Stagecoach Scunthorpe 10/33/34

Until yesterday, Stagecoach operated a service 10 town circular service in Scunthorpe. Odd in that it had the same number clockwise and anti-clockwise, unlike the 31/32 and 33/34, the 10 operated from Scunthorpe Bus Station via Station Road, Rowland Road, Warwick Road, Lilac Avenue, Sandhouse Crescent, Healey Road, Warley Road, Bellingham Road, Lakeside Retail Park, Fulbeck Road, Ashby Broadway, Burringham Road, Manor Farm Road, Bridges Road, Swinburne Road, Bristol Road, Plymouth Road, West Common Lane and Ashby Road back to Scunthorpe Bus Station, and vice versa.

From tomorrow, Monday 3rd April, the 10 will no longer be operating; it had been providing an hourly Monday to Saturday offpeak service in each directon. Revised services 33 and 34 provide a partial replacement. Service 33 had been operating from Scunthorpe Bus Station via Ashby Road, West Common Lane,  Plymouth Road, Bristol Road, Swinburne Road, Bridges Road, Manor Farm Road, Willoughby Road, Manby Road, Quebec Road, Moorwell Road, High Leys Road, Willoughby Road, Chancel Road, Cambridge Avenue, Manor Road, Bottesford Lane, Bottesford Road, Ashby Town Centre, Collum Avenue, Alvingham Road, Old Brumby Street and Cemetery Road back to Scunthorpe Bus Station, with service 34 operating in the opposite direction. Both the 33 and 34 each operated hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes, including peaks, and combined with service 10 to provide a half hourly off peak service between Scunthorpe Bus Station and Manor Farm Road.

The new 33 only operates between Scunthorpe Bus Station, Ashby Road, West Common Lane, Plymouth Road and Bristol Road before returning back into Scunthorpe via West Common Lane and Ashby Road, providing two service per hour Monday to Saturday off peak, although when combined with revised service 34 a service is provided every 20 minutes.

Revised service 34 follows the service 33 route from Scunthorpe Bus Station to Bristol Road then routes via Swinburne Road, Bridges Road, Manor Farm Road, Willoughby Road, Manby Road, Low Leys Road, Moorwell Road, High Leys Road, Willoughby Road, Chancel Road, Bottesford Road, Ashby Town Centre, Fulbeck Road and Bellingham Road to Lakeside. It operates hourly Monday to Saturday off peak and half hourly at peak times.

These changes create winners and losers. The frequency on the Scunthorpe Bus Station-West Common Lane-Plymouth Road-Bristol Road section increases from half hourly to every 20 minutes off peak, and from hourly to half hourly at peak times. There are new links from many parts of the service 34 route to Lakeside Retail Park. Fulbeck Road and Bellingham Road gain a peak time bus service.

Eastern Scunthorpe fairs badly in these changes. Due to the withdrawal of service 10,  Lilac Avenue, Sandhouse Crescent and Healey Road are now unserved; all three roads are close to services 31/32 (within walking distance?) so maybe not a huge issue, however one journey per hour on the 20 minute frequency 31/32 services could have been diverted via Lilac Avenue/Sandhouse Road and another via Healey Road to maintain a service while not significantly reducing frequencies on the parts of Warwick Road and Warley Road that would be missed out. Messy perhaps, but a service could have easily been maintained. Station Road in Scunthorpe is also left with little service, one morning journey on the 350 Humber Fastcat and journeys from Scunthorpe Bus Station on EYMS 360/361. Rowland Road, parts off Warwick Road and Warley Road no longer have a link to Lakeside, and while Bellingham Road and Fulbeck Road retain links to Scunthorpe Bus Station, the new 34 takes a lot longer than the 10 did. Maybe the 4 (not on Saturday's though), or one journey an hour on the 31/32 could serve Fulbeck Road instead?

The changes to services 33 and 34 leave the only Monday to Saturday daytimes service between Scunthorpe and Ashby via Cemetery Road, Old Brumby Street, Alvingham Road and Collum Avenue as Hornsby Travel service 12, operating half hourly on weekdays and hourly on Saturdays. Not that long ago the 12 and 33/34 combined to provide a service every 15 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes. Cemetery Road now has a better Sunday daytime service compared to Saturdays, with services 31A/32A operating half hourly - it is also now has the same frequency on weekday and Sunday daytimes, and is only served by Stagecoach on evenings and Sundays.

In Bottesford, the new 33 simply operates along the whole length of Chancel Road, omitting Bottesford Lane, Manor Road and Cambridge Avenue. Bottesford Lane is also served by the half hourly Hornsby Travel 22 on weekdays, and by the 4 on Saturdays, so perhaps the 33/34 isn't a significant loss, although like Cemetery Road it now has a better Sunday service on the 31A/32A than on Saturdays, and is only served by Stagecoach on evenings and Sundays. Manor Road will now only be served by the evening/Sunday 31A/32A. Cambridge Avenue is also served Monday to Saturday off peak by hourly service 11, but will be left unserved in the morning peak. It too is served by the 31A/32A, so has evening and Sunday services, and a Sunday daytime frequency that is double the Monday to Saturday frequency!

In the Yaddlethorpe and Riddings area the Monday to Saturday off peak frequency into Scunthorpe is effectively halved to hourly; due to their location on the old 33/34 routes a journey into Scunthorpe took about the same time whether travelling via Ashby or via West Common Lane. Again the Sunday daytime frequency on the 31A/32A at half hourly is double the hourly 34, and for travel into Scunthorpe Town Centre, effectively quadrupole the frequency. The 34 will use Low Leys Road instead of Quebec Road, which retains the 31A/32A.

Elsewhere the section of Burringham Road between Messingham Road and Willoughby Road no longer has a Monday to Saturday daytime service after the withdrawal of the 10, but retains the 31A/32A, while Manor Farm Road and Bridges Road go from a half hourly to hourly service off peak, with longer journeys into Ashby following the withdrawal of the 10.

Hopefully I've not missed anything. Once again this underlines what a mess the Scunthorpe Town Network is. The decline of Scunthorpe Town Centre as a shopping destination cannot help - the latest is that Wilkinson's are closing later this year - and the replacement shopping destinations being spread out as opposed to being concentrated on one or two locations, probably doesn't help either. Ashby High Street is nothing new, but there is also the M&S/Debenhams development on the old Trent Valley Garden Centre, a rejuvenated Skippingdale Retail Park and the longer standing Lakeside Retail Park. Plus Brigg not too far away if you want a market town, plus Doncaster Town Centre, Doncaster Lakeside, Meadowhall, Gainsborough Marshalls Yard, Lincoln, Hull ... And while attempts are being made to regenerate Scunthorpe Town Centre, a university technical college and social housing provider head office don't help bus services on Saturdays, and not that much on weekday off peak periods either. While this needs taking into account though, something needs to be done to stop the cuts and decline in Scunthorpe Town Services.

Stagecoach's announcement starts with "Following negotiations with North Lincolnshire Council" - things could have been a lot worse. At one point Traveline East Midlands just showed the 33 every 20 minutes and no 34, which would have left large parts of Riddings and Yaddlethorpe, plus Fulbeck Road and Bellingham Road unserved Monday to Saturday daytimes.

Stagecoach 51 Cutbacks

Stagecoach have cancelled the vast majority of their planned April changes in North East Lincolnshire, with one exception, changes to service 51 between Grimsby and Louth. Their announcement covers the withdrawal of the college day only 51C journeys serving Franklin College at 0730 from Louth and 1620 from Grimsby; alternative journeys remain from Louth at 0725 and Grimsby Riverhead Exchange at 1615, serving Grimsby Institute within walking distance of Franklin College. Franklin College also run their own service from Louth.

However looking at the old service 51 timetable on the Stagecoach website it seems the Monday to Saturday 1540 Grimsby to Louth is also being withdrawn, leaving a 95 minute gap in the timetable of an otherwise hourly service, along with the 1700 from Louth to Grimsby creating a 90 minute gap in the timetable in this direction.

Hull-Hedon-Withernsea Changes.

Sunday 2nd April sees EYMS introduce some major changes to services between Hull, Hedon and Withernsea.

Currently EYMS operate a half hourly Monday to Saturday daytime service between Hull, Hedon and Withernsea, routes 76/77, supplemented by an extra service every 1-2 hours between Hull and Hedon via Victoria Dock and Paull, also serving the Inmans Estate in Hedon, route 78, and a service every 2 hours between Hull and Hedon via Bilton, Sproatley and Preston, route 277. From April the network is being revised to, amongst other things, provide an even interval service between Hull and Hedon every 20 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes across routes 76, 77, 78 and 79.

Focusing on the Withernsea services first, the impact of optimising the Hull to Hedon service is that the nice half hourly Monday to Saturday daytime frequency becomes 2 buses per hour, departing Waxholme Road in Withernsea at 2 minutes and 26 minutes past the hour, and Hull at 10 minutes and 30 minutes past the hour. Otherwise there does not seem to be much change to the structure of the timetable, the main daytime service still alternates between routes 76 and 77, each operating every hour, with service 75 operating some peak time services, in the evenings and on Sundays. The Saturday afternoon Hull to Keyingham 'short' now runs through to Withernsea, ending a one hour gap in the timetable for passengers beyond Keyingham, but with the return Keyingham to Hull short withdrawn.

On Sundays between Hull and Withernsea, all journeys continue to serve Burstwick despite East Riding of Yorkshire Council (ERYC) removing subsidy for two daytime journeys each way to run via the village. The 75 operates hourly to a standard interval 'pattern' on Sunday daytimes so quite why ERYC were spending £2.34 per passenger journey, average one passenger per journey to get on or off in Burstwick, in the first place is an interesting question.

Service 78 currently operates every 1-2 hours between Hull and Hedon serving Hull Marina, The Deep, Victoria Dock and Paull, as well as the Inmans Estate in Hedon. Many journeys start as/continue as service 277. The journey time between Hull Interchange and Thorn Road Corner in Hedon is 45 minutes, compared to 26 minutes on service 77 and 31 minutes on service 76. Supplementing the 78 are occasional service 79's omitting Hull Marina, The Deep and Paull, and occasional weekday morning service 80 between Hull and Hedon via Victoria Dock, Paull on some journeys, and the Westlands Estate in Hedon.

The service changes do simplify the 78/79/80, with an increased hourly service being provided Monday to Saturday daytimes across routes 78 and 79 combined; to quicken the routes service 78 will no longer serve Paull, routing Hull-Hull Marina-The Deep-Victoria Dock-Hedon-Inmans Estate, while the 79 will start serving Paull, routing Hull-Victoria Dock-Paull-Hedon-Inmans Estate. Most journeys will operate as route 78. Journey time from Hull Interchange to Thorn Road Corner is 35 minutes on service 78 and 33 minutes on service 79. For Hull to Hedon travellers the changes are positive, with three fairly similar length journeys per hour on an even 20 minute frequency, while Victoria Dock now gets an EYMS service every hour (not quite even interval hourly).

The 0725 service 79 from Hedon to Hull on Saturday mornings, due to have it's ERYC subsidy removed, is retained, operating at 0740 instead - together with an associated service 277 journey that is being withdrawn it has been attracting an average 8 passengers at a subsidy of £6.01 per passenger journey.

It's not all good though. Service 80 via the Westlands Estate goes entirely. The June 2016 ERYC 'Review of Bus Services' documents quotes an average 19 passengers per journey and a subsidy of 68p per passenger. I'm not sure if the local CB3 operated by HART Community Transport could be revised to provide an alternative link from the Westlands Estate into Hedon Town Centre? I can't see how the Westlands Estate could easily be included in EYMS's revised service pattern, although the Saturday 173 could maybe be diverted to provide a basic shopping link into Hull?

The village of Paull is left with a substantially worse service - it goes from a service every one to two hours, to having a less frequent service that is optimised only for travel into Hull and is very poor for access into Hedon. Currently it enjoys journeys into Hedon at 0727 (weekday only), 0857, 1057, 1127 (weekday only), 1257, 1457, 1627 (weekday only) and 1737, plus later Stagecoach operated journeys, with returns at 0835 (weekday only) 0845 (Sat), 0915 (Sat), 0932 (weekday only), 1010, 1110, 1310, 1510 and 1725, plus later Stagecoach operated journeys. From next week journeys from Paull into Hedon leave at 0725, 0840, 1015, 1315, 1625 and 1835, returning at 0748, 0934, 1334 and 1802.

Services via Paull have been a mixture of commercially operated, and ERYC subsidised, and ERYC are withdrawing subsidies for most Paull diversions, which is no doubt part of the reason for reducing services to the village. However by moving about which journeys run as 78's and which run as 79's, improvements could be made for Paull to Hedon customers, although the impact on users to Hull Marina and The Deep would need to considered, as would the requirements that come with the Hull City Council subsidy to serve these areas. Diversions via Paull in the 1010 and 1310 from Hedon attract an average 1 passenger per journey at a subsidy of £12.81 per passenger journey. Diversions via Paull in the 0835 and 1510 attract an average 1 passenger per journey at a subsidy of £5.22 per passenger journey.

Paull is also impacted by the withdrawal entirely of service 78 on Sundays, when three EYMS daytime journeys operated each way between Hull and Hedon, and of most service 78 Monday to Saturday evening journeys, currently operated by Stagecoach; the 1810 from Hull has been retained however and passes to EYMS as service 79. Again these cuts are due to ERYC subsidy reductions; together with associated service 277 journeys, Sunday services attracted an average 19 passengers per journey at a subsidy of £1.56 per passenger journey, while evening services, including the retained journey, attracted an average 10 passengers per journey at a subsidy of £2.30 per passenger journey. In ERYC's scorecard, the evening service was one 'point' away from having survived being cut for another year. As well as Paull being cut off from the bus network evenings and Sundays, the Victoria Dock estate in Hull and Hedon's Inmans Estate are also impacted.

Service 277 sees substantial change as well; the through journeys with service 78/79 are largely withdrawn, and it will also serve Thorngumbald and Burstwick with a new route that provides new regular bus services to parts of Burstwick and Preston. Most journeys will operate an anti-clockwise loop; after routing from Hull Interchange via Holderness Road, Bilton and Sproately to Preston they will then route via Hedon, Thorngumbald and Burstwick back to Preston and into Hull again. This does increase journey times for return journeys from Hedon to Sproately and Bilton.

The timetable is also reduced. Weekday services currently depart Hull Interchange at 0620, 0735, 0915, 1015 , 1215, 1415 and 1630, plus later Stagecoach journeys and on Saturdays at 0640, 0750, 0915, 1015, 1215, 1415 and 1630 plus later Stagecoach services, but this reduces to 0735, 0920, 1020. 1220, 1420 (via Burstwick and Thorngumbald) and 1735 on weekdays, and 0920, 1020, 1220, 1520 (via Burstwick and Thorngumbald) and 1735 on Saturdays. Note the new evening peak journey though at 1735, which terminates in Burstwick and does not serve Hedon.

In the return direction services currently leave Hedon at 0706, 0916, 1116, 1316, 1516, 1646 and 1756 on weekdays, with all journeys except the 1646 also running on Saturdays. This changes on weekdays to 0705 from Burstwick (not serving Hedon), 0819, 1004, 1104 and 1304 from Hedon via Burstwick, 1517 from Hedon serving Burstwick on the inbound journey and 1642 and 1852 from Hedon as a through journey from service 79. On Saturdays there will be an 0835 from Burstwick followed by 1004, 1104 and 1304 from Hedon via Burstwick, 1642 from Hedon serving Burstwick on the inbound journey and 1852 from Hedon as a through journey from service 79.

The 277 will also see it's EYMS operated Sunday service of three journeys each way and most Stagecoach operated Monday to Saturday evening services withdrawn, with only the 1850 from Hedon surviving, passing to EYMS as the 1852 service.

Some positives for sure in these changes, such as for Hull to Hedon travellers, and things could have turned out slightly worse with the ERYC bus subsidy cuts, but definitely not all good news.

Pocklington Town Service to end

After operating one final time on Tuesday 28th March, EYMS's Pocklington Town Service 198 will be withdrawn. It provides two Tuesday circular journeys around the town, effectively one journey into the town centre, and one journey back.

The 198 was never referred to in East Riding of Yorkshire Council consultation documents referring to their upcoming cuts to bus subsidies, so I wonder if this was commercially operated but reliant on being interworked with contracted services? Revised Tuesday services 195 and 199 into Pocklington remain however, and it would appear that a vehicle at least would be available to continue the Pocklington Town Service; the 195 arrives into Pocklington at 1040 and departs at 1235, while the 199 arrives at 0950 and departs at 1125. So is the withdrawal down to driver availability, passenger numbers, loss of funding from elsewhere, concessionary fare repayments, something else?

Airmyn-Hook-Goole changes

Going by Traveline Yorkshire, the 355 service from Airmyn to Goole will end at the end of March. The service, operated 'directly' by East Riding of Yorkshire Council (ERYC) provides a weekday 'shopper' service from Airmyn, routing via Hook on Wednesday and Friday only. The service attracts an average 8 passengers per journey at a subsidy of £2.69 per journey, and the subsidy was proposed for withdrawal as part of ERYC's wider cuts to bus subsidies. Would a reduction in operating days have helped boost average passengers per journey and reduce subsidy?

That might be a moot point, as the traffic commissioners Notices and Proceedings from 10/03/17 included the following, on which I can't find out any more information about but would appear to be at least a partial replacement for the 355:

Goole and District Community Transport Group Goole Go Far West Dock Lower Bridge Street Goole DN14 5SS

Permit number CB000479B1190 Route Airmyn –Hook-Goole Shopper From High Street, Airmyn, Goole and From High Street, Airmyn, Goole Application to register received 27/2/2017 Effective date 7/4/2017

The 355 is Hook's only bus service, but Airmyn is also served by Arriva's 400 between Goole and Selby. The 400 only operates at 'peak' times, with weekday departures from Airmyn for Goole at 0755, 0908, 1717 and 1800. From Goole weekday services operate at 0815, 1500 and 1820. On Saturday's Airmyn's only bus to Goole is at 1755, returning at 1815 - not quite sure of the point of that. All services start at/continue to Selby.

EYMS operated Sunday service 400 operates for the final time tomorrow, also a victim of the ERYC bus subsidy cuts. This gave Airmyn a two hourly service, far better than on Saturdays! (At one point, probably around 15 years ago, Hook enjoyed a Sunday service, but no Saturday service)

There is a hourly service between Goole and Selby Monday to Saturday daytimes, but most operate as service 401 omitting Airmyn; the Airmyn diversion seems to incur a 6 minute 'time penalty' each way, but also serves Goole Hospital. I am not sure of what if any interworking with other services occurs at Selby, but I guess in off peak hours with a standard pattern timetable, to serve Airmyn would require an extra vehicle? Otherwise why not serve Airmyn and Goole Hospital for the sake of 6 minutes each way? Or operate into Goole via Airmyn and Goole Hospital and return direct one hour, then vice versa the next hour - giving Airmyn a two hourly service?

Another option for Airmyn and Hook could be to route the Wednesday only 488 from Selby and Hensall via these villages en-route between Rawcliffe and Goole, which could also boost the usage of this council subsidised service.

Service 199 to continue

Service 199 from Huggate to Pocklington is set to continue operating from April onwards, despite East Riding of Yorkshire Council having proposed to withdraw subsidy for it. The service, which is operated by EYMS, provides a Tuesday only link to Pocklington from Huggate, Warter, Nunburnholme, Burnby and Hayton. It is the only bus service to serve Huggate, and after the withdrawal of service S1 next week, will be the only bus to serve Nunburnholme and Burnby. The 199 has been averaging 3 passengers per journey, at a subsidy of £7.00 per journey.

Whilst the service will continue, the 1157 from Huggate is withdrawn, leaving the 0920 from Huggate and 1125 return from Pocklington.

Service 180 Morning Peak Journey Withdrawn

After operating on Friday 31st March, EYMS's 0719 Monday to Saturday service 180 Cottingham to Beverley journey, will be withdrawn, with the first journey at 0819 instead. Service X80 has an earlier weekday departure from Cottingham at 0759, but not serving Skidby, Little Weighton and Walkington as the 180 does. This is as part of the East Riding of Yorkshire Council cuts to bus subsidies, as the journey was subsidised between Walkington and Beverley; it had an average 3 passengers per journey at a subsidy of £5.77 per passenger journey.

Service 180 will also be having it's Sunday service withdrawn from April.

EYMS 195/196/X36

From April 1st, EYMS operated service 195 in the Pocklington area will be reduced following cuts to bus subsidies by East Riding of Yorkshire Council; the service was due to have it's subsidy dropped entirely so it is good that some service has been retained.

Currently the 195 provides a Wednesday and Saturday shopper bus from Pocklington to York via various villages to the south of Pocklington, and a Tuesday and Thursday shopper bus from Newton upon Derwent via the same villages into Pocklington, with the afternoon return extending into York. There is also a commercial Tuesday lunchtime Newton upon Derwent to York service.

From April the 195 will only offer a Tuesday and Thursday service to Pocklington. The service will start in Allerthorpe, serve multiple villages to Newton upon Derwent and then run direct to Pocklington. The logic behind this seems to be offer connections to York; on Thursday's the timetable connects with service 196 in Hagg Bridge, Sutton upon Derwent and Newton upon Derwent, and on Tuesday's the morning service connects with York Pullman's 36 in Sutton upon Derwent. This means that despite the through services to York being withdrawn, this shopping link is retained with a connection, and hopefully service 196 boosted with the connecting passengers from the 195.

However the flip side is that Allerthorpe to Pocklington will take 70 minutes instead off the current 9 minutes - should the Tuesday 195 be operating Newton upon Derwent-Allerthorpe-Pocklington instead? Thornton, Bielby, Everingham and Seaton Ross also see increased journey times into Pocklington.

The Saturday X36 serving most of the same villages as the 195 is also being withdrawn at the same time; this provides a peak service to/from York. This seems like a good time to note as well that York Pullman operated services 36/X36 have "minor timetable changes" according to iTravel York from 3rd April. York Pullman's X36 provides the weekday equivalent of the to-be-withdrawn Saturday X36, and the 36/X36 combined provide a Monday to Saturday daytime link from Sutton upon Derwent and Elvington into York.

From the June 2016 consultation document it seems the 195 and Saturday X36 were in one contract, with an average 5 passengers per journey at a subsidy of £15.16 per passenger journey.

Those familiar with the 196 will note it currently runs on Tuesdays, but moves to Thursdays from next month with the afternoon journey from York operating at 1320 rather than 1337.

Improved service 120

Moving away from cuts briefly, to an enhancement. On 4th March Scarborough and District (the brand for EYMS's Scarborough operations) reintroduced regular seasonal service 120 between Scarborough and Bridlington, via Filey and various holiday camps. The service operates hourly, on a daily daytime basis from early March to early November (ending on the 5th this year). From Sunday 9th April the 0805 from Scarborough to Bridlington shall operate 15 minutes earlier, the 1905 from Scarborough to Reighton Sands Holiday Village shall extend to Bridlington and there shall be a new 2040 from Bridlington to Scarborough.

Currently the last 120 from Scarborough to Bridlington is at 1705, and from Bridlington at 1840. EYMS service 121 which doesn't serve all the holiday camps has later last departures from Scarborough at 1820 from Scarborough and 1920 (1915 weekends) from Bridlington. As a result of the improved evening service on route 120, Bridlington residents and visitors can spend an extra 45 minutes in Scarborough (slightly longer in Filey), whilst Scarborough and Filey residents and visitors can spend an extra 80/85 minutes in Bridlington; holiday camp visitors served only by service 120 gain an extra 2 hours in East Yorkshire.

EYMS Sunday 153 to operate commercially

Sunday journeys on service 153 between Anlaby, Swanland, North Ferriby and Welton will no longer be funded by East Riding of Yorkshire Council (ERYC) from April, due to ERYC cuts to bus subsidies. The good news however is that EYMS will be continuing to operate these services with no changes to the timetable, on a commercial basis.

The Sunday 153 is already operated commercially by EYMS between Hull and Anlaby. The main section of the service between Hull, Anlaby and North Ferriby operates hourly Sunday daytimes, with journeys then alternating between serving residential areas of North Ferriby (Nunburnholme Avenue), or the villages off Melton and Welton. The Anlaby to North Ferriby/Welton section of route has been attracting an average 4 passengers per journey with a subsidy of £2.62 per journey.

Evening Peak 517 Journey Withdrawn

Due to the withdrawal of funding by East Riding of Yorkshire Council, EYMS will be ending the 1750 Monday to Saturday departure from Bridlington Bus Station on Town Circular service 517 from Saturday 1st April. This journey had an average 6 customers per journey at a subsidy of £3.42 per passenger.

As a result the last departure from the Bus Station will be at 1650, though most of the route is covered by service 507 which has a 1720 departure from the Bus Station. Parts of the route are also covered by services 120 (March to November) and 121.

S1, S2, S3 to end ... but there is a replacement

After operation on 31st March, the Market Weighton 'shopper' buses S1, S2 and S3 will no longer operate. These services are operated by EYMS under contract to East Riding of Yorkshire Council. The S1 provides a Tuesday link into Pocklington from Londesborough and Burnby (with the journey to Pocklington starting in Market Weighton) and a Friday link from Burnby and Londesborough to Market Weighton. The S2 provides a Tuesday and Friday Market Weighton-North Cliffe-South Cliffe-Hotham-South Newbald-North Newbald-Sancton-Market Weighton circular whilst the S3 provides a Friday Goodmanham to Market Weighton service .

The S1, S2 and S3 are being withdrawn as part of cuts to bus subsidies by East Riding of Yorkshire Council. They carry an average of one passenger per journey at a cost of £10.29 per journey, with annual passengers numbering just 738, according to the June 2016 'Review of Bus Services in the East Riding' document. A demand responsive replacement was proposed in both the June and revised December document.

However there is to be a 'traditional' replacement service for the S3 and Friday elements of the S1 and S2. New service 198, operated by EYMS, will run on Friday mornings from North Cliffe, South Cliffe, Hotham, South Newbald, North Newbald and Sancton into Market Weighton, before operating a circular trip via Londesborough and Goodmanham back to Market Weighton. There will then be a lunchtime return. This ensures that North Cliffe, South Cliffe, Londesborough and Goodmanham retain a bus service, albeit for the first three villages no longer on a Tuesday - but something is better than nothing. Burnby is not included on the 198 but will retain a Tuesday bus service on route 199 (which was to have it's funding withdrawn as well, but will continue operating).

It is worth noting that South Newbald, North Newbald and Sanction are also served by service X4 between Hull, South Cave, Market Weighton and York, providing 4 to 5 journeys per day. Hotham, North Newbald and South Newbald are also on the service 143 route, providing one Monday and two Wednesday and Saturday journeys to Beverley. The existence of alternatives for four of the six villages served by the S2 cannot have helped that service's viability, and consequently can't have helped the viability of the associated S1 and S3 services. Still I wouldn't begrudge the 143 and X4 considering the greater number of communities they serve and how the X4 in particular has given South Newbald, North Newbald and Sancton a 6 day a week bus service.

Goodbye service 160

After operation on Wednesday 29th March EYMS service 160 from Staddlethorpe to Goole via Howden will be withdrawn, following the withdrawal of subsidy by East Riding of Yorkshire Council. The route operates on Wednesday and Saturday, with a 1000 departure from Staddlethorpe arriving in Goole at 1046, and a 1330 return service from Goole.

As a result the following villages will be left without a bus service (except schools):
Staddlethorpe
Blacktoft
Yokefleet
Laxton
Skelton
Howdendyke
Knedlington
Barmby on the Marsh

Laxton is served by Saltmarshe railway station, and Staddlethorpe by Gilberdyke station.

The 160 carried an average 9 passengers per journey, at a cost of £5.70 per passenger journey. I wonder if a reduction to one day a week could have 'saved' the service? Maybe this is too simplistic, but if some of the passengers from the 'dropped' day travelled on the one remaining day the service operated the average loading per journey may have increased and the subsidy per passenger reduced?

As an aside, the 160 managed 15 years without a timetable change, from 1999 to 2014 when the current timetable was introduced.

Service 121 Early Morning Changes

Largely as a result of the cuts to bus subsidies by East Riding of Yorkshire Council (ERYC) there will be early morning reductions to parts of EYMS service 121 between Hull and Scarborough from April 1st.

The 0628 Monday to Saturday Nafferton to Hull service will now start in Beverley, with the first service from Nafferton southwards at 0656 instead. ERYC were only funding this journey between Nafferton and Leconfield, so the Leconfield to Beverley section would appear to be a commercial withdrawal by EYMS. The Nafferton to Leconfield section had an average 2 passengers per journey, subsidised at £11.50 per journey. A pre 0800 arrival into Hull is still possible from Nafferton, Driffield and Hutton Cranswick by rail.

The 0653 Monday to Saturday Driffield to Scarborough service will now start in Bridlington; the first bus from Driffield to Nafferton will now be at 0721 and from Driffield to Bridlington and Scarborough at 0738. A pre 0800 arrival into Bridlington from Driffield and Nafferton is still possible by rail, which also offers a pre 0900 arrival into Scarborough - not much use for other villages between Nafferton and Bridlington however.

The 0704 Sunday Leconfield to Hull service will now start in Beverley; the first service from Leconfield southwards will now be at 0824. This part journey was not listed in the ERYC consultation documents so I assume is a commercial withdrawal.

The School Holiday Weekday and Saturday journey at 0815 from Bridlington to Driffield will no longer operate, leaving a 170 minute gap in service 121 departures southwards from Bridlington between 0635 and 0925. This is slightly reduced when making allowance for the 0650 service 45 from Bridlington to York via Driffield. Rail again offers an alternative for travel between Bridlington, Nafferton and Driffield with departures from Bridlington in this time period at 0644, 0712, 0730, 0808 and 0905.

No other journeys on service 121 are altered. The 0635 Monday to Saturday Hull to Scarborough between Driffield and Bridlington and 2135 Hull to Nafferton between Driffield and Nafferton should also have had their council funding withdrawn, but it seems EYMS will continue these part journeys commercially.

Service 241 to be withdrawn

After operation on Wednesday 29th March, service 241 from Aldbrough to Beverley will be withdrawn due to East Riding of Yorkshire Council (ERYC) cuts to tendered bus services. The route has been operated by EYMS on Mondays and Wednesdays, with a 0930 departure from Aldbrough Cliffs arriving in Beverley at 1020 and a return service from Beverley at 1256.

The villages of Skirlaugh and Long Riston will retain a 'shopping' link into Beverley via Stagecoach operated Monday to Saturday service 242, whilst Skirlaugh is also linked to Beverley by ERYC directly operated service 243 on weekdays. Routh and Tickton have an hourly Beverley service on EYMS route 246 Monday to Saturday daytimes, plus limited evening and Sunday journeys, in addition to service 242, and in the case of Routh the 243 as well. These more frequent services duplicating the 241 will not have helped the case for retaining service 241.

From Aldbrough passengers for Beverley can use service 129 to Hornsea to connect onto service 246. It is only the villages off Withernwick, Hatfield and Rise that are left without an option for travel to Beverley; these villages are also left without a Monday or Wednesday bus service as the 230 that provides a connection/through service to Hull from Withernwick, Hatfield and Rise only runs on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays (through service on Saturday, connection Tue/Thu).

Service 241 carries an average of 8 passengers per journey at a subsidy of £5.95 per journey.

EYMS Sunday Services Axed

Due to the withdrawal of East Riding of Yorkshire Council (ERYC) subsidies, EYMS are axing the following Sunday services entirely from the start off April.

• 142: Beverley-Middleton - two return journeys, but one journey each way is effectively a positioning journey (which can't help the economics of the service). EYMS Saturday and schoolday journeys are unchanged, but no alternative Sunday provision is available.
• 155: Goole-Gilberdyke-South Cave - five return journeys between Goole and Gilberdyke, with the first service from Gilberdyke starting at South Cave and the last one extending to South Cave. Service X57 runs on a Sunday between Gilberdyke and South Cave but the main Gilberdyke to Goole section, including Howden, has no alternative, apart from the train between Gilberdyke and Goole. Monday to Saturday services, including those subsidised by ERYC, are unchanged.
• 180: Beverley-Cottingham - three return journeys. Service X47 continues to provide a Sunday link between Beverley and Cottingham but does not serve Walkington, Little Weighton, Skidby or Castle Hill Hospital; Beverley to Castle Hill Hospital passengers can connect from the X47 to the 64 or 115 in Cottingham.
• 361: Goole-Swinefleet - four return journeys. Monday to Saturday services 360/361 are unaffected, but no Sunday alternative is available.
• 400/401: Goole-Selby - 2 hourly Sunday daytime service via the town of Snaith, a number of villages and Goole Hospital. No alternatives exist on a Sunday for anywhere on the route.
• 506: Bridlington Town Service - 6 circular journeys; part of the route is covered by service 121 but the West Hill estate will be left without a Sunday service. Monday to Saturday services continue unchanged.
• 508: Bridlington Town Service - 7 circular journeys. This service only operates on Sundays, so is being withdrawn entirely. Service 121 again provides an alternative service for parts of the route, but for other areas, such as New Pasture Lane, there is no Sunday alternative.
• 520: Beverley Town Service - 2 circular journeys; service 121 serves Swinemoor Lane which is within walking distance for part of the route, but otherwise no Sunday alternative. Monday to Saturday journeys are unchanged.
• 522: Beverley Town Service - 2 circular journeys; services X46/X47 cover part of the route, and are within walking distance of some other parts, but otherwise no Sunday alternative.
• 523: Beverley Town Service - 2 circular journeys with no Sunday alternative apart from a walk to catch service 121. This service only operates a Sunday, being covered by the 122 Monday to Saturday, and is therefore being withdrawn entirely.

Some of these services, such as the 142 and 361, are rather unusual on Sundays by national standards sadly, linking villages to their nearest town; in parts of the country such links aren't even available on weekdays. EYRC deserve credit for keeping such a good Sunday network going for so long, no doubt helped by EYMS running a core Sunday network commercially. However this will not be much comfort to those that use these Sunday services at present. In addition whilst some of these routes are rural village services, others are more significant losses such as the 400/401 between Goole and Selby. Indeed aside from the Stagecoach X62, Goole will have no Sunday bus services after these withdrawals.

Hornsby Saturday Changes

Hornsby Travel will withdraw their hourly Saturday service on Scunthorpe Town Service 22 after operation today (25th February), with the weekday service unaffected. The 22 links Scunthorpe Bus Station with Lloyds Avenue, Glanville Avenue, Devonshire Road, Priory Lane, Ashby Town Centre, Bottesford Road, Bottesford Lane, Timberland and Lakeside Retail Park. Last April Hornsby reduced the Saturday morning frequency from half hourly to hourly.

Between Ashby Town Centre and Lakeside the Saturday 22 shall be replaced from next week by a Saturday daytime diversion to service 4 between Scunthorpe and Brigg; instead off taking the direct route between Ashby Town Centre and Lakeside via Queensway, the Saturday daytime 4 shall take the 22 route via Timberland. This increases journey times from Scunthorpe and Ashby to Brigg and Broughton  by 12 minutes. As part of these changes the Saturday 4 will have a reduced morning/lunchtime frequency, dropping from every 45 minutes to every hour in line with the afternoon service. The first departure from Scunthorpe will be at 0700 rather than 0740, and from Brigg at 0700 rather than 0735.

Apart from the slightly earlier first journeys and a more memorable even interval timetable, passengers on the 4 will be receiving a slightly worse service on Saturdays from next week, whilst those on the 22 route between Ashby and Lakeside have an improved service with a continued hourly frequency, a slightly quicker route between Scunthorpe and Ashby on service 4 and a through service to Brigg. Need to travel to/from Lloyds Avenue, Glanville Avenue, Devonshire Road and/or Priory Lane on a Saturday though? I hope walk, bike or taxi is an option for you as the Saturday 22 is not being replaced in these areas.

Humber Region Forthcoming April Changes

I won't do this on a regular basis, but the latest 'Notices and Proceedings' published by the Traffic Commissioner details many planned changed to bus services in April, and not just in the East Riding of Yorkshire were the council are cutting bus subsidies. A health warning should be given though - services can be split over multiple registrations, sometimes start/finish points maybe out of date and further changes could appear in future Notices and Proceedings.

New Registrations:

• EYMS 195/196 Pocklington/Aughton to Allerthorpe//York
• EYMS 198 Market Weighton to North Cliffe via Goodmanham, Londesborough and Newbald
• Stagecoach 17 Cleethorpes Seafront Service

Variations:

• EYMS 75-77 Hull to Withernsea
• EYMS 78/79/80/277 Hull to Hedon
• EYMS 100 Thornwick Bay to South Shore Holiday Village (Bridlington)
• EYMS 121 Hull to Scarborough
• EYMS 142 Beverley to Driffield
• EYMS 180/X80 Beverley to Hessle
• EYMS 199 Pocklington to Huggate
• EYMS 350 Hull to Scunthorpe
• EYMS 360/361 Scunthorpe to Goole
• EYMS 507/517 Bridlington Town Service
• Stagecoach 3 Morrisons to Cleethorpes
• Stagecoach 4 Morrisons to Cleethorpes (route as well as timetable amendment)
• Stagecoach 5 Grimsby to Immingham
• Stagecoach 6 Grimsby to Wybers Wood
• Stagecoach 8 Grimsby to North Sea Lane
• Stagecoach 9 Waltham to North Sea Lane
• Stagecoach 11 Scunthorpe to Bottesford
• Stagecoach 31/31A/32/32A Scunthorpe Town Circular
• Stagecoach 33/34 Scunthorpe Town Circular (route as well as timetable amendment)
• Stagecoach 37 Scunthorpe to Skippingdale Retail Park
• Stagecoach 38 Scunthorpe to Crosby
• Stagecoach 51 Grimsby to Louth (route as well as timetable amendment)
• Stagecoach 53 Grimsby to Market Rasen (route as well as timetable amendment)
• Stagecoach 103 Scunthorpe to Kirton Lindsey
• Stagecoach 350 Hull to Scunthorpe
• Stagecoach HF1 Humberside Airport to Cleethorpes (route as well as timetable amendment)

Cancellations:

• EYMS 155 South Cave to Goole
• EYMS 160 South Cave to Goole
• EYMS 195/196/X36 Pocklington to York
• EYMS 198 Pocklington Town Service
• EYMS 241 Aldbrough to Beverley
• EYMS 400/401 Goole to Selby
• EYMS 506/508 Bridlington Town Service
• EYMS 520/522/523 Beverley Town Service
• EYMS S1-S3 Market Weighton Local
• Stagecoach 10 Scunthorpe Town Circular
• Stagecoach 12 Bradley Park to New Waltham
• Stagecoach 78/277 Hull to Hedon

Arriva Changes in East Yorkshire

Arriva are making changes to their Selby area services from Monday 30th January, including some which impact on East Yorkshire.

The college day service 400 from Goole Hospital to Selby College at 0822 is replaced by a new 0812 service X4 from Goole North Street to Selby Bus Station. The X4 will follow the main service 4 route via Howden and Hemingbrough but additionally serve Selby College. Presently the first service 4 journey from Goole is at 0930 on weekdays, so whilst aimed at college students, the X4 may also be off use to other users.

Elsewhere in East Yorkshire, the Monday to Saturday 1810 from Selby to West Cowick is renumbered from 401 to 400.

Major Improvements for the 5, Not so much for the 450

From Tuesday 3rd January, Stagecoach services 5 and 450 are extensively revised. Currently service 5 links Grimsby with Immingham and South Killingholme every half hour Monday to Saturday daytime, with some journeys operating beyond Immingham as either service 150 to East Halton or service 450 to Barton and Brigg. At weekday peak times some journeys serve the MIC Plant at Immingham instead off South Killingholme.

Service 5

The first working day of January sees the main Grimsby to Immingham and South Killingholme service increased to operate every 20 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes, increasing to every 15 minutes at peak times, including Saturdays. This is a welcome boost in frequency which shall hopefully make the bus a more attractive option for local travel on the Grimsby-Immingham-South Killingholme corridor.

Peak time services via the MIC Plant at Immingham remain and now also operate on Saturdays. The current 4 morning services are increased to 6 from Grimsby, with 3 afternoon journeys. Instead off operating the main service 5 route from Grimsby to Immingham County Hotel via Wybers Wood Lights, Healing, Stallingborough roundabout and Immingham Town, before extending to the MIC Plant, morning journeys now operate direct (via the A180?) from Wybers Wood Lights to the MIC Plant before extending to County Hotel and South Killingholme. Afternoon journeys continue to operate the main service 5 route, serving the MIC Plant instead of South Killingholme.

Monday to Saturday early morning starts from Humberston via Cleethorpes remain, while hourly evening and Sunday services only have minor timing changes.

The college day 5C variation serving Grimsby Institute and Franklin College is withdrawn. The morning 5C currently starts in Habrough and this facility will be provided by a normal service 5 in the future. Two evening peak services from Grimsby continue to extend to Habrough, but no longer to Ulceby; combined with changes to the 450 (see below), Ulceby no longer has any through services to Grimsby, and no suitable peak time connecting service without using Call Connect. I hope no commuters were relying on the 5/450 from Ulceby.

These changes are a bit different from what was expected though. These improvements are being supported by North East Lincolnshire Council and the Department for Transport (DfT). The bid to the DfT last Summer was for a service every 15 minutes between Grimsby and Immingham, extending half hourly to the Able UK development, Phillips 66 Oil Refinery and the Catch training facility. Next week's new timetable only delivers a 15 minute frequency at peak times, only serves Catch via the peak time MIC Plant workings, and doesn't serve Able UK or Phillips 66 Refinery at all (although Total's Lindsey Oil Refinery becomes a timing point). Maybe there has been a change of plan, or maybe there will be a phased approach to developing service 5, as the Able UK site is largely if not totally undeveloped at the moment. If it's the latter I suspect South Killingholme better not get too used to a 20 minute frequency.

Service 450

So for the vast majority of passengers, the changes are good news or no change. However when the 150 and 450 are considered it's not quite such a good news story. I've already posted about the 150 being withdrawn - thankfully the Monday to Saturday 450 hasn't suffered the same fate but it's not come out of the changes very well.

Currently four service 5's from Grimsby extend from Immingham to Barton and Brigg as service 450, and a fifth on a Saturday as far as Barton; on weekday's there is an extra Immingham to Barton service instead. These provide a roughly two hourly morning/early afternoon service westbound. In the other direction there is one morning Barton to Immingham service that then runs through to Grimsby and three or four from Brigg to Immingham that run through to Grimsby (on schooldays the final journey operates Brigg-Barton-Goxhill then Barton-Immingham-Grimsby). This also provides a two hourly morning/early afternoon service along with a single later afternoon service.

With the new timetable the through journeys between service 5 and 450 cease, and the 450 becomes a stand alone service between Immingham County Hotel, Barton and Brigg. The loss of all through services is a retrograde step, although perhaps trying to mix the improved service 5 with the 450's school requirements based timetable and infrequent journeys proved impossible. The use of Immingham County Hotel as the 450's terminus means that not only passengers for Grimsby will need to change buses, but so will anyone travelling into Immingham Town Centre.

Four Immingham-Barton-Brigg journeys remain in the morning/early afternoon. On weekdays this isn't a major change, with the final departure from Immingham to Barton just 5 minutes earlier than at present, and while overall there is one less Immingham to Barton journey, currently two services run within half an hour of each other. On Saturday's the last westbound service from Immingham to Barton is 65 minutes earlier.

Eastbound there is a significant reduction however. The morning peak Barton to Immingham service has gone - this used to exist as a balancing working from the early morning Grimsby to Barton Humber Flyer, which since last year has extended through to Hull. There is no equivalent evening return to Barrow, Thornton Curtis or Wootton so it is only Ulceby that has lost out on a usable commuting link.

From Brigg four services remain to Barton, with the first three operating 35 minutes later than at present, and the final operating 55 minutes earlier. On Saturday's and School Holiday's all four services continue onto Immingham, but on schooldays only the first two do, with the third terminating in Barton and the last terminating in Goxhill, and not returning to Barton for an final Barton-Immingham service as at present. This means the last bus from Barton to Thornton Curtis, Wootton, Ulceby, South Killingholme and Immingham on schooldays will be at 1215 rather than 1345 and 1715.. It also means there will be no connection from the afternoon 360 from Scunthorpe Colleges in Barton for Thornton Curtis, Wootton, Ulceby and South Killingholme.

The new 450 is fine for Brigg school students, and for villagers wanting to travel into Barton for a couple of hours in the morning. It's OK for trips into Brigg, though 0840 is a bit early and 1110 a bit late for arrivals into Brigg for morning shopping. However it means a change for Immingham Town Centre, and as for the connections to/from Grimsby, they have come have out horrendously. First possible arrival is 1140, latest possible departure 1305.

The 450 receives financial support from North Lincolnshire Council, and I suspect that is why the connections to Immingham Town Centre and Grimsby have come out so badly - they are in North East Lincolnshire so not North Lincolnshire's priority. Add in tight council budgets which probably prevent adding in any more 'resource' to improve the timetable, and the existence of Call Connect, and the end result seems to be a poor service 450 timetable.

Furthermore it can't help the Immingham to Barton section that Grimsby to Barton is also covered by the Humber Flyer and the train, Barrow to Barton by the 260 and Immingham to South Killingholme by the 5. It increasingly comes down to being a service for Thornton Curtis, Wootton and Ulceby, a long way from the days of the X21 or even the 250. Welcome improvements elsewhere won't have helped viability.

Stagecoach 50 Amendments

From Tuesday 3rd January, Stagecoach service 50 between Saltfleet and Grimsby has some minor changes. The 0630 from Grimsby Riverhead Exchange will depart at 0625, the schooldays 1445 from Riverhead Exchange will depart at 1435 and the 1725 from Grimsby College shall operate slightly later from Riverhead Exchange onwards. Journeys from Saltfleet have extended running times, and the 1830 departure is retimed to 1840.

Stagecoach tookover this service from Amvale in September.

New late evening Hull-Barton Journeys

Some positive news to report this Christmas Day. From Tuesday 3rd January, Stagecoach are adding three extra late evening Monday to Saturday journeys to the 350 Humber Fastcat service, between Hull and Barton only. There will be new departures from Hull Paragon Interchange to Barton Interchange at 2220 and 2330, and from Barton Interchange to Hull at 2255.

Currently the last departure from Hull is at 2125, and from Barton Interchange at 2156, so these later journeys are a significant improvement to the evening service. Whilst I'm sure Hull City of Culture 2017 has played a large part in justifying these services, they will be useful for late night train connections at Hull Station, evening football matches at the KC Stadium and evenings out in general, in Hull but also for anyone attending an evening event in Barton. Hopefully they are well used - it's ambitious adding this improved evening service 6 days a week, as opposed to say just Friday and Saturday initially.

The 'even interval' hourly early to mid evening service goes a bit off pattern - 1825, 1925, 2025, 2125, 2220 then 2330 from Hull - but this is understandable as trying to do a Hull-Barton round trip in a hour would be rather challenging. The new departures from Hull also nicely fit around EYMS service 66 along Boothferry Road in Hull during the late evening; the 66 departs Paragon Interchange at 2140 and 2300, with the 350 perfectly filling an 80 minute gap at 2220 and then offering a half hour later last departure.

It's not clear whether the new evening journeys will be routed via Barton Market Place, Pasture Road and Butts Road - there is no timing point for the Market Place but from the Humber Bridge toll booths to Barton Interchange the new evening journeys are allocated 15 minutes rather than the 13 minutes allowed on existing evening journeys, which could allow for serving the Market Place - it would be illogical in my opinion not to serve the Market Place/Pasture Road/Butts Road in Barton as not doing so would make parts of Barton over half an hour walk away from the nearest bus stop served by the new evening journeys.

Clearly the new journeys will involve some out of service mileage. On the assumption that Hull depot operates the new journeys (as opposed to Scunthorpe), that will be from Barton to Hull just after midnight. Given that the 350 operates a direct and quick route into Hull it seems a shame not to run in service as far as Hull City Centre just in case someone finds the journey useful.

Traveline East Midlands shows that most existing Monday to Saturday journeys are due to be retimed slightly, but Stagecoach's new timetable doesn't show that. The timing point for Primark on Carr Lane in Hull City Centre has also disappeared with Stagecoach's new timetable. I'm not sure if the 350 is back running via Carr Lane yet, if it is due to do so again in early 2017 when 'public realm' works are entirely finished or if the service has been 'pulled' from the Hull City Centre loop entirely - I hope not as it is useful to have the option of catching the bus in the eastern half of the city centre rather than having to walk back to the Interchange, and to be able to connect from North Hull services (when I was at university getting off a 105/115 at Carr Lane and catching the 350 there frequently got me home half an hour earlier!).

Anyway, great to see the new late evening journeys!

Christmas and New Year Services 2016/2017

Here is a round-up of Christmas and New Year services across the Humber region, covering Arriva Yorkshire, BusKing, EYMS, First South Yorkshire, First York, Grayscroft Coaches, Hornsby Travel, Stagecoach and Transdev (York and Yorkshire Coastliner). Information for York Pullman service X36 is provided, but details are not known for service 36. Services provided by these operators outside of the region are not covered. If anyone has information for other operators, please post a comment and I will update this post. Please check exact details before travelling as this is only a summary.

Christmas Eve - Normal Saturday service with an early evening finish around 6-8pm.

Christmas Day - No Services

Boxing Day Monday 26th - Limited daytime services on certain routes only in the Hull Area:

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

Stagecoach:
1: Hull-Boothferry Estate - Hourly
2: Hull-Boothferry Estate - Hourly
3: Orchard Park-Hull-Greatfield- Half Hourly
4: Orchard Park-Hull-Bilton Grange - Hourly
5: Hull-Orchard Park-Kingswood - Half Hourly
8: Hull-Sutton Park-North Point - Hourly
10: Hull-North Point-North Bransholme - Hourly
11: Hull-North Point-Kingswood - Hourly
12: Hull-North Point - Hourly
13: Hull-North Point - Hourly
14: Hull-Greatfield - Hourly
Plus Football Buses to/from the KC Stadium

Bank Holiday Tuesday 27th - A Sunday service will be provided. First York will provide a half hourly frequency on service 10 to Stamford Bridge.

Wednesday 28th - A Saturday service will be provided, except BusKing and Hornsby Travel who will provide a normal Wednesday service. There are exceptions as follows:

• EYMS Services 124, 195, 241, 360 and 361 will operate a normal Wednesday service
• EYMS Services 106, 107, X36 and the Beverley Town Shopper Shuttle will not operate
• EYMS Service 64 will have an extra journey from Hull to Castle Hill Hospital at 0615, returning at 0701 (New for 2016, maintains early service not provided on a Saturday)
• EYMS Service X46 will have an extra journey from Pocklington to York at 0725 (New for 2016, this maintain a key peak time service not provided on a Saturday)
• EYMS Service X57 will have an extra journey from Gilberdyke to Hull at 0708, with the 0855 X56 Elloughton to Goole starting in Hull at 0820 (New for 2016, this maintains a key peak time service into Hull not provided on a Saturday)
• EYMS Friday and Saturday evening only journeys on routes 18, 75, 121 and X47 shall not operate (i.e. a normal Wednesday evening service will operate)
• Stagecoach service 25 in North East Lincolnshire will operate a normal Wednesday service (this ensures a peak time service is provided)
• York Pullman Service X36 will operate a normal Wednesday service

Thursday 29th - A Saturday service will be provided, except BusKing and Hornsby Travel who will provide a normal Thursday service. There are exceptions as follows:

• EYMS Services 124, 134, 195, 360 and 361 will operate a normal Thursday service
• EYMS service 135 will have normal Thursday departures from Driffield at 0910 and 1140, however the 0655 and 1710 journeys will not operate
• EYMS Services 106, 107, 143, 160, X36 and the Beverley Town Shopper Shuttle will not operate.
• EYMS Service 64 will have an extra journey from Hull to Castle Hill Hospital at 0615, returning at 0701
• EYMS Service X46 will have an extra journey from Pocklington to York at 0725
• EYMS Service X57 will have an extra journey from Gilberdyke to Hull at 0708, with the 0855 X56 Elloughton to Goole starting in Hull at 0820
• EYMS Friday and Saturday evening only journeys on routes 18, 75, 121 and X47 shall not operate (i.e. a normal Thursday evening service will operate)
• Stagecoach Service 25 in North East Lincolnshire will operate a normal Thursday service
• York Pullman Service X36 will operate a normal Thursday service

(As a result the usual Thursday variation to Stagecoach service 260 'Barton Villager' will not be provided, meaning no East Halton-Barton service between Christmas and New Year. The Dam Road area of Barton which is also served by the 260 on Thursday's is at least served by the Barton Town Service on Wednesday and Friday).

Friday 30th - A Saturday service will be provided, except BusKing and Hornsby Travel who will provide a normal Friday service. There are exceptions as follows:

• EYMS Services 360, 361, S1, S2 and S3 will operate a normal Friday service
• EYMS Services 106, 107, 143, 160, 195, X36 and the Beverley Town Shopper Shuttle will not operate
• EYMS Service 64 will have an extra journey from Hull to Castle Hill Hospital at 0615, returning at 0701
• EYMS Service X46 will have an extra journey from Pocklington to York at 0725
• EYMS Service X57 will have an extra journey from Gilberdyke to Hull at 0708, with the 0855 X56 Elloughton to Goole starting in Hull at 0820
• Stagecoach service 25 in North East Lincolnshire will operate a normal Friday service
• York Pullman Service X36 will operate a normal Friday service

New Years Eve - Normal Saturday service with an early evening finish around 6-8pm. Stagecoach will not be providing their usual limited evening and nightbuses in Hull this year.

New Years Day - Special afternoon and evening services will be provided on certain routes in the Hull area only, in connection with events to mark the start of Hull City of Culture 2017:

EYMS:
34: Hull-Willerby
56: Hull-Longhill-Asda Bilton
57: Hull-Hessle
62: Hull-Setting Dyke
66: Hull-Hessle
105: Hull-Cottingham Green (not The Lawns)
115: Hull-Cottingham Burton Road (not Castle Hill Hospital)
151: Hull-Anlaby-Willerby
Each route will have 4 journeys each way, providing late afternoon journeys into Hull, and teatime/late evening returns.

Stagecoach:
1: Hull-Boothferry Estate - Half Hourly afternoon service
2: Hull-Boothferry Estate - Half Hourly afternoon service
3: Hull-Greatfield - Every 20 minutes afternoon service
3: Hull-Orchard Park - Half Hourly afternoon service
4: Hull-Bilton Grange - Half Hourly afternoon service
4: Hull-Orchard Park - Half Hourly afternoon service
5: Hull-Orchard Park-Kingswood - Every 20 minutes afternoon service
7: Hull-Sutton Park-North Point-Kingswood - Half Hourly afternoon service
10: Hull-North Point-North Bransholme - Half Hourly afternoon service
11: Hull-North Point-Kingswood - Half Hourly afternoon service
12: Hull-North Point - Half Hourly afternoon service
14: Hull-Greatfield - Half Hourly afternoon service
All services then have evening journeys from Paragon Interchange on an 'as required by passenger' basis, from 2045 onwards.
Park and Ride will also operate every 15 minutes in the afternoon, and again mid-evening.

Bank Holiday Monday 2nd - A Sunday service will be provided. First York will provide a half hourly frequency on service 10 to Stamford Bridge.

EYMS 106/107 Changes

When Hull University term resumes in January, EYMS will be adding a new journey to Saturday 'nightbus' 106; the current 4 year round journeys from Hull City Centre to Cottingham will be supplemented by a new late evening departure from The Lawns Halls of Residence in Cottingham at 2250 to Spiders Nightclub on Cleveland Street in Hull, operating via Cottingham Green, Hull University, Beverley Road, Bond Street in Hull City Centre and Club Valbon. This new journey will only operate during university term times, starting January 21st, and unlike the existing service 106 journeys will not serve the residential areas in West Cottingham.

However at the same time 'term-time' nightbus 107 from Hull University to the The Lawns will no longer have 0345 and 0415 departures from the University on Saturday night/Sunday morning, with the last departure from the University at 0315. The 0345 and 0415 journeys were only introduced in October.

East Riding Bus Cuts final proposals

Earlier this year I covered (here, here and here), potential cuts to subsidised bus services by East Riding of Yorkshire Council (ERYC). On Tuesday 13th December, the council cabinet will consider the final proposals. Most of the proposed cuts will go ahead as planned if approved, but some contracts have been 'saved' and demand responsive services will be introduced as partial replacement in parts of the county to avoid villages being left entirely unserved. Whilst a couple of decisions appear questionable, it is good to see some mitigation from the original proposals. The supporting papers for the cabinet contain extensive information, so I have picked out some key and interesting points.

The following services proposed for withdrawal entirely will now continue:

• 124: Boynton-Driffield/Ruston Parva-Bridlington Wednesday and Thursday 'shopper' service - villages would have been left unserved by the bus network - average 6 passengers per journey at a cost of £2.49 per passenger journey
• 173: Withernsea-Hull Saturday 'shopper' service - villages would have been left unserved by the bus network - average 18 passengers per journey at a cost of £4.05 per passengerjourney
• 196: Aughton-York Tuesday 'shopper' service - may change day of operation, villages would have been left unserved by the bus network - average 18 passengers per journey at a cost of £2.18 per passenger journey
• 486/487: Selby-Hensall-Snaith Monday and Friday 'shopper' circular - reason given as "Accept NYCC tender for local bus service (Cost Reduction)", has been costing 43p per passenger journey with an average 20 passengers
• 488: Selby-Goole Wednesday 'shopper' service - reason given as "Accept NYCC tender for local bus service (Cost Reduction)", has been costing £2.47 per passenger journey with an average 17 passengers

Additionally the Monday, Wednesday and Friday diversion of the 221 Aldbrough-Hull via Garton will be retained to retain a link from the village to Hull. This diversion has an average zero passengers per journey, 97 annual passengers and a £8.79 per passenger journey cost. Why is this being funded still with such low usage, and why 3 days a week? If retaining such a little used service is valued so much, why not just fund it one day a week?

The following service groups have amended proposals:

45/46 Bridlington-Driffield-Pocklington-York:

• The Saturday 0905 46A Pocklington-Driffield will no longer be funded between Midldeton on the Wolds and Driffield as previously proposed, and neither will the return 1255 46A Driffield-York between Driffield and Market Weighton. The weekday equivalent is not impacted.
• The Monday to Saturday 1345 45 York-Bridlington will no longer be funded between Pocklington and Bridlington, as previously proposed, along with the return 1545 46 Bridlington-York between Bridlington and Pocklington.
• The Monday to Saturday 1635 45 Bridlington-York will now continue to be funded but be retimed and rerouted via Bainton and Middleton on the Wolds to partially replace the 1545 departure from Bridlington. The return 1835 45 York-Bridlington will also continue to be funded. The justification given is the "adverse effect on journeys to work"
• Subsidised evening and Sunday services will no longer be funded as per the original proposals

78/79/80/277 Hull-Hedon:

• The Saturday 0640 277 Hull to Hedon and return 0727 79 will have funding withdrawn as planned.
• Funding for the weekday 1102 and 1452 service 78's from Hedon to Hull to operate via Paull will cease as planned, but funding for the 1302 from Hedon to serve Paull will be retained, for Paull residents travelling back from Hedon. Remaining Hedon-Hull services via Paull will potentially be at 0827, 1002, 1302 and 1722 (depending on any commercial changes)
• On Saturday's funding for the 0827, 1002 and 1452 service 78's from Hedon to serve Paull will be withdrawn, but funding for the 1302 retained. Remaining Hedon-Hull services via Paull will potentially be at 0915, 1102, 1302 and 1722
• Weekday service 80 will still have funding withdrawn for diversions via Paull or the Westlands Estate in Hedon
• The Stagecoach operated Monday to Saturday evening service would no longer be funded, except for the 1810 78 Hull to Hedon and 1850 277 Hedon to Hull return, which was proposed to have it's funding withdrawn along with the rest of the service. This is for the benefit of commuters and was 'mooted' as a possibility in the original consultation.
• The Sunday service will have funding withdrawn entirely as originally planned.

142 Beverley-Middleton on the Wolds:

• The Saturday extensions from Holme to Middleton on the Wolds will be retained. This service has an average 1 passenger per journey at a cost of £7.77 per passenger journey and has a weekday alternative. I do question if retaining these extensions is the best of use money with such low usage and an available alternative during the week.
• Sunday services will have funding withdrawn as planned

246: Hornsea-Beverley-Hull:

• Funding for the weekday 0605 Hornsea-Beverley and the 0700 Beverley-Hornsea as far as Brandesburton will be retained for commuters.
• Funding for the Monday to Saturday 0635, 1030, 1230 and 1430 Hornsea-Hull between Hornsea and Beverley, the 1915 Hornsea-Beverley, the 0815 Beverley-Hornsea (Sat only) and the 0940, 1140, 1340 and 1750 Hull to Hornsea between Beverley and Hornsea will be withdrawn as planned, leaving a 2 hourly daytime services and limited later evening journeys.
• Funding for Sunday journeys will be withdrawn as planned.

All other services proposed to have funding withdrawn will see their funding withdrawn as planned subject to ERYC's cabinet approving the final proposals.

Interestingly the following contracts being withdrawn received no comments during EYRC's consultation:

• 270: Driffield-Beeford
• 517: Bridlington Town Service, one peak journey
• 523: Beverley-Molescroft, Sunday
• 549: Withernsea Town Service
• Village Link services in Holderness

Finally ERYC have published EYMS's response to the consultation earlier this year. They question the heavy weighting against evening and Sunday services with less people working the traditional 9-5 Monday to Friday schedule. They also question the effectiveness of demand responsive services as replacements to traditional bus services (as opposed to supplementing them); EYMS's submission note they are difficult to market to non-residents and of little use for short notice travel. A 2003 service in the Pocklington area is noted as having been replaced by traditional bus services at lower cost. 

EYMS state they will put any service due have funding withdrawn into one of three categories:

• 'Free standing' services with no commercial future - these will be withdrawn, with the Market Weighton shopper services S1/S2/S3 quoted as an example.
• 'Minor supplements to current commercial services' - these will be considered for continued commercial operation, with the Sunday morning service 105 quoted as an example
• 'Major supplements to current commercial services' - these will require timetable recasts with services 45/46 and 246 quoted as examples.

EYMS then note that the loss of withdrawn contracts means margins "will fall well below the level that is essential for EYMS to continue to replace its assets". Most of the 'at-risk' services are off-peak, limiting vehicle savings to 4 and meaning a lower utilisation of vehicles. "Further economies from the commercial network are inevitable". EYMS state only a third of lost revenue will be covered by fuel and wage savings. Ominous.

EYMS included some financial information:
2013 Net Profit - £652,0000
2014 Turnover - £30.8 million
2014 Net Profit - £694,000
2015 Turnover - £29.93 million
2015 Net Profit - £156,000 (0.5% of turnover)
Capital spend on buses since January 2014 - £5 million

And also this interesting nugget:

Since 2002 bus speeds in Hull have slowed from 10.8mph to 9.1mph. The current network could be operated with 15% fewer buses if traffic conditions returned what they were in 2002/3.

Selwyn Motors 292 withdrawn

Some sad news to report - the long standing 292 Saturday service from Belton to Doncaster via Epworth and Sandtoft operated by Selwyn Motors is being withdrawn at the end of the year. The service provides an 0945 departure from Belton, arriving in Doncaster at 1042, with the return service leaving Doncaster at 1600.

From North Lincolnshire Council:

292	The Belton to Doncaster service will stop operating on 31 December 2016.  Passengers who wish to travel to Doncaster can contact CallConnect.