Service Changes/Frequency reductions from 27th April 2025

[Steve3229vp]

Frequency reductions from 27th April 2025:


1  Acocks Green to Five Ways
Monday to Friday daytime frequency is reduced to every 20 minutes

4A  Birmingham to Gospel Lane and Solihull 
Every 20 minutes with all journeys continuing from Gospel Oak to Shirley and Solihull (as per Saturday))

5  West Bromwich to Sutton Coldfield
Reduced to every 12 minutes.

14 Birmingham to Chelmsley Wood
Reduced to every 10 minutes.

18 Yardley Wood to Bartley Green
Reduced to every 15 minutes.

65 Birmingham to Perry Common
67 Birmingham to Castle Vale
Reduced to every 15 minutes, service 67 is revised in Castle Vale and will terminate at Reed Square.

72 Solihull Station to Chelmsley Wood
Saturday reduced to every 15 minutes.

126 Birmingham to Dudley
Reduced to every 20 minutes.

[Ingleboro261F]

Frequency reductions from 27th April 2025:


1  Acocks Green to Five Ways
Monday to Friday daytime frequency is reduced to every 20 minutes

4A  Birmingham to Gospel Lane and Solihull
Every 20 minutes with all journeys continuing from Gospel Oak to Shirley and Solihull (as per Saturday))

5  West Bromwich to Sutton Coldfield
Reduced to every 12 minutes.

14 Birmingham to Chelmsley Wood
Reduced to every 10 minutes.

18 Yardley Wood to Bartley Green
Reduced to every 15 minutes.

65 Birmingham to Perry Common
67 Birmingham to Castle Vale
Reduced to every 15 minutes, service 67 is revised in Castle Vale and will terminate at Reed Square.

72 Solihull Station to Chelmsley Wood
Saturday reduced to every 15 minutes.

126 Birmingham to Dudley
Reduced to every 20 minutes.

So glad the 4A is going to be straight to solihull now 

[Tony]

So glad the 4A is going to be straight to solihull now

The route isn't changing

[Straightlines]

Frequency reductions from 27th April 2025:


1  Acocks Green to Five Ways
Monday to Friday daytime frequency is reduced to every 20 minutes

4A  Birmingham to Gospel Lane and Solihull
Every 20 minutes with all journeys continuing from Gospel Oak to Shirley and Solihull (as per Saturday))

5  West Bromwich to Sutton Coldfield
Reduced to every 12 minutes.

14 Birmingham to Chelmsley Wood
Reduced to every 10 minutes.

18 Yardley Wood to Bartley Green
Reduced to every 15 minutes.

65 Birmingham to Perry Common
67 Birmingham to Castle Vale
Reduced to every 15 minutes, service 67 is revised in Castle Vale and will terminate at Reed Square.

72 Solihull Station to Chelmsley Wood
Saturday reduced to every 15 minutes.

126 Birmingham to Dudley
Reduced to every 20 minutes.

Awaits comments from the usual bots about how this will grow usage or how NX are acting in the passengers interests and that everything is great with our bus network.

[Ingleboro261F]

The route isn't changing

No I mean I like that they're not terminating at gospel oak now 

[Tony]

Awaits comments from the usual bots about how this will grow usage or how NX are acting in the passengers interests and that everything is great with our bus network.

Just matching funding available from TfWM with levels of service agreed with TfWM, so don't expect anything different after franchising.

Service reductions are bad full stop, but don't expect anything different anytime soon.

[BBS]

Just matching funding available from TfWM with levels of service agreed with TfWM, so don't expect anything different after franchising.

Service reductions are bad full stop, but don't expect anything different anytime soon.

The only service I agree with lower frequency is probably the Acocks green 1, never see that used as much 

[Stu]

The only service I agree with lower frequency is probably the Acocks green 1, never see that used as much

It's a sign of how passenger habits have changed. When I lived in Acocks Green between 2008 and 2016, the 1 required double-decks, and I recall during the morning and afternoon peaks it used to run every 8 minutes or so, before reducing to 15 minutes during the daytime off-peak, then half-hourly in the evenings. And it was fairly busy at times, even on Sundays you'd usually get good loadings.

I noticed a few months back that the route had 'quietly' been changed to (mainly) single-deck operation. I don't use it that much now, but I'm sure its not as busy or popular as it used to be.

4A  Birmingham to Gospel Lane and Solihull 
Every 20 minutes with all journeys continuing from Gospel Oak to Shirley and Solihull (as per Saturday))

This is probably also being offset by the increased use of double-deck vehicles on both the 4 and 4A, so while there is a slight reduction in the number of journeys per hour between Acocks Green and Birmingham, the use of larger vehicles means there is no loss in capacity.

[Mega Kickdown]

The route isn't changing

the 4 n X2 is good to go "straight to solihul" 

[busboydan]

Frequency reductions from 27th April 2025:


1  Acocks Green to Five Ways
Monday to Friday daytime frequency is reduced to every 20 minutes

4A  Birmingham to Gospel Lane and Solihull
Every 20 minutes with all journeys continuing from Gospel Oak to Shirley and Solihull (as per Saturday))

5  West Bromwich to Sutton Coldfield
Reduced to every 12 minutes.

14 Birmingham to Chelmsley Wood
Reduced to every 10 minutes.

18 Yardley Wood to Bartley Green
Reduced to every 15 minutes.

65 Birmingham to Perry Common
67 Birmingham to Castle Vale
Reduced to every 15 minutes, service 67 is revised in Castle Vale and will terminate at Reed Square.

72 Solihull Station to Chelmsley Wood
Saturday reduced to every 15 minutes.

126 Birmingham to Dudley
Reduced to every 20 minutes.

May I ask why the 14 is reducing? As someone who regularly (5 days a week) travels on it, every bus if often quite busy whether on time or late so why is it going to every 10 minutes?

[busboydan]

Alum Rock is not a great area and the 14 struggles. If another service went through it, I would totally understand the reduction.

[2206]

Alum Rock is not a great area and the 14 struggles. If another service went through it, I would totally understand the reduction.

Yes can be tight getting a bus down there at times as well.
It might be they're using the same number of buses but more journey time hence the frequency is reducing to improve reliability

[busboydan]

Yes can be tight getting a bus down there at times as well.
It might be they're using the same number of buses but more journey time hence the frequency is reducing to improve reliability

Do you drive it?

[Stu]

May I ask why the 14 is reducing? As someone who regularly (5 days a week) travels on it, every bus if often quite busy whether on time or late so why is it going to every 10 minutes?

It's reducing from every 9 minutes to every 10 minutes, so not a massive reduction really. As Tony has explained:

Just matching funding available from TfWM with levels of service agreed with TfWM, so don't expect anything different after franchising.

Service reductions are bad full stop, but don't expect anything different anytime soon.

[j789]

Not sure how anyone on here can think franchising would result in anything different if the same scenarios played out. If passenger numbers are decreasing (or time keeping due to traffic, etc is worsening which is very likely) then frequency reductions are going to happen. It's not like they have gone for extreme cuts from every 10 minutes frequency to every 20 minutes either. 

Let's be honest, most higher frequency routes suffer from bunching due to frequent delays so spacing vehicles out a bit more won't make that much difference to passengers anyway in terms of how long they need to wait.

Once our great mayor waves his magic wand and gets rid of all the roadworks, terrible parking, etc etc then I'm sure franchising can deliver 5 minute's frequencies on every route. Or maybe not!