Cutbacks and small improvements

On Monday 2nd December, Hornsby Travel revised service 4 between Scunthorpe and Brigg, service 12 between Scunthorpe and Ashfield, and service 13 between Scunthorpe and Lakeside Retail Park. For the most part the changes were sadly cutbacks.

Starting with service 4 the main 'headline' is that Monday to Friday daytime services now follow the Saturday daytime route between Ashby Broadway and Lakeside, serving Bottesford Road, Bottesford Lane and Timberland, rather than the more direct route via Ashby High Street and Queensway, which are still served early mornings and evenings (and by the Stagecoach Sunday service). This is to compensate for the almost total withdrawal of service 13 along Bottesford Road, Bottesford Lane and Timberland (see below). Daytime journey times from Scunthorpe to Brigg increase from 45 to 49 minutes and from Brigg to Scunthorpe increase from 45 to 47 minutes.

Also on weekdays the 1730 and 1830 from Brigg to Scunthorpe now terminate 'short' at the Hornsby Depot in Ashby, with the 1830 now omitting Town Hill and South View in Broughton as well; the last bus from Brigg to these parts of Broughton is now at 1730. There are now no buses from Broughton to Scunthorpe Town Centre between 1646 and 2101; for Brigg to Scunthorpe passengers the X4 is available as an alternative and there is also a 1915 service 4 from Brigg to Scunthorpe omitting Broughton.

The Saturday timetable has also been extensively revised. Rather than operate at totally different times to weekdays - the 4 had been departing both Scunthorpe Bus Station and Brigg at :30 past the hour Monday to Friday and at :00 past the hour on Saturdays - the Saturday service 4 now mostly operates at the same or similar times to weekdays. Another Saturday improvement is the introduction of a limited service to Foxhills Industrial Estate. There is a new Saturday 0512 from Lakeside to Foxhills via Scunthorpe Bus Station, and 0610 return from Foxhills to Brigg (0630 from Scunthorpe Bus Station). These journeys also provide new early morning journey opportunities for travel within Scunthorpe and from Scunthorpe and Broughton into Brigg. The previous first service 4 from Lakeside into Scunthorpe was at 0732 and from Scunthorpe to Brigg at 0700. There is also a 1610 service from Foxhills Industrial Estate to Scunthorpe, Broughton and Brigg.

Elsewhere in the Saturday timetable there are slight cutbacks in the Town Hill and South View areas of Broughton, which are now served by departures from both Scunthorpe and Brigg between 0730 and 1730 rather than between 0700 and 1800. The first service from Brigg to Scunthorpe is 30 minutes later at 0730 rather than 0700. As on weekdays the 1730 and 1830 from Brigg terminate short in Ashby leaving a two and three quarter gap from Brigg to Scunthorpe between 1630 and 1915 but with no X4 as an alternative; unlike on weekdays the 1915 does serve Broughton though so the over four hour Monday to Friday gap for a service into Scunthorpe isn't quite as long on a Saturday. Saturday evening services no longer serve Scunthorpe Hospital. The last service is 10 minutes later in each direction, at 2010 rather than 2000 from Scunthorpe Bus Station and at 2050 rather than 2040 from Brigg.

Monday to Friday service 12 isn't changed, but the timetable now also applies on Saturdays. As a result the Saturday 'extras' from Scunthorpe Bus Station at 1745 and from Ashfield at 0815, 0915, 1315 and 1715 no longer operate. Neither do the extensions of certain services to Burringham and East Butterwick. East Butterwick now no longer has a 'fixed timetable' service, and Burringham only on a Friday.

Service 13 goes from an hourly Monday to Friday daytime service to one college day journey in each direction. The college day 13 follows the same route between Lakeside Retail Park and Ashby via Timberland, Bottesford Lane and Bottesford Road, but rather than follow the service 12 route into Scunthorpe instead operates via Ashby Road, West Common Lane, Glover Road (for John Leggott and North Lindsey Colleges), Kingsway, Church Lane (Scunthorpe Hospital) and Scunthorpe Station. Incorporating Scunthorpe Hospital and Station into the route is welcome, but there aren't many positives here.

Nowhere is left unserved by the change to the 13; as already noted the 4 replaces the 13 between Ashby and Lakeside, continuing to operate hourly and introducing new weekday links to Brigg in the process. Between Scunthorpe and Ashby the old 13 route along Cemetery Road, Old Brumby Street, Revesby Avenue, Alvingham Road and Collum Avenue also has the hourly 12, but frequency is cut from half hourly (12+13 combined) to hourly (12 only). Going back around 10 years ago Stagecoach also served this route half hourly Monday to Saturday, so a significant reduction in recent years. Cemetery Road is in the odd situation of having a more frequent Sunday daytime service than Monday to Saturday daytimes, as it is served by the Stagecoach 1A every half hour. Last departure from Scunthorpe Bus Station on service 12 is at 1715 rather than 1745 on service 13.

Back to the Past, to an extent

Hornsby Travel changed many of their services on Monday 2nd December, including service 9 between Scunthorpe Bus Station and Scunthorpe Hospital, service 35 between Scunthorpe Bus Station, Althorpe Station, Keadby and Amcotts, and service 90 between Scunthorpe Bus Station, Althorpe Station and Crowle.

Service 35 reverts to a timetable more akin to that it provided prior to being amended in June. Monday to Friday the service goes from a two hourly daytime off peak frequency between Scunthorpe and Amcotts to an hourly daytime off peak frequency between Scunthorpe and Keadby (all but one journey serving Queens Crescent in Keadby), with four journeys extending to/from Amcotts (one less service per day); these extensions result in some 45 and 75 minute gaps in the return direction between Keadby and Scunthorpe. One useful change from June that does remain is the diversion of all but one journey to operate via Scunthorpe Hospital.

The new 35 timetable, apart from the first journey in each direction, also applies on Saturdays. The June changes did not impact the Saturday service, so the main changes here are now serving Scunthorpe Hospital, and all journeys serving Queens Crescent in Keadby. The consistency between weekdays and Saturdays is also a major positive.

In June the 90 had begun serving Queens Crescent in Keadby off peak daytimes Monday to Friday, to compensate for the 35 being reduced in frequency. This diversion has now been withdrawn with the 35 increasing in frequency once again, resulting in daytime Crowle to Scunthorpe journey times being reduced from 41 to 35 minutes. Otherwise the service remains every two hours Monday to Friday off peak daytimes, more frequently at peaktimes.

The new timetable improves co-ordination with East Yorkshire service 361 between Scunthorpe and Crowle, reinstating a combined hourly frequency Monday to Friday off peak daytimes, rather than the 30 and 90 minute gaps that had existed since June. Co-ordination with the 35 is also excellent from Scunthorpe Bus Station to Althorpe Station; the 35, 90 and 361 together providing a half hourly service though in the other direction it's abysmal, with examples of two services operating at the same time from Althorpe into Scunthorpe.

The Saturday timetable on service 90 has also been amended, with five journeys each way continuing to be provided. The single afternoon service extension beyond Crowle to Eastoft and Luddington is withdrawn, leaving passengers in these two villages with service 361 or CallConnect. The 90 continues to serve Church Lane in Scunthorpe on Saturdays only, and is now the only Saturday service on Church Lane after Hornsby withdrew the Saturday service 9 as part of their changes this week. Monday to Friday service 9 is unaffected.

Cherry Burton New Peaktime Service

East Yorkshire added new peaktime journeys to part of route 142 between Cherry Burton and Beverley on Monday 11th November. The 0808 schoolday only service from Holme to Beverley now also operates on weekdays during school holidays between Cherry Burton and Beverley only, departing at 0818; the previous first school holiday service from Cherry Burton to Beverley was the Acklams Coaches 0958 departure. In the evening peak, there is a new Monday to Friday 1730 service from Beverley Bus Station to Cherry Burton; the previous last service being the Acklams Coaches 1500 departure. Hopefully this journey does better than Acklams Coaches attempt at a 1710 schoolday only Beverley to Etton via Cherry Burton service in 2017.

These additions also the end the oddity of the 142 being a schoolday and Saturday only route for East Yorkshire.

Stagecoach West Hull Changes

Stagecoach made some major changes to their West Hull services on Sunday 3rd November.

Services 1 and 2 link Paragon Interchange in the City Centre with the Boothferry Estate, the 1 operating via the Thornton Estate and Hessle Road, the 2 operating via Hull Royal Infirmary, Anlaby Road and Anlaby Park Road North. The two services operate as 'through' services across the Boothferry Estate, making journeys such as Anlaby Park Road North to Hessle Road possible without a change. Services 1 and 2 had been operating every 10 minutes Monday to Friday daytimes and every 15 minutes on Saturday daytimes, however this has now been reduced to every 15 minutes Monday to Friday and every 20 minutes on Saturdays. The first Monday to Friday departure on service 1 from Paragon Interchange is now at 0435 rather than 0505, and on service 2 at 0430 rather than 0515.

However at the same time as cutting the 1 and 2's frequencies, new service 2s has been started, operating the same route as service 2 between Paragon Interchange and the Boothferry Estate, before continuing the short distance to Hessle Sainsbury's. The 2s operates every 15 minutes Monday to Friday daytimes (with some longer gaps on schooldays afternoons) and every 20 minutes on a Saturday daytime. Combined the 2 and 2s now operate every 7-8 minutes Monday to Friday daytime and every 10 minutes on a Saturday daytime, an extra two services per hour compared to the previous service 2 timetable. The remaining 'through' service 1 and 2's are probably still frequent enough for any 'through' traffic.

Also impacted by the changes was Priory Park Park and Ride service 20. Apart from some 20x peaktime journeys via the A63, the Park and Ride service had routed from Priory Park via Hessle Road as far as Gipsyville, then via Askew Avenue, Fiveways, Boothferry Road, Anlaby Road and Hull Royal Infirmary into Hull City Centre. Now service 20 has been rerouted between Gipsyville and Hull Royal Infirmary via the main Hessle Road Shopping Area and Rawling Way. The Park and Ride continues to operate every 15 minutes Monday to Saturday daytime, and the re-routing provides an increase in services along the main Hessle Road Shopping Area, even after allowing for the cutback to service 1; Monday to Friday there are now eight Stagecoach services an hour in each direction, and on Saturday seven.

The changes to the 1 and 20 aren't quite as positive as the 2 and 2s. The Thornton Estate does not get any new services to supplement the reduction in frequency on service 1, and there is no replacement for service 20 on Boothferry Road between Fiveways and Anlaby Road, not that this section is lacking in buses - services 66, 155, X55, 250 & 350 also operate along here. Most notable however is the impact on Askew Avenue. Technically it's not totally 'bus-less'; in addition to some schools and college services, the 1800 to 1930 inclusive Park and Ride departures from Priory Park operate via the 'old' service 20 route as new service number 22, I presume to serve evening football and rugby matches at the KCom Stadium without the need to amend service 20. However a one-way early evening service isn't much of a service for Askew Avenue. I had wondered if Hull City Council would re-route the tendered 51 via Askew Avenue again, but so far they haven't. The northern and southern parts of Askew Avenue are within walking distance of Boothferry Road and Hessle Road respectively where alternative services are available.

Without a doubt some positives here, but a couple of negatives too.

Services 5 and 11 mostly improved

On Sunday 3rd November, Stagecoach amended Hull Paragon Interchange to Kingswood Retail Park services 5 and 11, and the changes mostly provide an improved service.

The biggest changes have been to service 5 which operates via the Avenues, including serving Hull University, and Orchard Park. Previously the Monday to Saturday daytime pattern had been a service every 20 minutes over the full route and a service every 20 minutes between Paragon Interchange and Orchard Park Tesco, giving a combined every 10 minute frequency over most of the route. This has now been amended to increase the 'full route' frequency to Kingswood to every 15 minutes, with 'short' journeys also running every 15 minutes between Paragon Interchange and Orchard Park Medical Centre. Overall the service between Paragon Interchange and Orchard Park Medical Centre is now every 7-8 minutes, an extra two services per hour. The only negative is the reduction from every 10 to every 15 minutes over the short section between Orchard Park Medical Centre and Orchard Park Tesco, though every 15 minutes is still frequent and services 3 and 4 are also available to passengers on this stretch of route. Morning peak 'shorts' still start at Orchard Park Tesco however, and some 'shorts' do not operate on schooldays.

The Monday to Saturday evening provision has also been revised. Service 5 continues to operate every half hour, with the final service from Hull City Centre now starting at Paragon Interchange rather than in the Old Town. Inglemire Lane variant u5 is more substantially amended. Previously the u5 had operated every half hour early evenings between Paragon Interchange and Kingswood, giving a combined 15 minute frequency with service 5 over common sections. Now these early evening journeys have been truncated to operate between Paragon Interchange and Orchard Park Medical Centre only, reducing the early evening frequency between Orchard Park and Kingswood from every 15 minutes to half hourly. On the positive side however, these u5 'shorts' now continue all evening Friday and Saturday, doubling the frequency over the common sections of route with service 5. Going by the Stagecoach route map, the u5 has also been re-routed between the Hall Road/Endike Lane/Greenwood Avenue junction and the Hall Road/Orchard Park Road junction; instead of routing 'direct' via Hall Road, which is also served by the 3, the u5 now operates along the otherwise unserved western part of Greenwood Avenue before resuming the main service 5 route along Ellerburn Avenue.

The Sunday daytime service 5 timetable has been halfed between Orchard Park Tesco and Kingswood; rather than a 15 minute service across the full route, alternate journeys now operate between Paragon Interchange and Orchard Park Tesco only.

Service 11 (including the 11a variant) which operates via Holderness Road, Bellfield Avenue, Spring Cottage and North Point Shopping Centre, has a revised timetable but the only significant frequency change is the increase of Sunday evening services from hourly to half hourly.

Service 5 and services 11/11a also now operate as 'through' services at Kingswood Retail Park and Paragon Intechange on many journeys. Be aware however at Paragon Interchange it appears to sometimes be the Orchard Park 'shorts' on service 5 that operate as a through route with service 11 at Paragon Interchange, so it's not always a full 'circular' service being provided.. Even allowing for this, there are additional journeys now possible without a change of bus, such as between Holderness Road and the Avenues, or Orchard Park to Bransholme on weekends.

East Yorkshire York Changes

East Yorkshire amended York services 45, 46 and X47 on Monday 30th September. Service 45 links Bridlington, Driffield, Market Weighton, Pocklington and York, service 46 connects Holme on Spalding Moor, Market Weighton, Pocklington and York whilst service X47 operates between Hull, Beverley, Market Weighton, Pocklington and York.

Previously between Kexby Bridge and York, service 45 (including the 45A variant) had operated via Dunnington and on service 46 most services operated via the University of York. From either Hull Road or the University into York City Centre, both routes served Lawrence Street and Piccadilly en-route to their Station Road terminus. However since late September the 45 and 46 now have a new route, with the same route being used for both services. 

Firstly both services now serve the University of York but not the village of Dunnington, which East Yorkshire no longer serve. This increases the frequency between the University, Pocklington and Market Weighton from every two hours Monday to Saturday daytime plus peak time extras, to hourly. The evening peak 46A variant which served Dunnington becomes a standard 46, simplifying the service. It does however result in the loss of the Dunnington to Pocklington link, and the end of daytime buses along Common Lane in Dunnington. Dunnington's main service is First York route 10. 

The other change is to the route within York, with Lawrence Street and Piccadilly now omitted. Instead the 45 and 46 operate via Melrosegate to Heworth and then serve East Parade, Layerthorpe and Stonebow in York City Centre, before continuing to terminate at Station Road. The new route increases journey times by 5 minutes off peak, and mean that the 45/46 have different picking up points east of the River Ouse in York City Centre compared to the other main Market Weighton-Pocklington-York service, route X46. However it does provide access to different parts of York, and provides a link between the University and Heworth. There is overlap with First services 6 and 11, Transdev operated tendered service 25, and Transdev's Coastliner service, for local travel into York on the new route.

A small number of 45 and 46 journeys haven't transitioned to the new route, and have instead become service X47 'short' journeys, still serving Lawrence Street and Piccadilly in York. Early mornings, the 0555 Mon-Fri and 0625 Sat from Pocklington to York, which were already following the X47 route not serving either Dunnington or the University of York, adopt the X47 number. In the evening, the Mon-Sat 2020 and Fri+Sat 2220 service 46's from Pocklington to York, become X47's, as do the Mon-Sat 2105 and Fri+Sat 2305 45's from York to Pocklington. As a result of becoming X47's, these evening journeys now serve York Station as opposed to nearby Station Road, a small enhancement for anyone connecting from a rail service. 

East Yorkshire University, Avenues and Cottingham Changes

On Sunday 1st September, East Yorkshire made some significant changes to their services in the Avenues and University area of Hull, and in Cottingham - in part due to the closure of the University of Hull's The Lawns Halls of Residence in Cottingham, and their replacement with new accommodation around Inglemire Lane in Hull.

The impact of the student accommodation move has been most profound on service 103. This route had linked Hull Paragon Interchange and The Lawns via Princes Avenue, Newland Avenue, Cottingham Road and Cottingham Green, operating every 20 minutes Monday to Saturday daytime and every hour Monday to Saturday evening and Sunday daytime. Now it operates from Paragon Interchange via Princes Avenue and Newland Avenue before performing a one-way loop of Cranbrook Avenue, Inglemire Lane, Hall Road and Cottingham Road, then back into Paragon Interchange via Newland Avenue and Princes Avenue. The 103 continues to operate every 20 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes but has been increased to half hourly Monday to Saturday evenings and Sunday daytimes.

Prior to September, Inglemire Lane only had Monday to Saturday early evening buses on Stagecoach service U5; Stagecoach had earlier attempted a daytime service with service 9. Whilst this change is clearly good news for Inglemire Lane and Hall Road, it does represent a reduction in services from Cottingham to both Hull City Centre and the Avenues - although as noted above, must be seen in the context of the The Lawns closure.

Nightbus 106S, a solitary inbound journey to Hull City Centre, operating on Saturdays during university terms only, has also been amended to start on Inglemire Lane rather than The Lawns. Nightbus 106, which operates from Hull City Centre via the University to Cottingham year round, is unchanged. Nightbus 107, which operates from Hull University Asylum nightclub on Wednesday night/Thursday morning during term times no longer operates to the The Lawns, but instead operates down Cranbrook Avenue to then provide a 'one-way' loop via Newland Avenue, Princes Avenue, Spring Bank, Beverley Road and Cottingham Road back to Cranbrook Avenue and Asylum. This new route serves various bars and clubs as well as student housing.

'Sister' service to the 103, service 105 between Hull Paragon Interchange, Beverley Road, Cottingham Road and Cottingham has been diverted in Cottingham from The Lawns to Castle Hill Hospital, operating via St Margaret's Avenue. This provides new connectivity to Castle Hill Hospital from Beverley Road and Cottingham Road in Hull, and restores bus service to St Margaret's Avenue for the first time since Stagecoach removed the western half of service 9. The 105 continues to operate every 20 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes, half hourly Monday to Saturday evenings and hourly on Sunday evenings, but has been increased from hourly to half hourly Sunday daytimes, which compensates for the loss of the Sunday 103 to Cottingham.

When Cottingham services were reorganised in the mid-00's, the service number 115 made a lot of sense. The route ran between Paragon Interchange, Endike Lane, Cottingham and Castle Hill Hospital via Princes Avenue, Newland Avenue and Cranbrook Avenue, where the other main route was the Stagecoach 15. Since the introduction of Simplibus, the 15 became the 5, and East Yorkshire using the 115 number has been less logical. East Yorkshire used September's changes to renumber the 115 to the 104, fitting in neatly between the 103 that also serves the Avenues, and the 105 that also serves Cottingham. The 104 number also links in better with the 154, with which it operates as a 'cross-Castle Hill Hospital' circular.

As part of East Yorkshire's wider initiative to improve early morning services in the Hull area, the first departure from Paragon Interchange Monday to Friday on the 104 is now at 0530 compared to 0600 on the 115. From Castle Hill Hospital there are extra journeys at 0533, 0603 and 0633 to Paragon Interchange, the later also replacing a short 0645 from Endike Lane into Paragon Interchange. Previously the first 115 from Castle Hill Hospital was at 0653.

On the negative side the Monday to Saturday evening 'shorts' between Paragon Interchange and Endike Lane have been withdrawn. The enhanced frequency on service 103 replaces these in the Avenues area, but the last service from Paragon Interchange to Endike Lane is now at 1950 rather than 2330, and from Endike Lane to Paragon Interchange at 2057 rather than 2257.

Service 154 between Paragon Interchange, Hull Royal Infirmary, Anlaby Road, Springfield Way, Willerby and Castle Hill Hospital also receives early morning improvements Monday to Friday, with new journeys from Paragon Interchange at 0520 and 0550, previous first journey at 0610, and from Castle Hill at 0541 and 0611, previous first journey at 0641.

The other main service between Hull and Cottingham is the 63. The 63 had been operating Monday to Saturday daytimes every 15 minutes between Paragon Interchange, Hull Royal Infirmary, Anlaby Road and Priory Road before alternate buses operated to Ledbury Road (just off Priory Road) and alternate buses continued to Castle Hill Hospital via Cottingham Green. Every hour services further continued to Beverley via Skidby, Little Weighton and Walkington. Since September this has been rationalised to a service every 20 minutes between Paragon Interchange and Castle Hill Hospital.

There are two main negative impacts, and one main positive impact. On the positive side this is an extra service per hour to Cottingham, which partially compensates for the loss of the 103. On the negative side is the end of buses to Ledbury Road, which East Yorkshire put down to "parking issues mean buses are having difficulty getting around the smaller estate roads". Also on the negative side is the impact on Skidby, Little Weighton and Walkington. 

These villages are not 'cut-off' as service 180 has been brought back a partial replacement. The 180 was a long standing Hessle to Beverley service via Skidby, Little Weighton and Walkington that was replaced by faster service 80 omitting the three villages, and the 63 extension to Beverley. The 'new' 180 operates between Castle Hill Hospital, Southwood Road, Cottingham, Skidby, Little Weighton, Walkington and Beverley on a reduced frequency compared to the 63 and without the through service to Hull. The original 'new' service 180 timetable had departures from Cottingham Green to Beverley at 0745 and 0930, and from Castle Hill Hospital to Beverley at 1048, 1218 and 1348 (departing Cottingham Green at 1100, 1230 and 1400). In the opposite direction, the 180 left Beverley for Castle Hill via Cottingham at 1010, 1140 and 1310, and departed Beverley as far as Cottingham Green only at 1440, 1550 and 1700. With a first arrival in Cottingham at 1043 and last return at 1400, this timetable was not much use for shopping trips into Hull City Centre with a change of bus in Cottingham, though did provide basic commuting and shopping links to Beverley and shopping links to Cottingham.

Since Monday 11th November the 180 has seen two changes. There is a new 1630 from Cottingham Green to Beverley, which makes a Walkington/Little Weighton/Skidby to Hull City Centre round-trip with a change of bus in Cottingham more realistic, and the 1700 from Beverley is retimed to 1715 "to make it easier for commuters to catch the bus after work".

Returning to the 63, there is a new 0610 from Paragon Interchange to Castle Hill Hospital on Saturdays; previously the first journey was at 0715. In the opposite direction the first Saturday service from Castle Hill Hospital is now at 0648 rather than 0740.

As a final note - this is not a new quirk, but the Saturday evening service from Hull City Centre to The Parkway and Burton Road in Cottingham, has a large gap between the 1950 service 104 from Paragon Interchange and the 2330 service 106 from Hull Old Town. There are then further service 106's at 0030, 0130 and 0225. Unusual for somewhere to have a daytime, early evening and 'full' nightbus service (i.e. not just the 2330 departure) but a 3 hour 40 minute gap mid/late evening. 

Service 88 Goes Five Days A Week

Service 88 between Goole, Airmyn, Rawcliffe and Rawcliffe Bridge was substantially improved from Monday 2nd September. The service is operated by East Yorkshire for East Riding of Yorkshire Council. It had been operating Monday, Wednesday and Friday only, with one journey from Rawcliffe Bridge at 0930, returning from Goole at 1230. Now the 88 operates Monday to Friday, with three journeys in each direction, departing Goole at 0905, 1205 and 1505, returning from Rawcliffe Bridge at 0930, 1230 and 1530.

Swinefleet 'Shorts' withdrawn

From Monday 2nd September, the two weekday 'short' journeys on subsidised East Yorkshire service 360 between Swinefleet and Goole were withdrawn. In the morning, the 0715 from Swinefleet no longer operates, with the first service from Swinefleet into Goole now at 0819. In the evening, the 1835 from Goole to Swinefleet no longer operates, with the last service from Goole at 1725.

In addition other minor timing changes were made to service 360 and associated service 361, which together link Scunthorpe, Luddington, Swinefleet and Goole, the 360 operating via Amcotts and the 361 via Crowle.

Hull to Willerby Improvements

East Yorkshire improved their Hull to Willerby services 34 and 44 from Sunday 1st September.

The Monday to Friday 0722 service 44 from Willerby Square to Hull Paragon Interchange now starts at Willerby Parkway at 0715, providing a first service from Willerby Parkway into Hull City Centre via Willerby Road and Spring Bank one hour earlier than previously available. Similarly, on Saturdays the 0757 service 44 from Willerby Square to Paragon Interchange now starts at Willerby Parkway at 0750, 53 minutes earlier than previously available.

On Sunday daytimes the frequency of service 34 has been doubled from hourly to half hourly.

Service 56 & 57 Weekday Morning Enhancements

From Monday 2nd September, East Yorkshire made some Monday to Friday morning improvements to Hull area services 56 and 57, which link Asda Bilton, Longhill, Holderness Road and Hull City Centre, before the 57 continues to/from Hull Royal Infirmary, Hessle Road and Hessle Square.

The 0600 service 56 from Paragon Interchange to Asda Bilton now operates as a service 57, starting back in Hessle at 0530, 45 minutes before the previous first 57 from Hessle at 0615. In the other direction, extra morning peak services have been added from Asda Bilton into Hull City Centre. Between the 0701 service 57 departure and the 0843 service 56 departure inclusive, the number of services into Hull City Centre has improved from ten to twelve, with two extra service 56's providing the increase.

Hessle Town Service Passes to East Yorkshire

Operation of the Friday Only Hessle Town Service 183 passed from Acklams Coaches to East Yorkshire, with effect from Friday 6th September. Other than the change of operator, the main change is the diversion of the service to serve Hessle Square in the Town Centre for an additional time, in between serving Tranby Avenue and Darleys Roundabout. This reduces journey times from western Hessle to Hessle Town Centre, as it removes the need to travel via Sainsbury's, and also cuts travel times from Hessle Town Centre to eastern Hessle, removing the need to travel via the western part of the town first. On the other hand it does increase journey times slightly from western Hessle to Sainsbury's. and from Sainsbury's back to Beverley Road, Boothferry Road and First Lane. There have also been minor amendments to the timetable.

Blog Notice: Comments

To everyone who has left comments in the past 18 months or so, a massive apology. The emails I used to get to notify me that a comment needed moderating - moderation being necessary due to spam comments - stopped and I never looked into the blog comment settings until tonight. I have now approved all the non-spam comments, and hopefully sorted out my email notification.

Earlier Beverley to Hull first service

As part of East Yorkshire's initiative to improve early morning bus services in the Hull area, from Monday 2nd September service 121 gained a new part-route journey between Beverley and Hull Monday to Friday, departing Beverley at 0535. This is 30 minutes earlier than the previous first departure at 0605. Oddly though despite a 30 minute gap between the 0535 and 0605 departures, there is then an hour's gap until the next departure from Beverley at 0705.

Route 66 Improvements

Service 66 between Hull Paragon Interchange, Hull Royal Infirmary, the Boothferry Estate and Hessle was enhanced from Sunday 1st September. Operated by East Yorkshire, the improvements were part of a wider initiative by the operator to improve early morning and Sunday buses in the Hull area.

Monday to Friday morning new departures have been added from Hessle at 0510, 0540 and 0610 - first departure previously was at 0640 - and from Paragon Interchange at 0540 and 0610 - first departure previously was 0625.

On Sundays the daytime frequency has been increased from hourly to half hourly. Considering the Monday to Saturday daytime frequency is every 10 minutes, the previous hourly Sunday daytime service was a considerable reduction, although most of the 66 route is also covered by other services. Sunday evening services remain hourly, although retimed to improve co-ordination with the other route between Hull and Hessle, the 57.

Beverley Late Afternoon Cutback

East Yorkshire cutback the late afternoon service on their 520 and 521 circular Beverley Town Service routes from Monday 2nd September. The two routes each operate hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes and combine to give a half hourly service to the Swinemoor Estate in the east of the town. As part of the cutbacks the 1625 service 520 from Beverley Bus Station no longer operates Monday to Friday and the 1655 service 521 from the Bus Station no longer operates Monday to Saturday. The last journeys from the Bus Station are now the 1525 service 520 and 1555 service 521 departures Monday to Friday and the 1555 service 521 and 1625 service 520 departures on Saturdays.

450 now serves Immingham Town Centre

On Monday 2nd September, North Lincolnshire Council tendered service 450 between Immingham, Barton and Brigg, operated by Stagecoach, received a revised timetable and route. The service operates up to 4 journeys in each direction Monday to Saturday.

Between Immingham County Hotel terminus and South Killingholme the service now operates via Pelham Road in Immingham so as to serve the Civic Centre/Town Centre, and Habrough Church, as opposed to via the Manby Road industrial area and the A160. The previous route made sense when the 450 operated as an extension to service 5, as the 5 would serve the Civic Centre, however since the 450 became a separate service, there had been the rather odd situation of the service not serving Immingham Town Centre, but instead only a stop on the edge of the town (County Hotel) and an industrial area. This became more of an issue when service 5 was withdrawn from South Killingholme at the start of the year leaving the village without a timetabled bus to Immingham Town Centre. The revised service only offers the chance to spend either 45 minutes or 2 hours 45 minutes in Immingham Town Centre, but better than no timetabled bus at all (CallConnect is also available if pre-booked and has availability).

The 0940, 1140 and 1340 from Immingham now operate 5 minutes earlier, reducing connection times from service 5. From Brigg the 0930, 1130, 1330, and on Saturdays and School Holidays the 1530, departures now operate 10 minutes earlier. For anyone wanting to connect onto service 5 for Grimsby, you can now arrive at 1134 rather than 1154. Last departure from Grimsby to connect into service 450 remains at 1250 however, so not that much use!

Whilst these changes are positive and welcome, South Killingholme still has a poor timetabled service to it's nearest town, Immingham, and connections to Grimsby are near-useless without using CallConnect in one direction. What could make a difference is if prior to the 0935 departure from Immingham, a South Killingholme to Immingham 'short' was operated, at say 0910 (North Lincolnshire Concessionary Bus Passes don't have a 0930 start time), and on Saturdays and during School Holidays if following the 1452 and 1652 arrivals at Immingham County Hotel, new 'shorts' were provided to South Killingholme, at say 1500 and 1700. This would make a big improvement to the previously mentioned two issues for little extra mileage. If savings need to be made to fund these extras, I do wonder how much usage the 0715 Immingham to Brigg gets on a Saturday, and if it would be cheaper to run out of service from Grimsby depot to Brigg instead, direct via the A180 and A18 as opposed to via Barton?

Afternoon Louth to Grimsby gap filled

Stagecoach made some timetable amendments to Interconnect service 51 between Grimsby, Louth and Mablethorpe from Monday 2nd September. As part of these changes, a previous 95 minute gap in departures from Louth to Grimsby on schooldays between the 1425 51 and 1600 51b schools service has been filled, with the 1440 from Mablethorpe to Louth now running through to Grimsby, departing Louth at 1525, as also occurs during school holidays and on Saturdays.

Cliffsider Retimed

Stagecoach retimed journeys on their 'Cliffsider' service 103 between Scunthorpe, Messingham, Kirton and Lincoln on Monday 2nd September. The service remains approximately every two hours Monday to Saturdays, along with three daytime Scunthorpe to Messingham and return 'shorts'. Most notably the 0645 from Scunthorpe to Lincoln now operates 15 minutes earlier at 0630, and the Messingham to Scunthorpe 'shorts' are now better co-ordinated with the full route 103 journeys. Previously daytime departures from Messingham were at 0938, 1024, 1138, 1224, 1338, 1424 and 1538, but they are now at 0933, 1028, 1133, 1228, 1333, 1428 and 1533. Service 100 departures from Messingham to Scunthorpe are at 8 minutes past the hour however, so the 'perfect' coordination between the 100 and 103 in some hours has been lost, with slightly improved coordination in other hours.

Small but useful re-routing in Immingham

On Monday 2nd September, Stagecoach weekday early morning and peak service 5m between Humberston (early morning only), Cleethorpes (early morning only), Grimsby and Immingham had a small but potentially useful route change in Immingham. Between County Hotel and Kings Road, the service now operates via Manby Road, providing improved access to various industrial premises in the area compared to walking from the County Hotel bus stop. Traveline East Midlands shows there are now three additional bus stops served by the 5m. The timetable for service 5m remains unaltered.

Stagecoach 50 Afternoon Changes

Stagecoach service 50 between Grimsby and Saltfleet was amended in the afternoons on Monday 2nd September. The 50 links Grimsby with various villages to the south east of the town, most of which are within the Lincolnshire County Council area. The service operates three times a day on weekdays, and four times a day on Saturdays, though discounting what are essentially in service positioning journeys, the 50 offers two morning journeys into Grimsby, and two afternoon services from Grimsby, providing a basic service for commuters, students and shoppers.

On schooldays the 1435 from Grimsby now additionally serves New Waltham and Holton Le Clay, with a resultant increase in journey time of 18 minutes for those travelling from Grimsby to villages between Tetney and Saltfleet inclusive; a Grimsby to Tetney journey on this particular departure is now timed for 58 minutes, compared to a direct car journey time of 14 minutes according to Google. During school holidays the 1450 departure from Grimsby now operates 8 minutes later at 1458.

The end of the Humber Fastcat's Hull City Centre Loop

East Yorkshire and Stagecoach made some changes to the 350 Humber Fastcat between Hull, Barton and Scunthorpe on Sunday 1st September.

Most notably the peaktime, evening and Sunday journeys now no longer serve the Hull City Centre 'loop' outbound from Hull Paragon Interchange, omitting the Bond Street and Carr Lane stops, as well as the stop opposite the Interchange side entrance on Anlaby Road. Instead all outbound journeys now follow the Monday to Saturday daytime route from Paragon Interchange via Park Street to Anlaby Road, which is also used by the 250 Humber Flyer between Hull, Barton, Grimsby and Cleethorpes.

Stagecoach gave no reason for the change, but East Yorkshire noted it was to give a 'speedier' journey; for example the 1715 from Paragon Interchange used to arrive at Hull Royal Infirmary at 1727 but is now timed for 1718. I also suspect improving punctuality may have been a factor, at least with certain journeys; the previously mentioned 1715 used to arrive at Scunthorpe Bus Station at 1842 but now arrives at 1840, with seven of the nine minutes saved by omitting the Hull City Centre loop 'used up' elsewhere on the route.

On the other hand, this change inconveniences anyone who has been visiting the eastern and central parts of Hull City Centre, such as the Old Town area, Princes Quay or Hull New Theatre; passengers from these areas now have to walk to Paragon Interchange, or catch another service and change at either Paragon Interchange or Hull Royal Infirmary. Most other services in Hull City Centre serve other parts of the City Centre in addition to Paragon Interchange inbound or outbound, or in both directions. Furthermore in some cases changing from a connecting service onto the 350 at Bond Street or Carr Lane enabled an earlier 350 to be caught as opposed to changing at Paragon Interchange; I myself used to be able to get home from Hull University to Barton half an hour earlier a few years ago by changing at Carr Lane.

Overall this is a disappointing change, but if punctuality is a concern then this is a better option than cutting say Winteringham or the Frodingham Road area of Scunthorpe, where the 350 provides the only or main service. Plus for passengers travelling from Paragon Interchange it does speed up journey times.

At the same time the 1640 Monday to Saturday departure from Paragon Interchange has been retimed to 1645, fitting in better between the 1630 and 1700 service 250 departures. On Sundays the departure times from Paragon Interchange have been standardised from 0825, 1025, 1320, 1530, 1830 and 1930 to 0830, 1030, 1330, 1530, 1830 and 1930.

Priory Park Park and Ride September Changes

The Priory Park Park and Ride service in Hull, operated by Stagecoach, was slightly amended on Monday 2nd September. It has now gained a number - service 20 (and service 20X for peak time journeys via the A63). Four extra journeys were introduced from Priory Park to the City Centre, at 1855, 1910, 1925 and 1940 Monday to Saturday, presumably to avoid dead mileage. Finally the service now serves all stops en-route, having previously operated non-stop along Hessle Road between Priory Park and Askew Avenue and having served only the Wheeler Street, KC Stadium, Hull Royal Infirmary and Paragon Interchange side entrance stops on Anlaby Road prior to September.

Going by the VOSA website, a major change is due to the Park and Ride service next month, with a re-routing of non-special event journeys via the main Hessle Road shopping area as opposed to Askew Avenue and Boothferry Road. A service 2S is also being introduced between Hull City Centre, the Boothferry Estate and Sainsbury's.

Stagecoach 8 Changes

Stagecoach made some small changes to service 8 in Hull on Monday 2nd September. The service operates in a circle from Paragon Interchange via Beverley Road, Sutton Park, North Point, Salthouse Road and Holderness Road back to Paragon Interchange, and vice versa, every half hour Monday to Saturday daytimes. Some journeys operate as service 8a or 8x variants.

The weekday 0732 8x from Paragon Interchange to North Point via Beverley Road, Clough Road and the Sutton Fields Industrial Estate now operates as a circular back to Paragon Interchange via Salthouse Road, incorporating the previous college holiday only 0807 service 8 from North Point.

Whilst the circular service has been improved in the morning, it is different in the afternoon. The weekday clockwise 1402 circular service 8a from Paragon Interchange becomes a 1402 service 8 terminating at North Point, and the 1532 service 8 circular from Paragon Interchange now terminates at North Point. Whilst sadly not shown in the service 8 timetable, these journeys now appear to continue as service 85, via the service 8 route, from North Point back to Paragon Interchange and onto the Bricknell Estate. As a result however the apparent cut is not a significant as the service 8 timetable indicates. The loss however is that the last 8a variant from North Point to the unique sections of route on Biggin Avenue, Kestrel Avenue and Howdale Road is now at 1337 rather than 1437 Monday to Friday.

In the anti clockwise direction, there are now two hour long gaps on weekdays in the service 8 timetable, between 1405 and 1505 from Paragon Interchange, and again between 1535 and 1635 (the latter had existed on college days previously). There are journeys however on service 83 from Paragon Interchange at 1430 and 1600 which operate to Salthouse Road, North Point and Sutton Park on the service 8 route before serving Orchard Park and Cottingham; again sadly these journeys are not shown on the service 8 timetable despite going a long way to fill the gaps in service 8. Whilst being aimed at Wilberforce College students, the 83, and 85 mentioned earlier, appear to operate during college holidays as well.

Times of other journeys were also amended by up to 5 minutes, especially in the anti clockwise direction.

Stagecoach East Hull 16 minor reduction

Back on Monday 2nd September, Stagecoach amended East Hull service 16 between Paragon Interchange, Victoria Dock, Newbridge Road and Preston Road (Archbishop Sentamu Academy). The service remains hourly for much of the day Monday to Saturday, but now has some additional gaps on weekdays. College day service 86 was also withdrawn at the same time; this had previously filled in some gaps in service 16.

• The 0840 from Paragon Interchange to Archbishop Sentamu Academy was withdrawn on weekdays during college holidays. Combined with the end of service 86 there are now no weekday departures from Paragon Interchange between 0720 and 0940. The 0840 continues to operate on Saturdays.
• The 1440 from Paragon Interchange and 1509 return from Archbishop Sentamu Academy no longer operate on Thursdays, leaving a 150 minute gap in the timetable. During college term times this is presumably related to Wilberforce College having an early Thursday finish.
• The 1540 service 16 (college holidays)/service 86 (college days) from Paragon Interchange is replaced by a new Monday to Friday service 16 from Paragon Interchange at 1610. The 1540 service 16 remains on Saturdays.
• The 1609 service 16 from Archbishop Sentamu Academy (college holidays) and 1620 service 86 from Wilberforce College (college days) are replaced by a new Monday to Friday service 16 1640 departure from Archbishop Sentamu Academy. The 1609 continues to operate on Saturdays.

Stagecoach 9 Afternoon Changes

Stagecoach made some afternoon timetable changes to services 9/9a in Hull from Monday 2nd September. The routes link Kingswood, North Point, Garden Village and Paragon Interchange and combined operate every half hour Monday to Saturday daytime.

The 1415 service 9 from Kingswood, and the 1455 service 9 from Paragon Interchange no longer operate Monday to Friday, leaving an hours gap in the combined 9/9a timetable in each direction, and a two hour gap in the 9 timetable. On the positive side an additional journey has been added on Saturday afternoons from Kingswood at 1545 on service 9a, filling an hour's gap in the combined timetable and providing a latter last service from Kingswood and North Point to Lambwath Road, on the 9a's unique section of route.

Bricknell Estate Weekday Afternoon Changes

From Monday 2nd September, Stagecoach reduced service 3b between the Bricknell Estate and Hull Paragon Interchange Monday to Friday, by withdrawing the last journey in each direction. As a result the last weekday departure from Paragon Interchange is now at 1445 rather than 1545, and from Hartoft Road Shops on the Bricknell Estate at 1502 rather than 1602. (The 3b continues in operation for a further two hours on Saturdays).

Later weekday services from Paragon Interchange to the Bricknell Estate are however available on new Wilberforce College service 85, which appears to operate year round as opposed to just during college term times. The 85 departs Paragon Interchange at 1515 and 1645, and operates via Beverley Road and Cottingham Road as opposed to the 3b route via Chanterlands Avenue. The 85 also replaces previous college day service 86, which had a departure from Paragon Interchange for the Bricknell Estate at 1702.

Hornsby Service 4 Changes

On Monday 10th June, Hornsby Travel altered the Monday to Friday timetable on their service 4 between Brigg, Broughton, Lakeside Retail Park, Ashby, Scunthorpe Bus Station and Foxhills Industrial Estate. The 'core' hourly daytime frequency was unaffected. Alongside some minor retimings,, the main points of note were:

From Brigg:

• The 0625, 0705 and 0725 from Brigg to Foxhills Industrial Estate (serving Lakeside at 0646, 0726 and 0746) were replaced by a 0640 Lakeside to Foxhills, a 0650 Brigg to Foxhills (0710 from Lakeside) and an 0740 Lakeside to Foxhills. (The earlier 0450 from Brigg to Foxhills remains). Overall this reduces the morning peak service from Brigg and Broughton to Ashby, Scunthorpe and Foxhills by two journeys.
• The 0745 from Brigg to Scunthorpe Bus Station now operates at 0730, and serves Town Hill and South View in Broughton; previously the first westbound services from these areas was the 0830 from Brigg to Scunthorpe.
• The 1830 from Brigg to Scunthorpe Hospital terminates at Scunthorpe Bus Station.
• The 1915 'direct' services from Brigg to the Hornsby Depot in Ashby now serves Lakeside Retail Park and extends to Scunthorpe Hospital via Scunthorpe Bus Station. This fills a gap in Brigg to Scunthorpe departures between 1830 and 2050.
• There is a new 2305 'direct' service from Brigg to Ashby Hornsby Depot

To Brigg:

• The 0605 from Ashby Hornsby Depot to Brigg, arrive 0623, via Broughton Red Lion at 0615 has been replaced by a 0630 Ashby Hornsby Depot to Brigg 'direct' service. The first service from Broughton Red Lion to Brigg is now at 0659, arrive 0710. (The 0430 Ashby Hornsby Depot to Brigg 'direct' service remains).
• The 0655 and 0720 from Ashby Hornsby Depot to Brigg via Broughton have been withdrawn, alternative departures from Ashby are at 0645 or 0745.
• The 0730 and 0830 from Scunthorpe Bus Station to Brigg now start at Foxhills Industrial Estate at 0715 and 0815 respectively; previously the only morning service from Foxhills was at 0610

The 5, 12 and 13

From Monday 10th June, Hornsby Travel withdrew their service 5 between Scunthorpe Bus Station, Lloyds Avenue, Glanville Avenue, Devonshire Road, Priory Lane, Ashby High Street, Bottesford Road, Bottesford Lane, Timberland and Lakeside Retail Park. It had operated Monday to Friday daytimes with departures from Scunthorpe Bus Station between 0740 and 1740, and from Lakeside between 0810 and 1710. The 5 was known as the 22 until last year's launch of simplibus in Scunthorpe, and started in the mid-00's to fill gaps following Stagecoach network revisions. For over 10 years Hornsby provided a half hourly Monday to Saturday daytime service, and briefly Stagecoach did the same not long after the 22 was introduced. However in recent years the service has clearly been struggling. First the Saturday afternoon service went to hourly, then the Saturday morning did likewise service in April 2016. In February 2017 the Saturday service went entirely, replaced by a diversion of service 4 between Ashby and Lakeside and then in October 2017 the weekday service was cut to hourly.

The section of route along Lloyds Avenue, Glanville Avenue, Devonshire Road and Priory Lane has not been replaced. Before the 22 (as was) started, I recall what is now the 10 covered these areas briefly to provide a very basic 2 day a week service into Scunthorpe Bus Station, but not this time. Some passengers maybe able to walk to Ashby Road (services 3/4/6/100/103) or West Common Lane (services 2/3).

Between Ashby and Lakeside replacement comes in the form of new Hornsby service 13. The 13 follows the service 12 route between Scunthorpe Bus Station, Cemetery Road, Old Brumby Street, Alvingham Road, Collum Avenue and Ashby Town Centre before picking up the old 5 route to Lakeside. Service 13 operates every hour Monday to Friday, departing from Scunthorpe Bus Station between 0745 and 1745, and from Lakeside between 0815 and 1715. It is therefore a near like-for-like replacement on this section in terms of access to Scunthorpe and Ashby Town Centres, although easy weekday access to the The Pods Leisure Centre, North Lindsey College and John Leggott College has been lost. Passengers in the Cemetery Road, Old Brumby Street, Alvingham Road, Collum Avenue areas do gain a link to Lakeside however.

With the 13 however, comes a reduction to the Monday to Friday service 12, which goes from half hourly to hourly, co-ordinated with the 13 between Scunthorpe and Ashby to maintain a half hourly service on the common section of route. After the Ashby the 12 largely follows Stagecoach's service 1 route via Messingham Road, Angerstein Road, Spilsby Road and Enderby Road; the service 1 operates as a circular every 20 minutes in each direction so I'm not sure the reduction in the 12 is a big loss here. The 12 then continues to Ashfield Caravan Park/Asda, were all weekday journeys now terminate.

Before I go onto the big issue with the reduction the 12, the loss of the weekday extensions to Burringham and East Butterwick, the Saturday service 12 has been unaffected, continuing to operate hourly between Scunthorpe and Ashfield, along with some extra journeys into Scunthorpe and limited extensions to Burringham and East Butterwick.

Burringham and East Butterwick had previously been served Monday to Friday, and still are on Saturdays, by service 12 extensions beyond Ashfield departing East Butterwick at 0805, 0905 (Tue/Fri only), 1305 (Tue/Fri/Sat only) and 1705, departing Burringham at 0810, 0910, 1310 and 1710, and Scunthorpe Bus Station at 0815 (to Burringham only Mon/Wed/Thu/Sat), 1215 (to Burringham only Mon/Wed/Thu), 1615 and on request only at 1715. This provided a commuter service 6 days a week and a 'shopping' service for Burringham 6 days a week and East Butterwick 3 days a week.

Since 10th June the only weekday service for East Butterwick has been the demand responsive CallConnect, and until Friday (6th September), likewise for Burringham. Hornsby Travel issued this statement to the Scunthorpe Telegraph:

"When the service was cancelled, a spokesman for Hornsby Travel said: "The service is a commercial service from Scunthorpe to the Ashfield Caravan Park at Asda with extensions to Burringham and East Butterwick, subsidised by North Lincolnshire Council. "The passengers from Burringham and East Butterwick have diminished over the years and it's now not viable to operate this service beyond Asda Monday to Friday, even with the subsidy from North Lincolnshire Council. "We've had to make changes across our network this year to make the company in a viable position in these hard times of low passenger usage across North Lincolnshire."

On Friday, the North Lincolnshire Council funded, Stagecoach operated, service 10 between Parklands Caravan Site and Scunthorpe Bus Station was extended on Fridays only to serve Burringham, departing the village at 0930 and 1230, and Scunthorpe Bus Station at 1200. Whilst it would cost, further improvements to the situation could be made by extending the Tuesday and Thursday service 10 to Burringham, and also on all three days the 10 operates, extending to East Butterwick. Combined with the Saturday 12, an extended 10 could provide East Butterwick and Burringham with a basic link to Scunthorpe three days a week and Ashby two days a week (the Thursday 10 operates to Ashby rather than Scunthorpe). Although irregular daytime extensions may no longer fit into the 12 timetable, peak time services could still be extended to/from East Butterwick and Burringham if money was available to fund them.

Now for the really disappointing element to this story. You might think, and I certainly do, that this would be a really good time to promote the Saturday service 12 extensions to Burringham and East Butterwick? Burringham and East Butterwick have seen a massive cutback, but haven't lost their scheduled bus services entirely. However the Saturday 12 extensions seem to have been forgotten about. Take this Scunthorpe Telegraph article for example from June:

"The cancellation of a bus route serving two North Lincolnshire villages has left residents worried that they will become isolated. Operator Hornsby Travel stopped running the number 12 service to Burringham and East Butterwick from Monday, June 10 due to low usage, saying the route is no longer commercially viable. "

"Burringham and Gunness ward councillor Josh Walshe said: "We received notice shortly after the local elections that Hornsby's were giving their notice on the Burringham bus route, which meant the service stopped on Monday."

"Residents expressed their worries during a meeting at Burringham Village Hall, just down the road from the now unused bus stop."

Inaccurate reporting, uninformed councillor? Yes, but the story contains a picture of the councillor standing next to a bus stop in Burringham with a formal North Lincolnshire Council notice stating "Please note that service 12 will not be serving Burringham from Monday 10th June". And the council website still states "Service 12 – terminates at Ashfield Caravan Park, it will no longer service Burringham or East Butterwick". So the inaccuracies even extend to the public transport department at North Lincolnshire Council! I'd rather not do conspiracy theories, but is there an attempt to 'kill off' the Saturday 12 extensions to Burringham and East Butterwick?

In an article this week about the 10 now serving Burringham on a Friday the it's perhaps not surprising this Burringham resident is unaware the village does have services two days a week now:

"Resident Ruth Hammerton said: "Having a bus service one morning a week isn't fit for purpose. I think it's a lot to hope for to get a regular service but even two days would help. "We could plan our days and appointments. But without the bus, you have to make an appointment and hope the Call Connect bus is free. It's such a hassle"."

At least one resident is aware of the Saturday service however:

"But resident Doreen Fletcher said: "We need a service that lets you do several journeys a day, two days a week if possible. "It's been chaotic without it. We can only get into town using the Call Connect service, which doesn't always stop where you want it to, or a Saturday service which no one seems to know about because it isn't advertised. "Two hours once a week isn't enough to do all of the shopping and doctor's appointments you want to do.""

That is the first time I've seen any direct acknowledgment of the Saturday service. These quotes also highlight how CallConnect isn't the perfect answer for bus services in rural areas. Hopefully further improvements for Burringham and East Butterwick will be forthcoming, and more promotion of the Saturday service!

35 and 90 Co-ordinated on Weekdays

Back on Monday 10th June, Hornsby Travel operated, North Lincolnshire Council subsidised, services 35 and 90 were amended on weekdays only. The 35 links Scunthorpe Bus Station with Tesco, Gunness, Althorpe Station, Keadby and Amcotts, while the 90 links Scunthorpe Bus Station with Tesco, Gunness, Althorpe Station, Ealand and Crowle.

The 35 had operated hourly from Scunthorpe Bus Station daytimes off peak to Keadby Primary School, with five journeys then serving the Queens Crescent area of Keadby and four serving Amcotts. In the return direction from Keadby Primary School back to Scunthorpe the frequency was every 50 to 70 minutes. The 90 had provided a service every 2 hours daytime off peak, more frequently at peak times.

With the new weekday timetable, apart from some peaktime variations, the 35 and 90 have a common route between Scunthorpe Bus Station and Keadby Queens Crescent, serving Scunthorpe Hospital (Cliff Gardens), which was previously served by the 90 but not the 35. Off peak they each operate two hourly, giving an hourly frequency from Scunthorpe Bus Station to Keadby Queens Crescent and a service every 50 to 70 minutes in the opposite direction. All service 35 journeys serve Amcotts. The 90 continues to operate at peak times, but as with the previous timetable the 35 does not (East Yorkshire service 360 covers Amcotts at these times).

The new timetable means there are slightly less buses between Scunthorpe, Gunness and Althorpe Station, though I'm not sure this is a particular issue with the co-ordinated 35/90 timetable and the 399 also being available on this section. The Queens Crescent area of Keadby benefits substantially, going from five to nine journeys to Tesco and Scunthorpe Bus Station and gaining new links to Scunthorpe Hospital. Amcotts also gains, going from four to five journeys to Tesco and Scunthorpe Bus Station, and likewise gaining new links to Scunthorpe Hospital. Crowle and Ealand maintain the same number of journeys on the revised service 90, but with slightly longer journey times to accommodate the Queens Crescent diversion in Keadby; off peak journey times from Scunthorpe Bus Station increase by seven minutes.

Co-ordination between the 90 and East Yorkshire operated service 361 between Scunthorpe and Crowle has been compromised however. Previously the 90 had departed Scunthorpe Bus Station off peak at 0840, 1030, 1230 and 1430, with the 361 departing at 0930, 1130 and 1330, giving a co-ordinated hourly service. Now the 90 operates at 0820, 1000, 1200 and 1400. From Crowle the 90 had previously departed Cranidge Close at 0909, 1109, 1309, 1509 and 1650 off peak, with the 361 leaving Crowle at 1015, 1215, 1415 and 1615; combined there was an almost hourly interval service. Now the 90 departs Crowle off peak at 0850, 1045, 1245, 1445 and 1645.

Both the new weekday timetable and the old weekday timetable appear to require two vehicles. The new weekday timetable seems to be a way to give a much improved service to Queens Crescent in Keadby, and to a lesser extent, Amcotts, without needing a second vehicle on service 35. This comes at the expense of Ealand and Crowle passengers. As with many service changes, positives and negatives.

Saturday services on the 35 and 90 remain unchanged, so the 35 now joins the 90 in having both a different route and timetable on Saturdays. Apart from the first morning service not operating, the Saturday 35 timetable is the old weekday 35 timetable, so not serving Scunthorpe Hospital and then serving either Keadby Queens Crescent or Amcotts, but not both. The 90 continues to have five Saturday journeys, serving Scunthorpe Hospital (Church Lane) unlike on weekdays to cover gaps in service 9, and with one journey extending beyond Crowle to Luddington.

Hornsby 9 Off Peak frequency reduced

Hornsby Travel reduced the weekday off peak frequency of their service 9 between Scunthorpe Bus Station and Scunthorpe Hospital from Monday 10th June. The route started as a frequent link between Scunthorpe Bus Station and all parts of the hospital site, as opposed to just Cliff Gardens or Church Lane, which are served by other services, but also now 'doubles up' as a hospital park and ride route, based on using Scunthorpe Town Centre car parks. Previously the 9 had operated every 20 minutes from Scunthorpe Bus Station between 0700 and 1840 on weekdays, but between 0900 and 1600 the frequency has been reduced to every 30 minutes. The limited Saturday service was unchanged.

Direct Scawby to Scunthorpe daytime service restored

From Monday 10th June, the direct Scawby to Scunthorpe link on weekday daytimes was restored, 11 months after being altered to require passengers to travel via Brigg. Four journeys each way on Hornsby's X4 fast service between Brigg and Scunthorpe have been diverted via the village, with no increase in journey times; these are the 0820 from Kirmington to Scunthorpe, 1100, 1300 and 1500 Brigg to Scunthorpe, and also the 0900, 1100, 1300 and 1500 Scunthorpe to Brigg.  This change also increases the number of Scawby to Brigg services on weekday daytimes alongside service 94.

Direct services between Scawby and Scunthorpe service are also provided on college days by Hornsby 640 and 2 Way Transport 642, both of which serve Scunthorpe Bus Station as well as the town's colleges, and from Scunthorpe to Scawby on Hornsby service 4 on weekdays at 1730, 2010 and 2225. The only Saturday direct services between Scawby and Scunthorpe are provided by the 1900 Brigg to Scunthorpe service 4 and 2000 return.

A convoluted mess

The 254 Barton Town Bus Service has gone through a few timetable and route changes over the 20 or so years it has operated. Back in September 2002 for example (the earliest timetable I have for the service), the Caistor Road Estate, Bowmandale/Tofts Road, Westfield Road and Dam Road/Far Ings Road all had an hourly service Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings/lunchtime to Barton Market Place and Proudfoots Supermarket (now Tesco). Fast forward to January 2006 and the even interval hourly frequency has gone; I believe to incorporate a driver rest break. In July 2008 the service moved to operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I don't have a timetable for it, but I'm sure at one point a fifth part of Barton was briefly included - East Acridge.

The 254 was revised again on Wednesday 8th May, the first major change for over 10 years to be fair. Until recently Barton's Library has been located in Providence House on Holydyke in the town centre, opposite the Fire Station. North Lincolnshire Council have however moved it to the Baysgarth Leisure Centre, on the edge of the town, on the basis that it can have longer opening times and can be co-located with the swimming pool, leisure centre, and relocated services from the Tofts Road Day Centre (or Community Wellbeing Centre as I think it's been known as for the past few years). There are 'pros' and 'cons' to this move, but it means that it is no longer possible to visit the Library whilst in the town centre.  As a result the Barton Town Service has been revised to include the Leisure Centre.

The end result is sadly a very messy and convoluted timetable, with five different routes for seven journeys. The 254 still operates Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings and lunchtimes (now finishes at 1313 rather than 1254). I'm not going to attempt to describe all the details of the changes, but some key points:

• The Dam Road/Far Ings Road area is no longer served at all (the 260 does serve Victoria House located just off Dam Road on Thursdays)
• The Westfield Road/West Acridge area goes from two to three journeys, but anyone wanting to travel from Tesco to this area needs to go via the Market Place, Tofts Road, Bowmandale, the Market Place again, the Caistor Road Estate, Baysgarth Leisure Centre and the Market Place for a 3rd time!
• All journeys from the Tofts Road/Bowmandale area to Tesco involve going through Barton Market Place twice
• Most journeys from Tesco to the Caistor Road Estate involve two trips via the Market Place and a trip around Tofts Road and Bowmandale
• Journeys from Baysgarth Leisure Centre to Tofts Road and Meadow Drive involve going via the Market Place, possibly West Acridge, Tesco and the Market Place again
• All journeys now serve Barton Interchange

I have some sympathy here in that the bus service is having to adapt to serving a new edge of town location within existing resource, whilst still serving the Town Centre and Tesco. However does it need to be quite this complicated? I can think of two alternative options to run the service:

• Run it as one route: Tesco-West Acrridge-Tofts Road-Leisure Centre-Bowmandale-Market Place-Caistor Road Estate - simple, but doesn't serve the High Street and a long route from the Caistor Road Estate to/from Tesco
• Run it as two routes: Tesco-High Street-Market Place-Bowmandale-Leisure Centre-Tofts Road, and Tesco-West Acridge-Leisure Centre-Market Place-Caistor Road Estate

The 254 Barton Town Service is operated by Hornsby Travel and funded jointly by Barton Town Council and North Lincolnshire Council.

Brough/Melton/Ferriby Rail Station – Optimisation Study

On Friday (28th June), the Humber LEP's Investment and Regulation Board meets, and agenda item 8 is the following:

Brough/Melton/Ferriby Rail Station – Optimisation Study (Confidential for members of the Board only)

No further details are available due to the confidential nature of the study, but it would seem that a review of the location of Brough and Ferriby stations has taken place, as well as consideration of the possibility of a new or reopened station at Melton, in between Brough and Ferriby.

Both Brough and Ferriby stations are located in residential areas, with Brough Station also close to the BAe site. Residential development is taking place east of the current Brough station. Any new station at Melton would be in a predominately industrial area with easy access to the A63, and be far better located than Brough to act as a regional parkway station; Brough currently 'doubles up' as the local station for Brough and Elloughton and as a parkway station for the wider area.

Interconnect 51 to Mablethorpe

Back on Monday 29th April, Stagecoach extended their Interconnect 51 service from Grimsby to Louth onwards to Mablethorpe, replacing Interconnect service 59 between Louth and Mablethorpe. Interconnect 59 now operates between Skegness and Mablethorpe only as opposed to between Skegness, Mablethorpe and Louth. Good news for anyone travelling 'across Louth', less good news for those wanting to travel 'across' Mablethorpe. In Mablethorpe, both the 51 and 59 will serve the Golden Sands Holiday Park and Seal Sanctuary, as well as the town centre; the 59 previously just served the town centre.

Prior to being linked to the Mablethorpe-Skegness service, the Louth-Mablethorpe service formed part of service 10 from Lincoln to Louth then onwards to Mablethorpe.

The 51 will continue to operate mostly hourly, Monday to Saturday daytimes. The first journey from Grimsby to Louth is now at 0550 rather than 0630, and the last journey from Louth to Grimsby is at 1950 rather than 1930.

 

Acklams 504A

Acklams Coaches amended interworked Monday to Friday Bridlington services 131 and 504 from Tuesday 7th May.

The biggest change is on service 504 from Bempton into Bridlington, where the 0930 from Bempton and 1200 return from Bridlington Bus Station now operate as service 504A, additionally serving Fortyfoot and St Annes Road in Bridlington. If the map on Yorkshiretravel.net is correct, the 504A seems to operate down Fortyfoot to St Annes Road and then 'double backs' on itself to resume the main 504 route.

As a result the 1230 Bempton to Bridlington 504 now operates at 1238, and the 1320 131 from Carnaby Industrial Estate to Bridlington and back now operates at 1325.

Extra X21

East Yorkshire's annual 'fast' summer service X21 between Hull, Beverley, Bridlington, Filey and Scarborough has been enhanced for 2019. It is East Yorkshire's only through service from Hull and Beverley to Filey and Scarborough (otherwise connections are available at Bridlington). The rail service from Hull, Beverley and Bridlington to Filey and Scarborough was increased to hourly at the May rail timetable change, and from Hull to Bridlington there is also extra competition from Stagecoach's new 99 this year.

The usual daily 0915 from Hull Paragon Interchange and 1615 return from Scarborough remains, having started on 25th May, although ending on 1st September this year rather than 15th September as in 2018. However for 2019, a second journey each way, leaving both Hull and Scarborough an hour later (at 1015 and 1715), also operates on weekends and during school holidays (including bank holidays); again this runs from 25th May to 1st September.

At least one of the two round trips is being operated by a coach this year.

Every 15 Minutes Barton to Hull

Back on Monday 29th April, Stagecoach made a significant enhancement to the section of the Humber Flyer between Hull, Barton and Humberside Airport, alongside some other changes to the full route between Hull, Barton, Humberside Airport, Grimsby and Cleethorpes.

The Humber Flyer now also has a route number - 250 - to go alongside it's name. Despite the 250 number having previously been used for services between Barton and Grimsby via Barrow, Ulceby and Immingham, there was no re-routing of the service and my speculation in this post was proved incorrect. I presume the number is to bring the service 'in line' with the 350 Humber Fastcat, with which it is now much more co-ordinated with between Hull and Barton, as detailed later on.

Almost all journeys between Hull and Cleethorpes have been retimed, the vast majority to operate 5 minutes later than previously to improve co-ordination with the 350, though some peak journeys have been retimed more substantially. The last three journeys from Hull to North East Lincolnshire now terminate in Grimsby, not Cleethorpes. This means the last service from Hull to Cleethorpes is now at 1555 rather than 1910, and from Grimsby to Cleethorpes via Clee Road is at 1732 rather than 2047. A small but disappointing change to the timetable.

In addition to the hourly Monday to Saturday daytime service between Hull and North East Lincolnshire, Stagecoach have added new Monday to Saturday hourly (with some variations) 'shorts' between Hull, Barton and Humberside Airport. Going by the timetable it would seem these are worked from Hull depot and require two vehicles. The 'shorts' are co-ordinated to give a half hourly service over this section of route, and then further co-ordinated to give an even interval Monday to Saturday daytime service of every 15 minutes between Hull and Barton when combined with the 350 Humber Fastcat. Barton had previously enjoyed three buses an hour to Hull, but they generally departed Barton Interchange at an 'uneven' 03, 10 and 33 minutes past the hour, and Hull Paragon Interchange at 10, 40 and 50 minutes past the hour; now it is 03, 18, 33 and 48 minutes past the hour from Barton Interchange and 10, 25, 40 and 55 minutes past the hour from Paragon Interchange.

Whilst the 'headline' beneficiaries of the enhancement are Barton and Humberside Airport, the improvements also benefit Boothferry Road and Anlaby Road on the North Bank, On the section of Boothferry Road between the Humber Bridge and Darleys Roundabout services have increased from four to five per hour (250, 350 & X55) and between Darleys Roundabout and the Hull City boundary from five to six per hour (155, 250, 350 & X55). Around the Humber Bridge/Boothferry Road roundabout there is significant housing development and the on going development of the Bridgehead Business Park.

Looking in more detail at the new 'shorts', the first additional 'short' of the morning runs between Hull and Barton only, and only on Mondays to Fridays, leaving Hull at 0645 and Barton Interchange at 0728, getting back into Paragon Interchange for 0800, nicely 'filling' the gap between the 0653 and 0743 350 departures from Barton that arrive in Hull at 0725 and 0825 respectively. In Barton this service adopts a one-way 'loop' serving the Market Place before the Interchange, something it would be good for the Saturday late evening 350 Hull to Barton shorts to do, to serve more of the town.

In the afternoon the 1325 'short' from Hull terminates at Barton Market Place on weekdays, and does not serve Barton Interchange. There is no return working so I am not sure why this occurs? On Saturdays the 1325 operates through to Humberside Airport as normal. The following 1425 from Humberside Airport, 1525 from Paragon Interchange and 1625 from Humberside Airport are all Saturday only as well, but the 'cycle' recommences on weekdays with the 1730 from Paragon Interchange to Humberside Airport.

These variations mean that the 250/Humber Flyer now has a different Monday to Friday and Saturday timetable; they were previously identical.

Looking more closely at the 250/350 co-ordination, whilst mostly it is perfect, it is not 100%. Most notably in the evening peak from Barton there are occurances of the 250 & 350 running at identical or near-identical times, each service having journeys leaving Barton Interchange at 1733, 1803 and 1833, followed by 1902 on the 350 and 1903 on the 250. In the morning from Hull, services leave at 0620, 0645, 0655, 0715, 0725, 0755 and 0825 before the even interval service starts. In the evening peak services depart at 1610, 1630, 1640 and 1700, and then after going 'even interval' again, depart at 1745, 1810, 1825 and 1910.

Stagecoach have supported these enhancements with a 'bespoke' timetable leaflet delivered to homes in Barton that shows a consolidated timetable for all services (250 & 350) between Humberside Airport, Barton and Hull, plus times for Cleethorpes and Grimsby on the 250. The leaflet also includes a brief selection of tickets (duo, dayout and Humber Megarider). Both the Humber Flyer and Fastcat leaflets also include a slightly different consolidated timetable, just covering Barton to Hull - the Humber Fastcat timetable having been reissued just to include this as the 350 timetable itself has not been amended.

As a Bartonian, these improvements are a 'step change' in buses to and from Hull, at least during Monday to Saturday daytimes. I very much applaud how Stagecoach have developed services, it is worth noting that until March 23rd 2009 (when the 350 gained Humber Fastcat branding and went from hourly to half hourly), the Barton to Hull frequency was just hourly. Services have been quadrupled in just over ten years. I really hope these latest improvements are a success. However there are unfortunately three not so positive points that come to mind.

Firstly the fares; Stagecoach are charging £5 Barton to Hull single and £9 return. Sadly this just isn't competitive with the car for 'one-off' journeys. On Friday I went into Hull for the morning and used Park and Ride - £2.70 both ways bridge toll with a tag, £3 Park and Ride fare and a bit of petrol/car wear & tear - it's about two thirds of the price of a return from Barton to Hull, and I don't have to walk 15 minute between my house and the nearest bus stop on the 250/350 route in Barton. It maybe that the high return fares are helping drive profits and helping to make the business case for investment, but they do make the bus uncompetitive with the car for trips like mine. The Humber megarider at £27 remains an attractively priced weekly ticket however - £5.40 per day if used 5 days a week, and £6.75 if used 4 days a week.

Secondly the doubling between Barton and Humberside Airport is a bit surprising to me. The section of route has no intermediate stops apart from at Barnetby Top and features seven miles of non-stop dual carriageway running from Barton to Barnetby Top followed by another two or three miles non-stop to the airport. Even allowing for the on-site business park, the airport sadly isn't that big and I would have thought the existing hourly service would suffice. There are no earlier journeys possible with the airport 'shorts', and the only later journey offered is at 1840 rather than 1810 from the airport to Hull.

An alternative option maybe to send the 'shorts' to the village of Barrrow, population 3022 in 2011, instead - and maybe even beyond to other neighbouring villages. However, in what I guess is a good example of how bus planning is not always straightforward, there are a few potential issues. An extension to Barrow, and possibly beyond, would add at least one extra route number to the Hull-Barton corridor, and in Barton to retain a consistent route for all Hull services in the town would require a convoluted route - from Whitecross Street, through the Market Place, Brigg Road, Preston Lane and back to Whitecross Street. If just extended to Barrow, the viability of the Stagecoach operated 260 and 450 tendered services maybe seriously impacted, which could be another factor to consider.

Finally, the Stagecoach website. The Humber Flyer improvements were logically posted on the Hull and Grimsby Service Updates pages. Put Barton in as your location and you are directed to the Scunthorpe information which didn't mention the changes. Logical if the Scunthorpe information is meant to be for Scunthorpe only, but not when it is also meant to include Barton. I'm sure I have mentioned this before, but either Barton needs it's own bespoke information, or the Hull, Grimsby or Scunthorpe information needs to include all Barton services. A similar occurrence happens for Barrow, which directs to Grimsby information, but the 260 is run by Scunthorpe depot so never gets mentioned; at Christmas the service updates for Grimsby therefore never included the 260 operating to a normal weekday timetable between Christmas and New Year rather than Stagecoach's standard Saturday operation.

Service 16 slightly reduced

As part of Stagecoach's service changes in April, service 16 in Hull was slightly cutback on college days from Monday 29th April, but largely 'mitigated' in the form of service 86. The 16 runs hourly (with longer gaps at peak times) Monday to Saturday between Paragon Interchange, Victoria Dock and the Preston Road Estate, whilst the 86 is a college day service between the Bricknell Estate, Paragon Interchange, Victoria Dock, the Preston Road Estate and Wilberforce College.

In the morning the 0840 service 16 departure from Paragon Interchange no longer runs on College Days, leaving a gap between 0720 and 0940. As a partial alternative, service 86 departs Paragon Interchange at 0755 serving Victoria Dock, Ellis Street, Newbridge Road, Southcoates Lane, Bilsdale Grove and St John's Grove from the service 16 route before routing to Wilberforce College via Marfleet Lane and Staveley Road. The only parts of the 16 route not served by the 86 are the Siemens Factory and part of Preston Road that is also covered by frequent service 3.

In the afternoon the College Day 1540 service 16 from Paragon Interchange to the Preston Road Estate is directly replaced by a 1540 service 86 from Paragon Interchange to Wilberforce College, whilst the 1609 return from Archbishop Sentamu Academy on Preston Road is replaced by the 1620 86 from Wilberforce College. This 86 journey also provides a useful later last service from Paragon Interchange to the Bricknell Estate, leaving the Interchange at 1702; the last weekday service otherwise being the 1545 3b.

The 86 is also an interesting route in that it runs from the Bricknell Estate, home of one of Hull's two specialist sixth form colleges, Wyke, to Hull's other specialist sixth form college, Wilberforce. I wonder how many students Wilberforce can attract from 'in front' of Wyke's 'front door'?

u5 cutback

Back on Sunday 28th April, Stagecoach made some revisions to service 5 and associated Monday to Saturday evening only variation u5 between Hull City Centre, Orchard Park and Kingswood. Mostly these were fairly small timing changes, but the evening service Monday to Saturday has seen bigger changes.

The u5 has been cutback in two ways; firstly the extensions to/from Hull Old Town (Market Place) are withdrawn (although the solitary service 5 that starts from the Market Place at 2320 remains), with the u5 using Paragon Interchange as it's City Centre starting point and terminus instead. Secondly the Saturday late evening service has been withdrawn, and therefore as on weekdays the u5 only operates in the early evening. The 5 and u5 have 'swapped' departure times from Kingswood Monday to Saturday, meaning the u5 now operates between 1830 and 2030 from Kingswood Retail Park and from Paragon Interchange between 1910 and 2040. As a result of the late evening u5 withdrawal, the Saturday 5/u5 combined frequency drops from every 15 minutes to half hourly from 2045 leaving Kingswood Retail Park and from 2055 leaving Paragon Interchange. Following the 5/u5 swapping departure times the last service 5 from Kingswood Retail Park is now at 2315 rather than 2300 Monday to Friday, but on Saturdays is now at 2315 rather than 2330.

Evolving in Kingswood

Stagecoach are making changes to their services in the growing Kingswood estate in North Hull from next Sunday, 28th April.

Monday to Saturday daytimes the main services to the residential parts of Kingswood are currently the 6 and 9/9a, which operate as 'cross Kingswood' circulars. Each service operates half hourly. The 6 operates a direct service from Paragon Interchange via Beverley Road and Kingswood Leisure and Retail Parks to Kingswood Health Centre, whilst the 9/9a runs from Paragon Interchange via Garden Village, Leads Road, Bransholme North Point Shopping Centre, Honiton Road, Wawne Road and Kingsbury Way to Kingswood Health Centre.

With the revised network, the 6 continues to operate half hourly as a 'cross Kingswood' circular, but now 'partnered' with service 7 instead. The 6 continues to operate to Kingswood Health Centre then picks up the current 9/9a route via Grosvenor Road and Richmond Lane before using the new Pioneer Way to Wawne Road, which becomes the official terminus for service 6. Half hourly service 7 currently operates between Paragon Interchange and Kingswood Retail Park via Beverley Road, Sutton Park, North Point, Bude Road and Bodmin Road, but after Bodmin Road with the network revision will instead run to Wawne Road/Pioneer Way via Pennine Way in North Bransholme; it continues to operate every half hour. This provides new links from North Bransholme to Kingswood and Beverley Road, but does extend journey times between Sutton Park and Kingswood Retail Park (Bodmin Road has the 11 for direct journeys).

Service 9/9a becomes a 'stand-alone' service (from a customer point of view at least). It will no longer serve Grosvenor Road - replaced by the 6 and saving a minute of journey time - and extends from Kingswood Health Centre to Kingswood Retail Park covering the loss of the through link currently provided by operating as a circular with service 6. Otherwise it remains half hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes. This change removes two buses an hour from Kingsbury Way to Hull City Centre, and the links to both Kingswood Leisure Park and Beverley Road that are provided by the 'circular' working with service 6. However overall the changes provide an extra two services per hour from Runnymede Way, Runnymede Lane (both between Kingswood Retail Park and Health Centre), Kingswood Health Centre and Richmond Lane to both Hull City Centre and North Point, in addition to providing services along the new Pioneer Way whilst still serving Kingsbury Way.

Evenings and Sundays, service 8a currently serves most residential areas of Kingswood. It operates from Paragon Interchange via Beverley Road, Sutton Park, North Point, Honiton Road, Wawne Road, Kingsbury Way, Richmond Lane, Grosvenor Road and Kingswood Health Centre to Kingswood Retail Park; the frequency is half hourly Monday to Saturday evenings and Sunday daytimes, reducing to hourly on Sunday evenings.

Service 7a takes over most of this function from Sunday, operating at the same frequency as the 8a, and following the entirety of the main service 7 route from Paragon Interchange to Wawne Road/Pioneer Way before routing via the service 6 route to terminate at Kingwood Retail Park. I'm not sure why the 'a' suffix is needed for a route extension (as opposed to an en-route variation)? Compared to the 8a, Honiton Road and the section of Wawne Road between Honiton Road and the northern end of Noddle Hill Way become unserved evening and Sundays, as the 7a will be following the main service 7 route via Bodmin Road (though the 7a, unlike the 7, has no Bodmin Road timing point). The 7a will also omit Kingsbury Way in order to serve Pioneer Way, but this will be covered by the 10a instead. One advantage of the 7a over the 8a is the provision of evening and Sunday links from North Bransholme to Beverley Road.

Service 10a presently operates evenings and Sundays as a minor diversion to the main service 10 route between Paragon Interchange, North Point, Bodmin Road, North Bransholme and on some journeys Wawne Village, to serve Kingswood Retail Park. However from Sunday the 10a variation will run between Kingswood Retail Park and North Bransholme via Runnymede Way, Runnymede Lane, Richmond Lane (but not Kingswood Health Centre) and Kingsbury Way. The frequency between Paragon Interchange and North Bransholme remains half hourly Monday to Saturday evenings and Sunday daytimes, reducing to hourly on Sunday evenings; Sunday daytimes hourly services extend to Wawne, as do daily late evening services. The 10a's route change doubles evening and Sunday provision for Runnymede Lane and Richmond Lane.

On the main service 10, weekday peak frequencies reduce inbound to Hull City Centre on weekday mornings from 'frequent intervals' to every 15 minutes, and outbound late afternoon from every 12 to every 15 minutes. The first two Saturday morning departures from North Bransholme gain the weekday early morning diversion via Hull Royal Infirmary and Smith & Nephew.