If you had the chance to modify or add any service, what would you do?

[Busboy105]

Its about an hour and a half start to finish! It currently passes about 5 cemeteries and 2 hospitals for those that dont make it to Merry Hill lol

Five cemeteries? Are you sure? I know about the hospitals (Sandwell General and Rowley Regis) but I don't know about the cemeteries.

[Busboy105]

Would still get stuck in the exact same traffic as the 4M currently does...

How about splitting the 4M to West Bromwich and run another service following the 4M route to Merry Hill?

[Jack]

How about splitting the 4M to West Bromwich and run another service following the 4M route to Merry Hill?

There's already the 3, but that just feels like it takes forever going through every side street of Rowley...
There's no point splitting the 4M at West Brom, the 4 does the same route up to Blackheath, so just withdraw the 4M between there and Walsall. There's already a service that goes from Blackheath to Merry Hill (3) but this means no direct service from Blackheath to Cradley Heath train station, you've got the 24 and all the tenderer services that take forever.
Splitting the 4M is just something that would not work, there's too many important links in between and hardly every passenger goes from Walsall all the way to Merry Hill...

[Westy]

How about combining the Dudley to Merry Hill missing out Holly Hall service mentioned earlier, with a Dudley to Walsall service via Great Bridge, the BCR, Wednesbury, IKEA, James Bridge, Pleck?

(Please note, not suggested just because I now work at our company's branch at James Bridge!)

[l.murphy123]

Five cemeteries? Are you sure? I know about the hospitals (Sandwell General and Rowley Regis) but I don't know about the cemeteries.

Well Im exaggerating a bit lol but it does take forever. I understand there's lots of links which are important but an express service between Walsall and Merry Hill would be great for shoppers. Even if it were every 2 hours.

[Trident 4194]

Well Im exaggerating a bit lol but it does take forever. I understand there's lots of links which are important but an express service between Walsall and Merry Hill would be great for shoppers. Even if it were every 2 hours.

Walsall shoppers will go to Birmingham before they go to merry hill...

[Dutsey]

Well Im exaggerating a bit lol but it does take forever. I understand there's lots of links which are important but an express service between Walsall and Merry Hill would be great for shoppers. Even if it were every 2 hours.

Didnt there used to be a 310 service?

[Wumpty]

Didnt there used to be a 310 service?

There have been a number of variations of the 310 over the years. Taj/Thandi/Transol used to operate Walsall to Dudley via Pleack, Myvod, Wednesbury, Tipton. Birmingham Coach Company (and then branded as a Diamond route before it became Diamond Bus) ran the same route, then amended to serve Ikea too.

[Wumpty]

Walsall shoppers will go to Birmingham before they go to merry hill...

Not necessarily - it would depend upon a number of factors.

If public transport was the only defining factor then there'd probably be a higher percentage of younger people head to Brum. I suspect the older contingent would prefer an everything-under-one-roof under cover shopping centre.

Nowadays, If I'm going to either, I'll drive from Wolverhampton because there's no real fast, direct express bus services to either and until we improve transport links and reduce car useage (of which I'm part of the problem and not convince of the alternatives) then bus use will still suffer.

[Jack]

Didnt there used to be a 310 service?

Arriva Wednesfield ran the 310 to Merry Hill but it got cut back because of low numbers.

There have been a number of variations of the 310 over the years. Taj/Thandi/Transol used to operate Walsall to Dudley via Pleack, Myvod, Wednesbury, Tipton. Birmingham Coach Company (and then branded as a Diamond route before it became Diamond Bus) ran the same route, then amended to serve Ikea too.

There was a 399 too, I recall seeing Diamond operate it with yellow Ikea branded single decks? Pretty sure they stopped it because of people carrying flat pack furniture on them making them unreliable?
Walsall to Wednesbury via Pleck, Ikea, Myvod Road?

[Busboy105]

Do you think that Birmingham needs a city centre circular service like Manchester does? I know there are quite a few services that serves a large portion of town like the 16,23,24 but a whole city centre circular service could be a good idea. I only thought of one so far and it will go like this:
It will start at the markets, then serve Moor Street Station, Priory Queensway, Colmore Row, Paradise Circus, Birmingham Town Hall, down the Suffolk Street Queensway to Navigation Street where it will serve New Street Station and Grand Central and back to Markets via Station Street, Dudley Street and Pershore Street.

This route will probably come into place after the part between Parade and Broad Street reopens to traffic. Also it could extend the route to serve the new Curzon Street Station when it opens.

[Tony]

Do you think that Birmingham needs a city centre circular service like Manchester does? I know there are quite a few services that serves a large portion of town like the 16,23,24 but a whole city centre circular service could be a good idea. I only thought of one so far and it will go like this:
It will start at the markets, then serve Moor Street Station, Priory Queensway, Colmore Row, Paradise Circus, Birmingham Town Hall, down the Suffolk Street Queensway to Navigation Street where it will serve New Street Station and Grand Central and back to Markets via Station Street, Dudley Street and Pershore Street.

This route will probably come into place after the part between Parade and Broad Street reopens to traffic. Also it could extend the route to serve the new Curzon Street Station when it opens.

There's so few journies there that you cannot currently do it wouldn't be worth it

[Busboy105]

There's so few journies there that you cannot currently do it wouldn't be worth it

I know that's why I said at the end that it will only work when the Paradise Circus works have finished and the part of Parade between Suffolk Street Queensway and Broad Street reopens.

[PB2938]

16 covers markets.

Through the 00s Service 46 served upper dean street.
Through the 90s sutton routes 114 115 did a city circle serving markets.

As did Arriva /Stevensons/Midland Red servicee 112 110

[Tony]

I know that's why I said at the end that it will only work when the Paradise Circus works have finished and the part of Parade between Suffolk Street Queensway and Broad Street reopens.

No it's not. My question was what journies would it provide that are not currently available