More Limited Stop Services

[Ash]

Maybe so, but I think an express route would be a decent idea, maybe even if it was only from Blue Gates to Birmingham, or possibly they could make the 89 an express service
I think if the 404H ran weekdays as well as weekends, there wouldn't be any need for a express service between west Bromwich and merry hill, because I know the 404 is pretty fast from West Bromwich to Blackheath, it would be a whole lot faster than the 238

I think the reason there is no direct bus to the city hospital is because the 404 runs every 6 minutes also you have the 238,417 and 688 to Oldbury where you can catch the 87 which is quite frequent, but agree there should be a service from West Brom to the city hospital especially as facilities are transferring from Sandwell to the city hospital.

I agree to the 404H being ran on weekdays but i couldnt see it being reliable in terms of arriving on time there is alot of congestion at the moment around West Bromwich and other area's on the 404 so going the long distance from Walsall to MerryHill would take a long time andd would need a few extra buses to be placed on it but with the arrival of the new eclipses im sure some scania omnilinks would be freed up for transfer to Walsall

[MW]

Peak times are the busiest times. After 9.30 isn't peak. Between around 7.30 to 9.30 would be peak and then between 15.30 & 18.30 roughly.  If school holidays are peak, then why are timetables and frequencies dropped during the holidays.

The peak time for any bus route is the time when it is busiest.  For a bus route going to Merry Hill, that is when the shops are open.  A 255 going to Merry Hill between 0730 and 0930 or between 1600 and 1800 is relatively empty compared to one at the times I mentioned before.  Therefore, the peak times for routes going to an out of town shopping centre are different from traditional commuter peak times.

Therefore what I said was correct.  I realise that you find it necessary to be offensive.  Perhaps engaging your brain before your typing finger might help.

Not neccessarily because your thinking primarily of the shopping centre. Would the 141 heading towards Birmingham City at 8am full to the brim because of picking passengers commuting to work not be a peak journey. Perhaps if you engage your brain and realise that not all passengers on the Merry Hill services are not going to shop. I fully understand your point but didnt intend to come across as offensive in my first reply.

[4504]

 ???  I'm sorry? I never said anything about Russell's Hall Hospital being in the centre of Pensnett, I said it was the main stop in Pensnett. Maybe you should read my comments properly before critcising

The X99 shoud be re-instated to Operate Monday - Sunday to see how it works, becuase I think it would be quite a good route for WN to have as it linked Wolverhampton - Merry Hill quite quickly & at Peak times its what commuters look for the fastest journey to there destination. I think thats the downfall to the Pensett Area (Dudley, Merry Hill, Halesowen, Stourbridge) there isnt a fast enough bus that links them together which is a shame

People that live in Pensnett can just get the 246, which goes to Russell Hall Hospital, probably the main stop in Pensnett. 

The busiest times for buses to Merry Hill are during shopping hours.  There is very little commuter traffic on services to Merry Hill.  Peak times are at weekends, school holidays, Christmas, and just after 9.30 a.m. when concessionary pass holders use the buses.   

In addition, Pensnett has regular direct services to Dudley (205, 226), Merry Hill (222, 255, 297) and Halesowen (297), although not to Stourbridge as has been erroneously suggested.  The centre of Pensnett nowhere near the nearest 246 bus stop at Russells Hall Hospital.  It seems that some people are making inane comments about an area they know nothing about.

The problem with the X99 was that it stopped at every bus stop from Wolverhampton to Pensnett High Oak, before becoming an express service to Merry Hill.  The problem was that, as soon as it reached High Oak, it joined a queue of cars all the way to Merry Hill, sometimes taking nearly half an hour to complete that leg of the journey.  If the service is resurrected in the future, it needs to approach Merry Hill via the Pedmore Road from which a bus-only link is to be built as part of the Better Bus Area.

[Roy]

???  I'm sorry? I never said anything about Russell's Hall Hospital being in the centre of Pensnett, I said it was the main stop in Pensnett. Maybe you should read my comments properly before critcising

There is one very good reason why Russells Hall Hospital is not the main bus stop in Pensnett - Russells Hall Hospital is not in Pensnett.

[4504]

I think that would be a suitable alternative to bringing the X99 back

I don't think the X99 ever really had a chance; some I saw carried a number of passengers, the rest virtually fresh air. If the X99 had been introduced either Mon - Sat or daily it may have had a greater chance of success as more potential passengers would have seen it around. As it was, it was only running 9 days from End of Nov up until Xmas Eve. May be NXWM could have another attempt at it this Xmas but run it daily for the full month.

Areas which may benefit from limited stop services to Merry Hill would in my opinion include Wolverhampton, Wombourne, Sedgley, West Bromwich, Oldbury, Great Bridge, Tipton, Bilston, Coseley & Walsall. I don't think there would be much demand from Birmingham area as the Bull Ring is nearer. NXWM could always try conducting surveys amongst the shoppers down at the Merry Hill Centre to gauge the areas where most come from and even gauge people's opinions if potential new limited stop services were in operation would they be prepared to try the service.

I get the impression that an express version on the 255 / or a more direct limited stop version would be on interest to quite a few people

I used the X99 and thought it was a quick alternative and would be good to see it being re-instated full time. I agree more express/limited stop services need to be trialled especially when getting to merry hill as getting from West Brom on the 238 to merry hill can take over an hour especially with traffic so is not ideal

[Nathan4775]

To provide a fast link between West Brom and Merry Hill couldnt WA introduce a 404B which operates between West Bromich and Merry Hill with an every 30 minute frequency

[4504]

That would be pointless because it would be the same as the 404H, I suppose without the 404H being ran on weekdays, you could always get the 404A to Cradley Heath, and then there's a host of buses you can get to Merry Hill. It's helpful on weekends, because that's when the demand to go to Merry Hill is the highest

To provide a fast link between West Brom and Merry Hill couldnt WA introduce a 404B which operates between West Bromich and Merry Hill with an every 30 minute frequency

[Ash]

The 404 if extended to merry hill form cradley heath its like just 10 minutes up the road so would provide a usefull link weekdays but it would mean an increase in PVR and reliability may not be good due to the long distance travelled.

[Nathan4775]

theres not many NXWM buses from cradley heath to Merry Hill only 238,141 as i can recall

[winston]

297 as well

theres not many NXWM buses from cradley heath to Merry Hill only 238,141 as i can recall

[4504]

I'm not talking about just NXWM buses I'm talking about buses in general... 213/214, 208, 238, 141, 297, 123.

Even with the 3 NXWM routes, that's 6 buses an hour. With other services. That's 11 buses an hour

theres not many NXWM buses from cradley heath to Merry Hill only 238,141 as i can recall

[4504]

I think reliability is the main issue

The 404 if extended to merry hill form cradley heath its like just 10 minutes up the road so would provide a usefull link weekdays but it would mean an increase in PVR and reliability may not be good due to the long distance travelled.

[Nathan4775]

I'm not talking about just NXWM buses I'm talking about buses in general... 213/214, 208, 238, 141, 297, 123.

Even with the 3 NXWM routes, that's 6 buses an hour. With other services. That's 11 buses an hour

theres not many NXWM buses from cradley heath to Merry Hill only 238,141 as i can recall

What if you only have a NXWM bus pass ? therfore you only got 3 buses with all Half hourly service wich yes does create a quite frequent service

[Nathan4775]

& thats if they turn up on time because of the road works around Cradley Heath ;D

[4504]

Like I said, even with 3 NXWM routes, that's 6 buses an hour, and if you get off the 404A on the High Street, that adds an extra NXWM route, bringing the total to 4, and that's 9 buses an hour.

• 141 providing 2 buses an hour
• 238 providing 2 buses an hour
• 243 providing 3 buses an hour
• 297 providing 2 buses an hour

I'm not talking about just NXWM buses I'm talking about buses in general... 213/214, 208, 238, 141, 297, 123.

Even with the 3 NXWM routes, that's 6 buses an hour. With other services. That's 11 buses an hour

theres not many NXWM buses from cradley heath to Merry Hill only 238,141 as i can recall

What if you only have a NXWM bus pass ? therfore you only got 3 buses with all Half hourly service wich yes does create a quite frequent service