Old routes to be re-instated & Replaced routes to be withdrawn

[4504]

Fair enough, as long as they don't change it again  :)

If its just to create the link between Russell's Hall and Halesowen, can't they just extend the 141, or bring back the 138?

I agree, they can't seem to make up their minds about the 297, 222, corridor routes. They've just changed the 297 again haven't they to go up into Stickley estate again and it wouldn't surprise me if it was routed back to Dudley again eventually as that extra 10 minutes journey wouldn't take up that much time, and since Stickley is half way between Gornal and Dudley anyway and Especially as the three buses an hour from Gornal, 257 and 27A can often get fairly crowded surprisingly enough, was on the last 27A for the evening last week on a WN Merc and there really was only standing room left. It's also amusing as the Merc's at PE don't seem to have Stickley estate on the blinds unsurprisingly, how many people on the board have heard of Stickley? So it does often leave passengers confused in Gornal bus station why the buses keep dissappearing off still displaying Gornal even though they technically have reached Gornal.

The fact that the 297 still displays Gornal Wood as the destination is because Pensnett garage haven't got a insert to append to their destination blinds yet.  When the X96 was extended to Wrens Nest, it took about 2 months before the destination "Dudley then Wrens Nest" started appearing on the buses.

In a more cynical mood, I think what happened was as follows.  NXWM wanted to reduce the 222 from every 10 minutes to every 12 minutes.  If they did that, they could not run a half-hourly service to Halesowen (they'd have to be 24 minutes then 36 minutes for 2 buses per hour).  So they needed to find another route to extend to Halesowen.  The 297 was perfect - it ran every 30 minutes and terminated at Merry Hill.  It also provided a quicker link from Halesowen to Russells Hall Hospital. 

At the same time, the Gornal Councillor, David Stanley, was campaigning to get the 297 extended at the other end back to Dudley via Stickley Estate.  NXWM obviously discovered that, if they ran Gornal Wood to Halesowen, the bus would hang around Gornal Wood Bus Station for 11 minutes.  Therefore, they had time to extend the service to Stickley Estate and appease the local councillor.  Any further extension to Dudley would require the use of an extra duty but "would be considered in the future".

The local councillor was thrilled as he got a "result" just before the local elections and was able to publicise his "success" in the local press.  The only thing that went wrong was that he was beaten in the local council elections just weeks afterwards.   

[Roy]

Fair enough, as long as they don't change it again  :)

Unfortunately, I don't think they will guarantee that.  Don't forget that routes to Merry Hill such as the 141, 238, 297 and 404H pass through Sandwell.  So they could get changed in the Sandwell Bus Review in the autumn.

[4504]

Aha, I'm just glad I don't have to travel in that area anymore, or live there

Fair enough, as long as they don't change it again  :)

Unfortunately, I don't think they will guarantee that.  Don't forget that routes to Merry Hill such as the 141, 238, 297 and 404H pass through Sandwell.  So they could get changed in the Sandwell Bus Review in the autumn.

[Nathan4775]

It cxouldnt have been of low usage, im guessing it was to make travel simpler

Why couldn't it have?

Becuase if it was then the 935 should be going any time soon FFS

It cxouldnt have been of low usage, im guessing it was to make travel simpler

Why couldn't it have?

Because Nathan personally counts all the passengers on services in that area

Yes, yes I do as I have nout better to do

[ilovetea4370]

I think quite a few people miss the 69 & also the 88

I miss the 69!

[Rob H]

I think quite a few people miss the 69 & also the 88

I miss the 69!

The 69 came by me when it used to run to Heartlands Hospital and I still miss it til this day and I'd really love if they reinstated the 69 from Weoley Castle to Heartlands Hospital but keep the 73 as it is now, that way if the 69 got held up between Weoley Castle and Solihull Passengers could jump on the 73 but as everybody says depends on passenger numbers and cost :)

[Ashley]

Personally I dont agree or disagree with previous posts, network reviews can cause minor issues for bus users familiar with local routes annoyed that they are changed.

I don't literally count every passenger on every bus I go on but since the WN review and delivery of new Volvo B7RLEs, passenger numbers in Wolverhampton seem to have gone up in some parts.

[Badger]

That's because frequencies on those routes have gone down. The 503 used to be 5 to 6 an hour peak and is now 4 bph; the 504/5/6/7 had 12 bph collectively with double deckers but now (4,6) have only 10 bph singles collectively with some of the route taken by the 3.

[Ashley]

I know but the 503 for example barely made any money. From Fordhouses to Three Tuns, it had that strecth to itself, but from Three Tuns you had the 504-507 then at the Science Park roundabout you had the 525, 532 and 533 plus Arriva, Midlands and Select

[Discodave]

I know but the 503 for example barely made any money. From Fordhouses to Three Tuns, it had that strecth to itself, but from Three Tuns you had the 504-507 then at the Science Park roundabout you had the 525, 532 and 533 plus Arriva, Midlands and Select

arriva were no threat only one an hour 76

[vinh1000]

I wish the old 68 came back was a great route that :)

[domino.99]

i think there should be the 283 or 583 offering a route from bilston that goes to merry hill

[Trident 4609]

i think there should be the 283 or 583 offering a route from bilston that goes to merry hill

Well the 583 was replaced by 81/2 and the 583 was withdrawn in July 2011 probably as there wasn't enough demand for a bus service from Bilston-Merry Hill.

Didn't the 545 (When TWM ran it) used to operate Wolverhampton-Bilston-Sedgley-Cosely-Dudley-Merry Hill?

[Andrew1991]

i think there should be the 283 or 583 offering a route from bilston that goes to merry hill

Well the 583 was replaced by 81/2 and the 583 was withdrawn in July 2011 probably as there wasn't enough demand for a bus service from Bilston-Merry Hill.

Didn't the 545 (When TWM ran it) used to operate Wolverhampton-Bilston-Sedgley-Cosely-Dudley-Merry Hill?

Think the 545 only went to dudley, the 541 now the 27 used to though

[Trident 4609]

No i remember now seeing one of Tonys photos a couple of years back of a metrobus on the 545 at Merry Hill. The 541 just went to Dudley and the 545 also got curtailed to Dudley