Traveline East Midlands shows early morning Scunthorpe Town Service circular route 13 as starting from Scunthorpe Bus Station instead off High Street East.

Humber Fastcat Early Morning Changes

On Monday 1st June, Stagecoach are amending the times of the first three Monday to Saturday journeys on the 350 Humber Fastcat between Scunthorpe, Barton and Hull, in order to improve reliability.

The current 0620 Scunthorpe to Hull service, omitting Winteringham (the only journey to do so), departing Barton Interchange 0653 and arriving at Hull Interchange at 0720 will instead leave Scunthorpe Bus Station at 0605, serve Winteringham, depart Barton Interchange at 0650 and arrive at Hull Interchange at 0717. The addition of Winteringham to this journey is good news for the village.

This journey currently connects with both the 0555 Grimsby to Barton Humber Flyer which arrives at Barton Interchange at 0640, and the 0600 Cleethorpes to Barton train service, which arrives at Barton Interchange at 0648. While the Humber Flyer connection will be retained, the train to bus connection becomes just 2 minutes which is very tight, probably too tight. The alternative connection for train passengers to Hull is the 0740 Barton to Hull Humber Fastcat, which gives an hour later arrival in Hull than at present. While I presume Stagecoach are anxious to provide an early arrival time into Hull, the journey times between Barton and Hull are not extended with the new timetable (remains 27 minutes), just between Scunthorpe and Barton. So why couldn't the first Humber Fastcat not wait an additional three minutes at Barton Interchange, leave at 0653 and arrive in Hull at it's current 0720 arrival time? As far as I can tell the vehicle and driver will still have a break at Hull Interchange until 0805 so I don't think interworking with other services is the issue. Maybe no-one uses this particular train to bus connection so Stagecoach aren't bothered about it, but it's sad to see it lost for the sake of 3 minutes extra waiting that would not appear to require any extra resources or impact on the rest of the timetable. Plus, while the train may compete with Stagecoach's Humber Flyer from Grimsby, it doesn't from many other places like Habrough, Goxhill and New Holland, so I can't see competition being a reason for dropping the connection.

The following two departures from Scunthorpe at 0705 and 0735, which depart Barton Interchange a 0750 and 0820 will operate 10 minutes earlier at 0655 and 0725 from Scunthorpe leaving Barton Interchange at 0740 and 0810. The arrival time into Hull Interchange is only 5 minutes earlier though with journey times between Hull Royal Infirmary and Hull Interchange on these two journeys increased from 12 to 17 minutes. It's probably quicker to walk, and on Saturdays I'm sure that will be overly generous. However it does provide some "padding" for any rush hour delays and gives commuters a realistic arrival time into Hull City Centre. If anything it's the Hull Royal Infirmary times which may be unrealistic, but if the service ran early that is the last place you would want to wait until your scheduled departure time.

The new 0810 departure time from Barton Interchange also has two other little benefits. The connection from 0700 Cleethorpes to Barton train which arrives at 0748 is currently advertised as the 0820 Humber Flyer from Barton Interchange (incorrectly shown as 0817 in the Northern Rail timetable), arrives Hull 0847, but this will now become a 0810 Humber Fastcat departure from Barton Interchange, arrival into Hull at 0847. This means 10 minutes less waiting at Barton Interchange and on Saturday's at least almost certainly an earlier arrival into Hull. Secondly with the (long term) temporary Humber Flyer timetable, both it and the Humber Fastcat currently have 0820 journeys from Barton Interchange to Hull, but the Humber Fastcat now becomes an 0810 departure, providing an improved spread of peak time departure times. (However if the previous permanent Humber Flyer timetable is restored then the Barton Interchange departure time becomes 0810...)

EYMS 45/46 Changes

Sunday 24th May saw EYMS amend their 45/46 services between York, Pocklington, Market Weighton, Driffield and Bridlington. A peak time enhancement on weekdays saw the 0745 service 46 from Pocklington to York replaced by a 0723 service 46 from Market Weighton. The other major enhancement sees a new link added to York Maze on Monday to Saturdays during East Riding of Yorkshire School Summer Holidays. During this time the 1025 service 46 from York to Pocklington becomes a 46M, serving York Maze but not the University of York. A new return journey on the 46M is added from Pocklington at 1600.

The Monday to Saturday 0600 Pocklington to York service 46 has been retimed to a 0555 departure and extended to York Station, with the 0637 York to Pocklington service 46 replaced by a 0635 X46 from York Station. The 0700 Mon-Fri/0710 Sat service 45 from Bridlington to York was retimed to a 0650 departure 6 days a week, while the Sunday 0835 service 45 from Bridlington to York has been retimed to 0830.

Hornsby 4 July Change

Hornsby Travel are amending their service 4 between Scunthorpe and Brigg at the end of July. From VOSA:

PB0001410/4 - HORNSBY TRAVEL SERVICES LTD, 51-53 ASHBY HIGH STREET, SCUNTHORPE, DN16 2NB

• Variation Accepted: Operating between Scunthorpe Bus Station and Brigg, Cary Lane given service number 4 effective from 31-Jul-2015. To amend Timetable.

EYMS X46/X47 Changes

EYMS revised their X46/7 services between Hull, Beverley, Market Weighton, Pocklington and York today (Sunday 24th May). Most journeys have timetable revisions and extended journey times, but there are some slight enhancements:

• The first departure from Pocklington Monday to Saturday is extended to start back in York at 0635, replacing the previous 0637 service 46 from York to Pocklington that connected into the 0720 (0735 Sat) X46 from Pocklington to Hull
• A new Monday to Saturday 1905 X46 Hull to Pocklington is added, which Monday to Thursday will be the last departure from Hull. Previously the last departure Monday to Thursday was at 1815
• As part of improved services on the Hull to Beverley corridor most inbound journeys in Hull will operate via the city centre loop.

EYMS Hull-Hornsea Changes

Today, Sunday 24th May, EYMS are making changes to their services between Hull and Hornsea, driven by changes to their Hull to Beverley services. The 246 between Hull, Beverley and Hornsea has a new route in Beverley; instead of operating via Hull Bridge Road to/from both Hull and Hornsea, between Hull and Beverley services will operate via Flemingate, to serve a new retail park and East Riding College, with Hull Bridge Road still served between Beverley and Hornsea. Most Monday to Saturday daytime service 246's now leave Hornsea at :30 minutes past the hour rather than :15 minutes past the hour and Hull at :40 minutes past the hour rather than :50 minutes past the hour. Additionally most service 246 will operate inbound in Hull via the City Centre loop.

As a result of the changes to service 246, other Hull to Hornsea services also see timetable changes; the 240 will generally leave Hornsea at :10 past the hour Monday to Saturday daytimes rather than :45 minutes past the hour, but still leave Hull at :15 minutes past the hour. The Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday only service 230 will leave Hull at 1320 rather than 1310, and on Tuesday and Thursday only leave Hornsea at 0950 rather than 0920 (Saturdays remain 0930). Service 220 also sees minor timetable changes, as do Sunday times on services 240 and 246.

X4 Wicstun Express Changes

From Tuesday 26th May, EYMS are revising the morning service on their X4 Wicstun Express route between Hull, Brough, South Cave, Market Weighton and York. The Monday to Friday 0630 Hull to York (0635 Saturday) moves to 0555 (0615 Saturday), in order to give an earlier arrival into York. The 0846 from York to Hull will now start in Market Weighton at 0936 on weekdays and be withdrawn entirely on Saturdays. In most cases the X4 is duplicated by either the X46 or Petuaria Express, though the villages of Sancton and North Newbald do lose their ability to have a day out in Hull on a Saturday (first arrival 1336, last departure just two hours later at 1545).

EYMS Significant Hull to Beverley Improvements

In a week's time, on Sunday 24th May, EYMS are substantially improving their services between Hull and Beverley (it's actually Tuesday 26th when the biggest improvements start, but the Sunday is the timetable change date).

Currently on Monday to Saturday daytimes there are three buses per hour between Hull and Beverley, the 121 and 246 that operate via Beverley Road, Dunswell, Woodmansey, Swinemoor Lane, Hull Bridge Road and Norwood, and the X46 that operates via Beverley Road, the A1079 and Victoria Road. Each route operates hourly.

EYMS's new network of services between Hull and Beverley provides an extra service each hour and even-interval departures every 15 minutes from Hull Interchange and Beverley Sow Hill Bus Station Monday to Saturday daytimes. The 121 and new service 122 will each operate every hour (half hourly combined) via Dunswell, Woodmansey, Swinemoor Lane, Hull Bridge Road and Norwood. The 121 continues from Beverley to Scarborough via Molescroft, Driffield and Bridlington, while the new 122 continues to Molescroft. However the 121 will no longer serve Beverley Community Hospital, instead only stopping nearby on Swinemoor Lane. As well as providing an extra hourly journey between Hull and Beverley, the new 122 will also replace the hourly Monday to Saturday journeys on the 523 between Beverley and Molescroft.

The hourly 246 will continue to serve Dunswell and Woodmansey before operating a slightly shorter route into Beverley via Flemingate and continuing to Hornsea via Norwood and Hull Bridge Road. This new route within Beverley will serve the new Flemingate Retail Park and East Riding College site and avoid the need for the 246 to serve Hull Bridge Road and Norwood twice as currently occurs. Finally the hourly X46 continues with it's current route, continuing beyond Beverley to Market Weighton, Pocklington and York.

Another notable element of the change sees all inbound services (except during the evening peak) from Beverley in Hull route via the City Centre loop, with a new drop off stop at Primark in addition to Spencer Street and Hull Interchange.

Beyond the routing change to the 246, there are no major changes to evening and Sunday services which are generally operate once or twice an hour combined between the 121, 246, X46 and X47 (which operates via Cottingham).

A significant improvement to services not just between Hull and Beverley, but also for residents of Dunswell, Woodmansey and Molescroft. The only slight negative is the loss of links to Beverley Community Hospital with services stopping close by instead.

Stagecoach North East Lincolnshire July Changes

Stagecoach have registered variations with VOSA for some of their North East Lincolnshire services from 6th July:

3/4 Laceby Road Morrisons-Grimsby-Cleethorpes (route as well as timetable)
5 Grimsby-Immingham-South Killingholme
6 Wybers Wood-Willows Estate-Grimsby
8 Grimsby-New Waltham-North Sea Lane
9/10 Waltham-Grimsby-Cleethorpes-North Sea Lane
53 Grimsby-Caistor-Market Rasen (route as well as timetable)
150 Immingham-East Halton (route as well as timetable)

The registration for service 12 has been cancelled with VOSA:

PB0001484/276 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB           

Cancellation Accepted: Operating between Bradley Park and New Waltham given service number 12/12W effective from 06-Jul-2015.

Hornsby Travel 22 June Change

Hornsby Travel are amending their service 22 Scunthorpe Town Service at the end of June. From VOSA:

PB0001410/23 - HORNSBY TRAVEL SERVICES LTD, 51-53 ASHBY HIGH STREET, SCUNTHORPE, DN16 2NB

• Variation Accepted: Operating between SYCAMORE CRESCENT, TIMBERLANDS and SCUNTHORPE BUS STATION given service number 22 effective from 30-Jun-2015. To amend Timetable.

Hornsby Travel 60 June Change

Hornsby Travel will be amending their service 60 at the end of June. From VOSA:

PB0001410/29 - HORNSBY TRAVEL SERVICES LTD, 51-53 ASHBY HIGH STREET, SCUNTHORPE, DN16 2NB

• Variation Accepted: Operating between Scunthorpe Bus Station and Whitton given service number 60 effective from 29-Jun-2015. To amend Route and Timetable.

Stagecoach Hull June Changes

Stagecoach have registered changes with VOSA today for some of their Hull services:

PB0001484/246 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB           

Variation Accepted: Operating between Hull Interchange and Bransholme given service number 32/40F effective from 01-Jun-2015. To amend Route and Timetable

 

PB0001484/248 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB           

Variation Accepted: Operating between Hull Interchange and Bilton Grange given service number 43/43/43F/43S/54/55 effective from 01-Jun-2015. To amend Route and Timetable.

 

PB0001484/250 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB           

Variation Accepted: Operating between Hull Interchange and Kingswood given service number 51/51F/N51 effective from 01-Jun-2015. To amend Route and Timetable.

New EYMS 630

I guess this is a 'special' service of some sorts? From VOSA:

PB0000328/474 - EAST YORKSHIRE MOTOR SERVICES LTD, 252 ANLABY ROAD, HULL, HU3 2RS

• Registration Accepted
• Starting Point: Hull Interchange
• Finish Point: Hull Interchange
• Via: Humber Bridge Car Park
• Service Number: 630
• Service Type: Normal Stopping
• Effective Date: 30-MAY-2015
• Other Details: New Service

Stagecoach June Scunthorpe Town Services Changes

Stagecoach are amending Scunthorpe Town Services 10 and 13 in June. From VOSA:

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

Variation Accepted: Operating between Scunthorpe High Street` and Scunthorpe Bus Station given service number 13 effective from 01-Jun-2015. To amend Route and Timetable.

 

PB0001484/170 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB           

Variation Accepted: Operating between Scunthorpe Bus Station and Scunthorpe Bus Station given service number 10 effective from 01-Jun-2015. To amend Timetable.

Humber Fastcat Early Morning Changes

North Lincolnshire Council report that the early morning services on the 350 Humber Fastcat between Hull, Barton and Scunthorpe will be revised from 1st June. I think this will be the first timetable change since November 2011. The service is jointly operated by Stagecoach and EYMS.

It will be interesting to see just what the changes are, as due to the involvement of both Hull and Scunthorpe depots in operating the service, Stagecoach's November 2011 change to early morning services required a balancing change to the early evening service, however no such evening change is indicated by North Lincolnshire Council. (In 2011 the early morning Hull-Barton and return and Scunthorpe-Barton and return services became through journeys, with one early evening service in each direction removed from the timetable)

EYMS May Changes

EYMS are making changes to various services from 24th May.

Variations registered with VOSA:

• 45/46 Bridlington to Driffield
• 45/46/46A Driffield to Pocklington, some journeys via Market Weighton
• 45/45A/46/46A Market Weighton to York via Pocklington
• 121 Hull to Nafferton via Beverley and Driffield
• 121 Longcroft School to Nafferton (from 1st June)
• 121 Driffield to Bridlington
• 121 Bridlington to Scarborough via Filey
• 220/221/920 Hull to Hornsea
• 230 Hull to Hornsea
• 240 Hull to Hornsea
• 246 Hull to Hornsea via Beverley
• X4 Hull to Market Weighton via Brough and South Cave
• X4 Market Weighton to York
• X46 Hull to Pocklington via Beverley and Market Weighton
• X46 Market Weighton to York via Pocklington
• X47 Hull to Market Weighton via Beverley
• X47 Market Weighton to York via Pocklington

Cancelled with VOSA:

• 523 Beverley Town Service (serving the Molescroft area in the north of the town and currently interworked with services 61 and 180 I think)

And a 'new' service registered with VOSA, which appears to be at least a partial replacement for the 523 (I'm sure the 122 has existed in the past):

PB0000328/473 - EAST YORKSHIRE MOTOR SERVICES LTD, 252 ANLABY ROAD, HULL, HU3 2RS           

• Registration Accepted
• Starting Point: Hull
• Finish Point: Molescroft
• Via:
• Service Number: 122
• Service Type: Normal Stopping
• Effective Date: 24-MAY-2015
• Other Details: New Service

EYMS Bridlington Service 100

The following was posted as an anonymous comment on this post earlier today, regarding EYMS's Summer service 100 between Bridlington and Flamborough:
"From July 20th EYMS will be operating the 100 service again with extensions at both ends of the previous service operation.

The route will take in South Shore Holiday camp and John Bull Rock Factory in the south of Bridlington, and will travel to the lighthouse in Flamborough as well as Thornwick Bay holiday park.

But the big news has to be this service will be operated using a open top vehicle.
This is the first time EYMS have operated a open top in Bridlington since the use of a ex Greater Manchester Atlantean quite a few years ago."

EYMS get a share of the 124 too

Yesterday I posted about Acklams Coaches starting a Wednesday and Thursday only service 124 between Driffield and Bridlington. From Saturday (28th March), EYMS will be providing Saturday journeys on the route with financial support from East Riding of Yorkshire Council, operating to the same timetable as on Wednesday and Thursday.

Acklams new 124 Driffield to Bridlington

Acklams Coaches have started operating service 124 between Driffield, Kilham, Wold Newton, Burton Fleming, Rudston and Bridlington on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The timetable on Traveline Yorkshire lists departures from Driffield at 0905 and 1230, and from Bridlington at 1010 and 1330. Below is the VOSA registration:

PB1075166/33 - ACKLAMS COACHES LTD, BUS & COACH DEPOT, BARMSTON ROAD, BEVERLEY, HU17 0LA

• Registration Accepted by SN
• Starting Point: Bridlington
• Finish Point: Driffield
• Via:
• Service Number: 124
• Service Type: Normal Stopping
• Effective Date: 25-MAR-2015
• Other Details: Wednesday & Thursday Two runs each way

Hornsby 16/327 retimed

Hornsby Travel services 16 and 327 in Scunthorpe will have revised times from 14th April.

16 Parklands Caravan Site-Scunthorpe (Tuesday and Friday):
0910 and 1135 from Parklands Caravan Site will depart at 0940 and 1215
1120 from Scunthorpe Bus Station will depart at 1200

16 Parklands Caravan Site-Ashby (Thursday):
0910 and 1135 from Parklands Caravan Site will depart at 0940 and 1215
1120 from Ashby Broadway will depart at 1200

327 Dragonby-Scunthorpe (Friday):
0925 and 1155 from Scunthorpe Bus Station will depart at 1015 and 1245
0940 and 1210 from Dragonby will depart at 1030 and 1300

Times taken from Traveline East Midlands

Stagecoach 110 Change

Stagecoach are making some quick changes to their Hull cross city service 110 between Cottingham, the City Centre, North Point and Spring Cottage. On 23rd February, the service was revised in the Spring Cottage area, omitting part of Howdale Road previously served and leaving the section between Dunvegan Road and Robson Way without a bus service. 2 weeks later, tomorrow (Monday 9th March), the 110 is being rerouted back onto this section of Howdale Road. Unlike the pre 23rd February route, Sutton village is not served, with Robson Way instead being used to return to North Point. There are some minor timetable changes as a result.

Scarborough and District 120 returns for Summer

Yesterday (Saturday 7th March), EYMS's Scarborough and District operation restarted their Summer service 120 between Bridlington, Filey and Scarborough, which provides a daily hourly service between March and early November, complementing the year round 121 and fellow summer only service X20 between Scarborough and Filey. For 2015 the only change to the 120 sees the 1805 from Scarborough to Bridlington terminate short at Reighton Sands Holiday Village, and the 1940 Bridlington to Scarborough withdrawn. The 121 provides a last journey from Scarborough to Bridlington at 1825, and from Bridlington to Scarborough at 1910.

EYMS Hedon Changes

On Monday (8th March), EYMS are amending their Hull to Hedon services 78, 79 and 277. There will be some retimings to improve punctuality, however the major change sees the withdrawal of the Monday to Saturday 1715 service 277 from Hull to Hedon and the 1800 service 78 from Hedon to Hull, due to "very low passenger numbers". Alternative 277 departures from Hull are at 1630 or 1940, while the villages of Bilton and Sproatley are served by service 220 departures from Hull at 1705 and 1805. Alternative service 78 departures from Hedon are at 1715 and 2019.

New EYMS 66B

From Sunday 8th March, EYMS are amending their service 66 between Hull City Centre, the Boothferry Estate and Hessle. The main change sees two weekday morning services from Hull Interchange at 0725 and 0805 extended from Hessle Square to the new Bridgehead Business Park, near the Humber Bridge roundabout, operating as service 66B. In the evening peak, two return service 66B's operate at 1715 and 1745 from the Bridgehead Business Park to Hull Interchange directly via Darleys Roundabout, omitting Hessle and the Boothferry Estate. Cross-river services Humber Fastcat (350) and Humber Flyer also run close to the business park.

Additionally times on service 66 are revised slightly to improve punctuality. The weekday morning 'contra-peak' service from Hull Interchange to Hessle is reduced from every 15 to every 20 minutes, though the first departure is now 10 minutes earlier at 0625.

(Edited 7th March 2015, see below comments for details)

Barton Line to the East Midlands franchise: Questions Arising

As part of Friday's publication of the Invitation to Tenders (ITT) for the Northern and TransPennine Express franchises, it was announced that Northern Rail's Cleethorpes to Barton service will transfer to the East Midlands franchise when it is relet in 2017, along with most stations on the route and one Class 153 DMU (see ITT pages 87 and 95). As I explained last year, I am not in favour of this, and the consultation response document has done nothing to address my concerns; Below is the relevant extract in relation to the Cleethorpes-Barton service from Page 25:

4.11  In the consultation document, we sought views on the future franchise responsibility for the route from Cleethorpes and Grimsby to Barton-on-Humber. Since the previous ‘remapping' in 2004, this service has been operationally separated from the rest of Northern, making it difficult for the operator to develop the service strategically and for it to handle service disruptions.

4.12  We set out the two different options that would resolve these difficulties. The first option was that the issues would be resolved if the main South Humber service between Sheffield and Cleethorpes was transferred to Northern, as a result of the potential splitting of the existing Manchester Airport to Cleethorpes through service. The second option was to transfer the route from Cleethorpes and Grimsby to Barton-on-Humber to the East Midlands franchise.

4.13  Consultation respondents presented a wide range of views on this issue. Some did not have a strong opinion on who should operate the route, as long as train services were retained. Many agreed with the proposals to transfer the route to the East Midlands franchise, unless the main Sheffield to Cleethorpes service was going to be operated by Northern as a result of the remapping proposal mentioned above. Others suggested the possibility of transferring responsibility of the route to the TPE franchise instead.

As the suggested remapping of the Sheffield to Cleethorpes portion of the Manchester Airport to Cleethorpes route is not going ahead, we will be proceeding with the second option of transferring the route from Cleethorpes and Grimsby to Barton-on-Humber to the East Midlands franchise. The franchise operates other local and regional services in Lincolnshire, and the route appears to fit better in its portfolio than in TPE’s. We expect this to happen when the East Midlands franchise is re-let in 2017.

And from Pages 100-1:

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

There were a variety of responses to this question, including:  

• Transfer the route to the East Midlands franchise; 

• Retain with Northern; 

• Transfer to TPE; 

• Close the line; and 

• Both operators should run the line, to provide competition.

Several respondents stated that the service should be run by whoever is operating the adjacent services, taking a ‘no fragmentation’ approach. This would improve reliability, due to operators being more able to replace faulty trains or unavailable staff. 

Comments were received from some LAs that supported the proposals to retain the route from Cleethorpes and Grimsby to Barton-on-Humber within the Northern franchise. One LA stressed that there remains a requirement to maintain a reasonable level of connectivity between services to ensure access to wider destinations, regardless of which franchise operates the service; Northern currently provides train crew through other TOCs via inter-operator agreements. It was argued that having services reliant on another operator’s staff may lead to increased unreliability, particularly at times of disruption or other service interruption such as disputes.

Our Response

As the proposed remapping of the Sheffield to Cleethorpes portion of the Manchester Airport to Cleethorpes route is not going ahead, we will be proceeding with the second option of transferring the route from Cleethorpes and Grimsby to Barton-on-Humber to the East Midlands franchise. The franchise operates other local and regional services in Lincolnshire, and the route appears to fit better in its portfolio. We expect this to happen when the East Midlands franchise is re-let in 2017.

What stands out to me is that despite a wide range of responses being received, and despite some local authorities (I presume North and North East Lincolnshire Council's) wishing to retain the route within the Northern franchise, the Department of Transport (and Rail North?) fail to justify their decision to transfer the route to the East Midlands franchise. They continue to use the "appear to be a better fit in its portfolio" phrase that was used in last year's consultation document that clearly some local authorities and others are not convinced by.

There are a number of questions which I think arise following Friday's announcement:

• Is it intended that the East Midlands franchise will operate the Barton service using Cleethorpes or Lincoln based crew?
• Is it intended to stable a DMU overnight at Cleethorpes for the Barton line, or would stock be required to return to Lincoln overnight?
• Considering that almost all East Midlands franchise services currently terminate at Grimsby Town, not Cleethorpes, how is it intended to swap stock, and if needed crew, between the Barton line and the rest of the East Midlands franchise?
• As only one DMU is to be transferred to the East Midlands franchise, how is it intended to resource the early morning Barton line service that requires a second DMU?
• Is it intended that any timetable alterations will be required to facilitate the transfer from the Northern franchise to the East Midlands franchise?
• What is the future of the 0600 Scunthorpe to Cleethorpes service operated by Northern Rail, which serves Barton line stations between Habrough and Cleethorpes?
• During disruption how is the East Midlands franchise, with it's nearest maintenance depot in Nottingham, any better positioned to respond to service disruption than the Northern franchise?
• What analysis has been conducted to support the belief that the Barton line "appears" to better fit in the portfolio of the East Midlands franchise?
• What relevance is the East Midlands franchise operation of services in Lincolnshire, when the Barton line does not enter the Lincolnshire County Council area?
• How does the transfer support the Barton Cleethorpes Community Rail Partnership, which works with the Yorkshire Coast Community Rail Partnership, whose train operator will remain the Northern Rail franchise?
• Why is a service wholly within the Yorkshire and Humber region, and wholly within the area of two Rail North authorities, being transferred to the East Midlands franchise?

As a final note, if the management of Habrough station is moved from Northern, then this could be an opportunity to add it to the TransPennine Express franchise, and to develop it as a railhead for Immingham and surrounding villages. Such a move would support investment in the Immingham area, such as the Able UK development at Killingholme, and could maybe even take some pressure off car parking at Barnetby.

Lambwath Road regains bus service

Lambwath Road in Hull regains a bus service from Monday 9th March, as EYMS operated service 50 between Hull Interchange, Laburnum Avenue, James Reckitt Avenue, Jalland Lodge and Morrisons and Holderness Road is re-routed at the request of Hull City Council, whom EYMS operate the route under contract too. Service 50 operates Monday to Saturday daytimes to an irregular timetable with 4 journeys from Hull (5 on Sat) and 5 journeys into Hull (6 on Sat) pus one extra 'short' journey.. Lambwath Road has been unserved since the Stagecoach 53 was withdrawn in late August last year after Hull City Council withdrew their funding due to extensive housing demolition in the area. However remaining residents in the area did submit a petition to Hull City Council about their loss of bus services, and this would appear to be the City Council's solution.

The new route will see a small section of James Reckitt Avenue omitted (also served by the 110) in order to serve Lambwath Road and Gillshill Road. As a result the service 50 timetable is revised, with the loss of one journey each way, and a revised timetable for the remaining journeys. The 'short' journey at 0920 from Jalland Lodge to Morrisons is extended to start back at Holderness Road/Mount Pleasant however at 0910 (Jalland Lodge now served at 0930).

Stagecoach North East Hull Changes - 31, 32, 51, 52, 110

In November 2013, Stagecoach significantly revised services in North East Hull, with 'trunk' routes 32 and 51 receiving 'A' variants as Stagecoach attempted to offer a wider range of locations linked by through buses while maintaining or increasing frequencies into Hull City Centre. 2014 saw substantial revisions to the 32A and 51A including their renumbering to 31 and 52. It would seem however that Stagecoach's idea hasn't worked - their announcement cites 'lack of support' - as from tomorrow (Monday 23rd February), the 31 and 52 are withdrawn and it's back to just the 32 and 51.

The 31 and 32 had been providing a link between Hull City Centre, Summergangs Road, Gillshill Road and Sutton Village before the 31 extended to North Point and Kingswood and the 32 extended via Noddle Hill Way to North Point. Weekday daytimes had a combined 10 minute frequency and Saturday daytimes a combined 15 minute frequency, alternating between the 31 and 32.

From Monday the 32 will operate every 15 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes and every 10 minutes during the weekday peak, thus maintaining peak time and Saturday frequencies, but seeing a reduction of 2 buses per hour on weekday daytimes. Noddle Hill Way receives more frequent service 32's, but this is to compensate for the withdrawal of the 52. Evening and Sunday 32 frequencies are unaffected. The withdrawal of the 31 means Summergangs Road, Gillshill Road and Sutton Village have lost their link to Kingswood Retail Park and have longer journey times to North Point. The (new?) area of Kingswood around the health centre has lost it's peak time service entirely.

The 32 also gains three weekday morning 'Workers+' services, with the first three departures from North Point at 0615, 0630 and 0645 extended from the City Centre via Hull Royal Infirmary to Smith and Nephew before serving Paragon Interchange. A series of improvements to early morning services was introduced by Stagecoach in September, called 'Workers+', but the 32 wasn't included at the time. Hopefully the inclusion of the 32 means 'Workers+' has had encouraging results.

The 51 and 52 had been providing a link between Hull City Centre, the Ings Road Estate, Spring Cottage and Kingswood. The 51 operated via Holderness Road between the City Centre and Ings Road Estate, and via North Point and Bodmin Road between Spring Cottage and Kingswood. Meanwhile the 52 served Garden Village and Savoy Road between Hull City Centre and Ings Road Estate before operating via Noddle Hill Way between Spring Cottage and Kingswood. Weekday daytimes had a combined 10 minutes frequency and Saturday daytimes a combined 15 minute frequency, alternating between the 51 and 52.

From Monday the 51 will operate every 15 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes and every 10 minutes during the weekday peak, thus maintaining peak time and Saturday frequencies, but seeing a reduction of 2 buses per hour on weekday daytimes. Evening and Sunday 51 frequencies are unaffected, though a later last weekday bus is added at 2345 from Hull Truck Theatre (previously 2323 from Paragon Interchange). The withdrawal of the 52 means Garden Village and Noddle Hill Way have lost their links to Kingswood Retail Park, while Savoy Road becomes unserved. The withdrawal of the 52's 'Workers+' journeys is not replaced (except for Noddle Hill Way passengers served by the 32); these had operated via Cleveland Street as well as serving Hull Royal Infirmary and Smith and Nephew, and provided a 15 minute weekday early morning service when combined with the 51.

Replacing the 52 in Garden Village is an amendment to the 110 service between Castle Hill Hospital, Cottingham, Hull City Centre and Bransholme. The 110 had operated in East Hull via Cleveland Street, Stoneferry Road, Chamberlain Road, a small part of James Reckitt Avenue, Gillshill Road, Cavendish Road, Dorchester Road and North Point before then performing a circular route around Noddle Hill Way, Kestrel Avenue, Howdale Road and Sutton Village back to North Point.

From Monday the East Hull route will be substantially revised. From Cleveland Street the service will operate via Chapman Street, the whole length of James Reckitt Avenue, to replace the 52, and Ings Road to Cavendish Road. While Stoneferry Road and Gillshill Road are well served by other services, Chamberlain Road becomes unserved. In Bransholme the circular route is shortened to omit part of Howdale Road which becomes unserved, and Sutton Village.

The timetable remains largely hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes, but with some peak time extras between Paragon Interchange and North Point. The first Saturday service from North Point is now an hour earlier at 0720, and there is a new Monday to Saturday 1750 from Castle Hill Hospital to Hull Interchange. For Garden Village this is a significant frequency cut as over the past few years it has enjoyed 2-3 buses per hour into Hull City Centre on various routes.

Not for the first time this weekend, I find myself noting that Stagecoach have tried something, it hasn't worked, and they are now cutting back.

Not A Lot Of Love For The X62

A year ago the Stagecoach X62 between Hull, Brough, Goole, Glasshoughton and Leeds was relaunched with 'Love Your X' branding. The number of return journeys was increased from 7 to 9 Monday to Saturdays and from 2 to 4 on Sundays as part of the relaunch. The relaunch came after a period of relative stability for the service, which has been prone to regular timetable changes over the past decade. September saw some minor pruning to the timetable, with a 'bold' attempt at a very early 0450 Hull to Leeds service and 0645 return cancelled, plus some Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday daytime journeys dropped.

On Monday (23rd February) however the X62 timetable is substantially reduced to 3 return journeys on weekdays, 4 on Saturdays and 2 on Sundays. Stagecoach have given up on the Leeds commuter market with remaining weekday departures from Hull at 0910, 1110 and 1510, returning from Leeds at 1130, 1400 and 1730. The weekday journeys also run on Saturdays along with a 1710 Hull to Leeds and 1930 return. Sunday departures from Hull are at 1010 and 1540, returning from Leeds at 1230 and 1800.

It would seem passengers simply didn't Love their X - either that or their 'Love' wasn't enough to generate an acceptable margin for Stagecoach. What was a comprehensive marketing initiative from Stagecoach would appear to be a failure. After seeing the new timetable I have to wonder if last year's Love Your X relaunch was a final attempt by Stagecoach to make the X62 work as an all-day service? The new service level is the lowest I can recall for at least a decade (there is a post I made in 2009 which contains some timetable history from the 00's).

I don't know for sure what is behind the X62's problems, but I would expect the train service between Hull, Brough and Leeds to be a significant factor. It's quicker, more frequent, starts earlier, finishes later, and when (hopefully not if) the route gets electrified, will only get more attractive - maybe even a doubling of frequency to half hourly. The X62 is also probably heavily focused on travel to Leeds and Glasshoughton and not to Hull which could lead to light loadings during the morning to Hull and in the afternoon from Hull.

Hopefully there is a future for the X62. Whatever the future holds though, at least Stagecoach showed the X62 some love last year with their relaunch and improved timetable. Substantial timetable cuts are far more 'acceptable' when the operator has been proactive and tried new ideas out first.