Longest lived bus routes

[Kevin]

It would have to be in Birmingham because of the way they have messed with the numbering system around Wolverhampton & the Black Country!

I wonder what would be the longest lived bus route with exactly the same departure and arrival points as when they first started?

You won't find one older than a few years

I wondered about the 11 but over the years they have changed that to!

City/Town Centre changes are why I said there will be none unaltered for more than a few years, but typing that made me realise there may be one. The 18 Yardley Wood to Bartley Green. If you exclude City/Town centre changes I would think the 60 would be the next least changed

Did the 18 originally go all the way to Bartley Green? I have a feeling it stopped short at Merrits brook?

[2900]

I had no idea the 80 and 89 services had historical connections to dudley road, something new to me.

[Justin Tyme]

Did the 18 originally go all the way to Bartley Green? I have a feeling it stopped short at Merrits brook?

You are correct - the terminus was Merritts Hill for several years.  It was extended to Bartley Green in 1969, I think at the same time that it was converted ton one man operation.

I had no idea the 80 and 89 services had historical connections to dudley road, something new to me.

Yes - the Dudley Road and Soho Road corridors had separate numbers for each turnback point at or beyond the city boundary until as late as 1976.

For the Dudley Road they were: -

80 Grove Lane
81 Windmill Lane
84 St Pauls Road, Smethwick
85 Spon Lane, West Smethwick
86 Oldbury
88 Dudley to Grove Lane
89 Dudley to Oldbury

For the Soho Road they were: -

71 Handsworth, New Inns (Crocketts Road)
72 City Boundary, Park Lane (The Hawthorns)
73 Carters Green
76 Great Bridge
77 West Bromwich, Dartmouth Square
78 Dudley Port   [probably not used after the 1960s]
79 Hill Top   [little used, if ever]

Birmingham Corporation trams and trolleybuses had separate numbers for every short working, and several bus routes had some too before the use of letters for short workings.  Most West Bromwich Corporation bus routes had the same, as did some  Midland Red services.

Here's an example for Midland Red for the 1950s and 1960s.

245 Stourbridge - Wednesbury  [the full route]
246 Stourbridge - Dudley
247 Dudley - Wednesbury
248 Stourbridge - Princes End
269 Dudley - Brierley Hill
284 Stourbridge - Brierley Hill

It was all interesting for the enthusiast and I guess useful for the accountant, but a nuisance for everyone else I imagine!

[danny]

The 120, I believe I asked about it on here some years ago on the forum and someone said it was started it the roaring 20s as a link with zed number aswell.

Think it's safe to say Midland red services have lasted the test of time along with BCT, as to my knowledge even with extensions and remembering their alot of services now that are the decendants of BCT and them Midland red routes still arround have minor changes, I suspect Timetable Would differ, cant imagineeither running routes at every 5-10 minutes before the 50s lol.

[Tony]

Did the 18 originally go all the way to Bartley Green? I have a feeling it stopped short at Merrits brook?

You are correct - the terminus was Merritts Hill for several years.  It was extended to Bartley Green in 1969, I think at the same time that it was converted ton one man operation.

I had no idea the 80 and 89 services had historical connections to dudley road, something new to me.

Yes - the Dudley Road and Soho Road corridors had separate numbers for each turnback point at or beyond the city boundary until as late as 1976.

For the Dudley Road they were: -

80 Grove Lane
81 Windmill Lane
84 St Pauls Road, Smethwick
85 Spon Lane, West Smethwick
86 Oldbury
88 Dudley to Grove Lane
89 Dudley to Oldbury


It was all interesting for the enthusiast and I guess useful for the accountant, but a nuisance for everyone else I imagine!

One reason being they were joint routes with Midland Red who didn't have letters on blind number 3 and also they displayed a B on the first blind B86 etc so there was no room for a letter on the end even if they were on there

[Justin Tyme]

The 120, I believe I asked about it on here some years ago on the forum and someone said it was started it the roaring 20s as a link with zed number aswell.

Think it's safe to say Midland red services have lasted the test of time along with BCT, as to my knowledge even with extensions and remembering their alot of services now that are the decendants of BCT and them Midland red routes still arround have minor changes, I suspect Timetable Would differ, cant imagine either running routes at every 5-10 minutes before the 50s lol.

West Midlands PTE combined many ex-Midland Red and ex-BCT routes in the 1970s - a few using the BCT number (e.g. 9), and more using the Midland Red number (e.g. 107 - now 907 - and 120).  You are right to say that many frequencies now, at least outside peak hours, are better than they ever were.

The 120 dates back to 1928, although it used to run direct between Oldbury and Dudley (over the 87 route) at first.  It was rerouted via Rounds Green before World War 2, and via Oakham in 1953.

Another old route is Arriva 110, Birmingham - Tamworth, which started in 1919 and has had this number since 1928.  The only major route changes to it have been via Fazeley (in 1971) and via the Aston Expressway (in 1986, I think).