NXWM service changes 15th Nov

[MickeyCool36]

444 should have been made simplier how ignoring Blue Gates, Stony Lane and Devonshire was a bad idea and since its a low car use area not thought out, no Bearwood, West Bromwich or Oldbury service for a number of roads but never mind The George in Oldbury has everything lol a quick rerouting of the 21 would have solved this but clearly they don't think people around Stony Lane need to get to Bearwood and forgot Devonshire is one big hill so impractical for shopping where many places are flat nevermind put all the buses in high car usage areas!

[MickeyCool36]

129 could be a more Smethwick Merry Hill Bus and could go via Londonderry (still going by parts of Warley) but clearly Smethwick folk near the High Street don't need Merry Hill a Warley has it instead. the 129 could have linked Blackheath via Causeway Green and go via Langley Green providing Causeway Green with a Londonderry and Blackheath via Rowley Regis station link as the 127 is the only bus to the station and it does need a better linkage. The 129 could also link Blackheath folk with the new hospital in Cape Hill better as currently it takes an age for the 89 to get to me so to Cape Hill its nearing 50-1hr when Blackheath is around 15-20mins away from me.

[MickeyCool36]

From listening to colleagues and from observing the 46 around londerry sides, it's waste of time and resources are the comments I heard so few passengers use it . I personally can't recall ever seeing more than a handful on at any one time others may know different.
No doubt centro and wmsnt I go will fill in the gaps as they do, being a charity they don't have to worry about there profit margins.

But the reality is none of these roads are super profitable which is why profits get in the way of logic service. The 46 didnt go anywhere tbf just Londonderry if it went to Oldbury or Bearwood it would have been useful. But the current replacement takes an age to get to Bearwood when the current 120 is always packed. The reason why is the 120 goes somewhere and links useful places up which is more than I can say for most of these buses. NX trying to make a profit will be left disappointed which is why they have to keep changing the routes. A bus company designing routes is a bad idea for me. There is no link to Merry Hill in Smethwick High Street there is no Causeway Green bus from Londonderry, there is no Bearwood bus linking the leisure centres up, basing a route just on profit has huge flaws and by connecting places together better you have more profit anyway. Most of the roads around there are huge the roads alone by me are massive no bus means big walks up and down hills with shopping not practical regardless of profits and it will be the shopping centres losing out.

[Steveminor]

But you have to look at profits when routing services. No profits means loss of investment in new buses & ultimately a loss of a company.
The figures & amount of information  the ticket machines give back these days gives a full picture of what sections of routes times etc where a route is making or losing money & decisions are made based on those figures.

[fleetline6477]

129 could be a more Smethwick Merry Hill Bus and could go via Londonderry (still going by parts of Warley) but clearly Smethwick folk near the High Street don't need Merry Hill a Warley has it instead. the 129 could have linked Blackheath via Causeway Green and go via Langley Green providing Causeway Green with a Londonderry and Blackheath via Rowley Regis station link as the 127 is the only bus to the station and it does need a better linkage. The 129 could also link Blackheath folk with the new hospital in Cape Hill better as currently it takes an age for the 89 to get to me so to Cape Hill its nearing 50-1hr when Blackheath is around 15-20mins away from me.

I can't see much demand from local people in Smethwick for a bus to Merry Hill. There is also the added confusion of buses running around Smethwick / Handsworth displaying Merry Hill as locals assume it turns round in Winson green.

When Pete's travel merged the 440 and 123 to create a through Perry Barr to Merry Hill route many locals stopped using it because they though it terminated in Winson Green. People making a return journey from Handsworth to Cape / Bearwood would see a bus with 123 Merry Hill and ask the driver what time the next bus to Waterloo Road... is. Many regulars on the 440 towards Cape and Bearwood stopped using the service, travelling by the 11 and Dudley Road services instead.

People in those areas are very loyal to their local shopping centres.

[MickeyCool36]

es but the reason they aren't profitable is they don't go where people need them to go, when you base things on profits you miss other things for example linking places that need linking as local people need linking to local facilities, for example people in Bearwood cannot get a direct link to Smethwick High Street and those in parts of West Smethwick and Smethwick High Street cannot get to shopping and facilities in Bearwood, it also ignores topography of an area. The bus I got onto Bearwood was fine and always busy when I got on it in fact I had to stand on many occasions. There's tonnes of housing, to say many areas aren't profitable makes no sense, over 40-50% by me don't own cars and most have turned to cars and taxis and not buses mainly due to reliability, lack of a comprehensive network, poor connections to local facilities so fewer people use buses means skewed passenger numbers not that people don't need better service

[MickeyCool36]

I think the route you are talking about is a small section between of folk Handsworth and Cape that doesn't really represents most in Smethwick and I doubt few are asked what they want. The reality is in West Smethwick there's a large portion that never go to Handsworth or Winson Green I never do, why would I?. Looking at the 129 that's a Bearwood, Warley bus not a Smethwick High Street one which is much further north it even avoids Londonderry (a big bus hub), and silly as most going to Merry Hill there use cars as its a higher car usage area, in north and West Smethwick car usage is much lower (which is why direct, fast services like the 87 are used and there are no train or Metro stations near Cape or Bearwood so bus usage will be higher and more logical), so bus companies are missing a trick not providing better linkage to places like Merry Hill. I too am loyal to local centres, Oldbury, Bearwood, Cape and West Brom, if Merry Hill buses are going to be located in Oldbury and West Brom and Bearwood then the links to these places need to be good for some sections these are fine others are very poor, infact why would I travel to West Brom and Bearwood to connect to Merry Hill when these are in opposite directions both to where I live and Merry Hill its illogical! The logical connection is Oldbury. The current system seems to see as Smethwick and Oldbury being two separate places with two varying degree of bus services. The Oldbury part is 120's operated the Smethwick side is 80's operated and the two stick to the boundary. All but one Bearwood services to West Brom mainly stick to Warley, Oldbury side, the 80's apart from 82 (which sticks to Cape Hill) don't cross each others path. Those of us who live in between end up with a very disjointed service and the service don't cross over the areas meaning not only unreliable but also poorly connected and when you have neurological conditions like we do, take 2 buses that often don't connect and also coming back end up lugging shopping from bus stop to bus stop especially as coming back getting some services means dragging shopping up hills. Merry Hill being 2 or 3 buses away, or extra train fair isn't worth the extra hassle considering we also need to walk around a big shopping centre, poor linkage simply won't encourage visitors from Smethwick to Merry Hill, even if they wanted to go which I am guessing many will (no more than West Brom, Oldbury or Warley), so in other words people want Merry Hill from Warley on 129 but not North Smethwick? Whereas the 4M i see is always packed despite coming from Walsall, even if on a number of journeys people didn't use it solely for Merry Hill people use it to connect people along the way. The 87 and 82 is always rammed and I don't bother using these services much due to crowding and I don't exactly live on its route anyway! The 87 says Dudley and I know most from Smethwick don't go to Dudley but it really doesn't matter as long as it goes where people need it and is quick, direct and reliable in fact many go to Oldbury as well as Smethwick High Street. The 120 is always packed it goes through areas with the same passenger usage as me but its direct reliable and quick it gets to Bearwood in 5mins which is why I swap to use it or the 48 equally direct simple really, the one bus is just a connector service I rarely use it for anything else as it goes nowhere really, too many buses adds to low passenger numbers per route as many stick to buses they know and which get them there quicker, most of the add on services and newer services haven't added anything. Of coarse going shopping is one thing coming back with shopping is a different ball game especially if you have to lug it quite a distance.

[Stu]

I doubt few are asked what they want.

There's been a public consultation held before every major bus review, where the travelling public get to voice their opinions. If more people took part in these consultations, Centro would have a better picture of how to form new networks.

for example people in Bearwood cannot get a direct link to Smethwick High Street and those in parts of West Smethwick and Smethwick High Street cannot get to shopping and facilities in Bearwood

50A/C?

so bus companies are missing a trick not providing better linkage to places like Merry Hill

Of coarse going shopping is one thing coming back with shopping is a different ball game especially if you have to lug it quite a distance.

A lot of people drive to Merry Hill, because they're generally doing a 'big shop' or buying large items. Would you want to carry six bags of groceries and a 40" TV on a bus?
I don't know what the obsession with Merry Hill is anyway. People in Smethwick have a better selection of shops closer in Birmingham city centre anyway, why bus it all the way to Merry Hill for exactly the same stores? There are other shopping ares besides Merry Hill!

why would I travel to West Brom and Bearwood to connect to Merry Hill when these are in opposite directions both to where I live and Merry Hill its illogical!

We can't all get direct bus links to where we like. I used to live near Londonderry (Basons Lane) and many years ago I used to have to get to work in Halesowen. So I used to get the 120 to the Hagley Road, to then change onto the frequent 9 (or 139 back then). You might think it's crazy to travel nearly half way to the city centre in the opposite direction, but for me it was just as quick as getting the 88 to Blackheath and then the 241 (which were both less frequent).

[monkeyjoe]

Cheers stu paragraphs always handy.

[Sh4318]

@Stu, to be pedantic, the 50A/C don't serve Smethwick High Street, it serves Rolfe Street and St Pauls Road, but misses out Blue Gates

[MW]

Is the 37 now missing Olton Station out? Seen one in each direction miss it out today, looked weird!

[2206]

Is the 37 now missing Olton Station out? Seen one in each direction miss it out today, looked weird!

Yes.
http://nxbus.co.uk/west-midlands/information/service-changes/bus-service-changes-in-birmingham-from-29th-may-2016

[MickeyCool36]

There's been a public consultation held before every major bus review, where the travelling public get to voice their opinions. If more people took part in these consultations, Centro would have a better picture of how to form new networks.

50A/C?

A lot of people drive to Merry Hill, because they're generally doing a 'big shop' or buying large items. Would you want to carry six bags of groceries and a 40" TV on a bus?
I don't know what the obsession with Merry Hill is anyway. People in Smethwick have a better selection of shops closer in Birmingham city centre anyway, why bus it all the way to Merry Hill for exactly the same stores? There are other shopping ares besides Merry Hill!

We can't all get direct bus links to where we like. I used to live near Londonderry (Basons Lane) and many years ago I used to have to get to work in Halesowen. So I used to get the 120 to the Hagley Road, to then change onto the frequent 9 (or 139 back then). You might think it's crazy to travel nearly half way to the city centre in the opposite direction, but for me it was just as quick as getting the 88 to Blackheath and then the 241 (which were both less frequent).

I totally disagree. I have lived in Smethwick all my life. Id never shop in Birmingham the shops are overpriced and simply dont stock many things people use. I rarely go to Birmingham to shop the type of shops are utterly different and for a different set of people. Id always shop in West Brom. Actually you have missed the point. the point being its not about having a bus right by you its about having better links so you can get to other places you need to. The links are quite frankly rubbish and serve main roads. The 89 for example doesnt go to Bearwood from the Uplabds a pretty obvious link no wonder it is empty if it cannot even link locals up to local shopping centres. I would suggest with the new hospital a direct link to Blackheath rather than the 89 is better and get the 89 serving locals again. else most will use cars and taxis and cause congestion issues. if you going to have a regular 4M at least provide better links to Oldbury for locals. on consultation the surveys and locations of them mean many dont even get opinions heard leading to scewed opinions. the last one meant people in Warley benefitted while others hugely lost out. why not do surveys in local areas? even within areas people have different needs depending what buses pass you. on 50A/C are large section of Smethwick high street is missed out why does it only go to Rolfe street. I have heard people say theyd prefer the 48 since the 444 was took off (a problem due to Warley) why does it go up the small section Holly Lane - not even a bus stop? So it stops by Rolfe St where no one lives??? No very accesible and I doubt many in that section in Smetheick use it with the next stop to St Pauls Rd quite a distance to most. I like the 50A/C but poor route planning! Buses have to be practical if they not they wont be used. hardly a full 444 replacement

[Trident 4194]

People moaning about 89 saying
1) too long of a route
2) buses old and breakdown
3) the drivers

Haha

They also said there are only 3 destinations they go to: Birmingham,merry hill, city hospital

[Dom]

People moaning about 89 saying
1) too long of a route
2) buses old and breakdown
3) the drivers

Haha

They also said there are only 3 destinations they go to: Birmingham,merry hill, city hospital

89 goes to Merry Hill does it.