First Bus - Wyvern

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Just seen a post on fb from a coach and Bus week saying NXWM will be running the Longbridge - Bromsgrove section with funding from Worcestershire County Council for 6 months. Starts 3rd May.

Good news.

Route learning started today 4544 seen in Bromsgrove earlier

[Justin Tyme]

And here is a link to today's Worcestershire County Council notice about the Bromsgrove - Longbridge service: -

https://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/news/article/2827/bus_travel_between_bromsgrove_and_birmingham_to_continue_for_6_months

[igogeneral]

Will First now deregister 144A to Catshill and terminate at Bromsgrove ? Will NatEx be able to do the service with one bus, if so they will need to speed up the existing 144 timetable ? What fare structure will apply if First continue 144A ? 

[2206]

Will First now deregister 144A to Catshill and terminate at Bromsgrove ? Will NatEx be able to do the service with one bus, if so they will need to speed up the existing 144 timetable ? What fare structure will apply if First continue 144A ?

144A becomes 144 Worcester to Catshill every 20 mins. I doubt First would pull out of Catshill, as NX are only going to run once an hour.

[gc802002]

There is a Timetable for NX 144A on Bus Times

Not to say it's the final version but gives an idea perhaps 

[BNH2004]

There is a Timetable for NX 144A on Bus Times

Not to say it's the final version but gives an idea perhaps

NX Have now put the 144A timetable on their website, it will run every 70 minutes

[igogeneral]

If that is correct then not worth doing especially if First are still going ahead with their 144A to Catshill. Our proposal was Bromsgrove to Longbridge peak with Bromsgrove Morrison off peak

[Stu]

If that is correct then not worth doing especially if First are still going ahead with their 144A to Catshill. Our proposal was Bromsgrove to Longbridge peak with Bromsgrove Morrison off peak

First are withdrawing their 144A with all journeys operating as 144.

The NX Bus 144A will follow the current 144A out of Bromsgrove via Sidemoor, then follows the current 144 through Catshill up to Rubery, before turning off Bristol Road to terminate at Longbridge station.

So there will be a slightly different route for both services between Bromsgrove and Catshill.

[Gareth]

If there is funding for the service from Worcestershire council, I wonder why this couldn't be offered to First (unless it actually was) for them to maintain a service to Rubery. Or maybe it's only part funded and it still wasn't worth their while.

[Tony]

One bus would struggle to run an hourly service, so extending the 144 may have needed two buses doubling the cost of the 70 min frequency 

[fleetline6477]

NX Have now put the 144A timetable on their website, it will run every 70 minutes

Really difficult for passengers to remember times, different clock face time each hour. Why not work it in with 61, 63 and reun to Birmingham?

[igogeneral]

Surely this will all end in tears forcing more passengers into cars. If the services commencing on Tuesday actually happen then in an 140 minute time span we will have 7 First buses, 2 NatEx buses and two Kevs buses all operating between Bromsgrove and Catshill. That equals on average a bus every 13 minutes which is a higher frequency than most urban services. This will prove to be unsustainable with who knows what result. The average number of passengers per day boarding between Catshill and Rubery and reverse at the moment is less than 20 so a lot less than the numbers that have signed the petition, which I hear is 3000, so if everyone of those uses the bus once every week it is only 11 passengers per trip. Perhaps the odds are that First will eventually withdraw within the six months and terminate at Bromsgrove leaving NatEx with a 70 minute headway so what will they do then, go every hour using two buses or decide not worth it an pull out leaving passengers high and dry again ??

[j789]

Surely this will all end in tears forcing more passengers into cars. If the services commencing on Tuesday actually happen then in an 140 minute time span we will have 7 First buses, 2 NatEx buses and two Kevs buses all operating between Bromsgrove and Catshill. That equals on average a bus every 13 minutes which is a higher frequency than most urban services. This will prove to be unsustainable with who knows what result. The average number of passengers per day boarding between Catshill and Rubery and reverse at the moment is less than 20 so a lot less than the numbers that have signed the petition, which I hear is 3000, so if everyone of those uses the bus once every week it is only 11 passengers per trip. Perhaps the odds are that First will eventually withdraw within the six months and terminate at Bromsgrove leaving NatEx with a 70 minute headway so what will they do then, go every hour using two buses or decide not worth it an pull out leaving passengers high and dry again ??

When First ran the 144 every 30 minutes to Brum alongside the 144a to Catshill around 2 years ago, there would have been 9-10 First buses in the space of 140 minutes then plus the 318 and 147 so there was a similar number of buses then to now.

Yes perhaps the passenger numbers have dropped but Catshill to Bromsgrove was a popular run with passengers, hence why Forst ran there every 15 minutes. The passenger numbers are still there to make this work if a decent, reliable service is offered.

It has already been said this odd 70 minute frequency is just for starters so only one bus needs to be used but there will likely be changes with the new route being incorporated into another NXWM route in the future to give better connections (and frequency).

It probably would suit first to terminate at Bromsgrove as that would save 1-2 buses but there are a good number of passengers from the Catshill area who travel beyond Bromsgrove so some sort of agreement would need to be in place for shared tickets so passengers could transfer in Bromsgrove without additional payment. Sadly, the Worcestershire multi operator ticket is no answer as it is too expensive. It needs the operating companies to cooperate to come up with a workable plan.

Long term, First in Worcester seems to have contracted so much it wouldn't be surprising for another operator to take them over there. Without the 144/63 crossover, you'd imagine that they'd be no issues with the monopolies commission if NXWM bought them. Worcester has potential to be profitable as it has in the past but it needs a proactive company who sees the possibilities there.

[sonic84]

Surely this will all end in tears forcing more passengers into cars. If the services commencing on Tuesday actually happen then in an 140 minute time span we will have 7 First buses, 2 NatEx buses and two Kevs buses all operating between Bromsgrove and Catshill. That equals on average a bus every 13 minutes which is a higher frequency than most urban services. This will prove to be unsustainable with who knows what result. The average number of passengers per day boarding between Catshill and Rubery and reverse at the moment is less than 20 so a lot less than the numbers that have signed the petition, which I hear is 3000, so if everyone of those uses the bus once every week it is only 11 passengers per trip. Perhaps the odds are that First will eventually withdraw within the six months and terminate at Bromsgrove leaving NatEx with a 70 minute headway so what will they do then, go every hour using two buses or decide not worth it an pull out leaving passengers high and dry again ??

I completely agree.

I know the 70 minute frequency is only to start with, but a non-clock face frequency and not running to Birmingham, I can only imagine this will reduce passenger numbers further, driving more people to either drive if they can, get the train or just go elsewhere (as Birmingham is too difficult to get to).

With the 145/145A providing a clock face hourly frequency most the day already between Bromsgrove and Longbridge / Great Park, and the 202 aswell, I can see this not ending well unless the Bromsgrove extension is integrated into either a 45 / 47 or 63.

[j789]

I completely agree.

I know the 70 minute frequency is only to start with, but a non-clock face frequency and not running to Birmingham, I can only imagine this will reduce passenger numbers further, driving more people to either drive if they can, get the train or just go elsewhere (as Birmingham is too difficult to get to).

With the 145/145A providing a clock face hourly frequency most the day already between Bromsgrove and Longbridge / Great Park, and the 202 aswell, I can see this not ending well unless the Bromsgrove extension is integrated into either a 45 / 47 or 63.

But very few passengers who used the 144 previously to Longbridge would catch the 145 which goes 'round the reacon' to serve the villages - it's not quick so isn't an attractive option.

Likewise, no 'sensible' passenger would catch the 145 from Bromsgrove to Droitwich directly instead getting the quicker 144.

And the 202 was fairly recently changed by Diamond to operate through Catshill then changed back so I can't see that route being overly popular either as it has had an hourly frequency for a long time too.

The Bromsgrove Longbridge route is currently hourly so 70 minute frequency isn't the end of the world really, particularly short term. I think most passengers who will use it will just be glad of the replacement and will be capable of reading a timetable to see when the return journey is coming.