Service Changes July 20th 2025

[Steve3229vp]

oh that 27 is going to be awful. i wonder why they're extending it to rubery great park when that already has a direct connection to solihull, unless for the fact that it means less waiting at the terminus stop (e.g 10 min layover in rubery instead of 20 in frankley). at that point, it might as well be re-extended to longbridge station.

The extended 27 has not being done to create a new Solihull to Rubery connection, it was just the best or easiest way to replace the 169.

[Jack D]

Any immediate changes to the A9?

[Steve3229vp]

Any immediate changes to the A9?

It hasn't been listed, I think that changes in November

[MasterPlan]

So, confirmation that the 48 is changing for the 2nd time in as many months.

Tfwm website also says changes to come in August.

Are there any more roads the 48 can cover?

[Mike K]

How many times has the 48 changed beyond the QE now? There was the extension to Bartley Green to replace the then 21, the ridiculous section through most of south Birmingham in the 2018 changes, the current extension to Northfield to cover the 76 and now a further extension to cover West Heath and Hawkesley again. Was there also one to Northfield via Black Haynes Road at some point or have I imagined that? And on top of that it's also interworked at the QE with the 84 and the 20/20A.

[MasterPlan]

How many times has the 48 changed beyond the QE now? There was the extension to Bartley Green to replace the then 21, the ridiculous section through most of south Birmingham in the 2018 changes, the current extension to Northfield to cover the 76 and now a further extension to cover West Heath and Hawkesley again. Was there also one to Northfield via Black Haynes Road at some point or have I imagined that? And on top of that it's also interworked at the QE with the 84 and the 20/20A.

Yes it swapped from going to Bartley Green to go to Northfield via Black Haynes Road before the 2018 changes. I think that was when the 29A disappeared. 

[SO6597]

How many times has the 48 changed beyond the QE now? There was the extension to Bartley Green to replace the then 21, the ridiculous section through most of south Birmingham in the 2018 changes, the current extension to Northfield to cover the 76 and now a further extension to cover West Heath and Hawkesley again. Was there also one to Northfield via Black Haynes Road at some point or have I imagined that? And on top of that it's also interworked at the QE with the 84 and the 20/20A.

I think it's covered the Swarthmore/Black Haynes section on two separate occasions now? It's the flexible friend of the South Bham network!

[SO6597]

Quite a radical change for the 27 and it must be the first time Broad Lane and Warstock Road have seen service buses.

The Shirley changes make sense, Delrene Road is wider than the existing route's roads and missing out Union Road and the retail park will aid reliability.

There was a Centro tendered 618 that covered Broad Lane (and maybe Warstock Rd) back in the early 1990s so it's certainly been a while.

[GoldenSquid]

oh that 27 is going to be awful. i wonder why they're extending it to rubery great park when that already has a direct connection to solihull, unless for the fact that it means less waiting at the terminus stop (e.g 10 min layover in rubery instead of 20 in frankley). at that point, it might as well be re-extended to longbridge station.

also noticed that the X20 still isn't being interworked with the X21/X22 - nxwm removed it originally for being the weakest of the three (which is crazy to me as the 98 was a very very strong bus route), then re-instated it and left it... deliberately weak in comparison? i wonder if/when that will be increased back to 20 minutes in frequency.

@GoldenSquid said the other day that passengers along black haynes road and swarthmore road still preferred to use the 46/A - i wonder if the obvious increase in X20 passengers because it's the only one left will mean NXWM consider increasing the timetable. + there might be a couple more passengers from hawkesley - northfield who know the X20 is about twice as fast to the hospital than the QE and switch at bell lane.

do wonder what that means for those hawkesley - kings heath passengers who use the 46, and if they'll switch to the 35. all just speculation from my end anyways, i'm not a genius, just curious as to what this means later down the line.

does anyone know how long the 27 will be now from rubery to solihull? it's gotta be somewhere around 2 hours now and one of the longest bus routes in the city, right?

- TfWM changed the tender for the 27, I think they wanted to increase connections, I see that route changing again soon, maybe to go through Rubery?

- I also see the X20/X21/X22 having a full timetable change in September, maybe some short journeys in the Uni campus or something - time will tell on that front.

- I think the X20 is starting to get busier now, I haven't done it since day 2. I'll try and get another duty on it soon and compare it.

- 1h40m according to the tendered timetable. 

[GoldenSquid]

Any immediate changes to the A9?

Potentially new operator from November, New route from January.

[GoldenSquid]

How many times has the 48 changed beyond the QE now? There was the extension to Bartley Green to replace the then 21, the ridiculous section through most of south Birmingham in the 2018 changes, the current extension to Northfield to cover the 76 and now a further extension to cover West Heath and Hawkesley again. Was there also one to Northfield via Black Haynes Road at some point or have I imagined that? And on top of that it's also interworked at the QE with the 84 and the 20/20A.

Completely forgot the 48 went to Bartley Green for a bit, does anyone remember which way it went?

[BBS]

Does anyone know the variation for the 41?

[Mike K]

Completely forgot the 48 went to Bartley Green for a bit, does anyone remember which way it went?

From the QE via Selly Oak (or was it Gibbins Road?), Weoley Avenue, Weoley Castle, Woodcock Lane and Newman Uni to Bartley Green as I recall - replacing the withdrawn 21 over that section. The 48 was still the 448 at that time. 

The X21 now covers most of that section but serves Long Nuke Road between Weoley Castle and Woodcock Hill.

[keyy927]

- TfWM changed the tender for the 27, I think they wanted to increase connections, I see that route changing again soon, maybe to go through Rubery?

- I also see the X20/X21/X22 having a full timetable change in September, maybe some short journeys in the Uni campus or something - time will tell on that front.

- I think the X20 is starting to get busier now, I haven't done it since day 2. I'll try and get another duty on it soon and compare it.

- 1h40m according to the tendered timetable.

thank you for all of this. i'm writing this on the X20 actually, i frequent it a lot, and considering that it's timetabled 1 minute behind the 63 between longbridge and northfield, and awkwardly between the X21/X22, it's actually been doing quite well. a lot more people than i'd expect. they just need to update the south road bus stop announcement from the old voice. 

[GoldenSquid]

they just need to update the south road bus stop announcement from the old voice.

I'd prefer that voice, not a fan of the new one.