Hopes and expectations on the buses in 2017

[Tony]

Because it was much more reliable than the X64 is. I'd rather a bus take a little longer ans turn up than not turn up at all...

If you look at the actual facts you will find the opposite, one of the reasons the 21 was stopped was unreliability. Currently Harborne Road is actually has the most delays on it of any route into Birmingham in the morning peak

[Steve3229vp]

If you look at the actual facts you will find the opposite, one of the reasons the 21 was stopped was unreliability. Currently Harborne Road is actually has the most delays on it of any route into Birmingham in the morning peak

Exactly, which is why I suggest changing and the X64, 48, 98 and 99 as follows:

20 City-Northfield via Wheeleys Road, Edgbaston Park Rd, QE Hospital, then as 48 to Northfield
21 City-Woodgate via Wheeleys Road, Edgbaston Park Rd, QE Hospital, then as X64 to Woodgate
both 20 and 21 would continue to provide a freq every 10 mins from City to QE Hospital (every 20 mins each) as the 98 and 99 do now.

48 to run West Brom to QE Hospital only.

98 and X64 withdrawn and replaced by the above services.

62 City-Bristol Road-QE Hospital, then as 98 to Rednal and Rubery (every 20 mins)

99 to run Halesowen to QE Hospital only.

[j789]

Exactly, which is why I suggest changing and the X64, 48, 98 and 99 as follows:

20 City-Northfield via Wheeleys Road, Edgbaston Park Rd, QE Hospital, then as 48 to Northfield
21 City-Woodgate via Wheeleys Road, Edgbaston Park Rd, QE Hospital, then as X64 to Woodgate
both 20 and 21 would continue to provide a freq every 10 mins from City to QE Hospital (every 20 mins each) as the 98 and 99 do now.

48 to run West Brom to QE Hospital only.

98 and X64 withdrawn and replaced by the above services.

62 City-Bristol Road-QE Hospital, then as 98 to Rednal and Rubery (every 20 mins)

99 to run Halesowen to QE Hospital only.

You are not the first to suggest curtailing the 99 to the QE but I totally disagree with that idea. When visiting family in Harborne I choose the 99 as my bus of choice from the City centre. I do not get off until Tennal Rd and can certainly say that there are plenty of people who travel beyond the QE from the City on it and would have their journeys disrupted by stopping the 99 going to town. When driving the 144, the stop in front is for the 98/99 service and whenever I see one they always have a good number of people on. I'd think the 98/99 combined route to the city from the QE is somewhat of a success story compared with the previous 44 it replaced which was not as frequent or as well used, so why mess with them? Surely your idea for a 20/21 could just use the Bristol Rd like the current X61/X64 anyway to get to and from town.

[j789]

Another idea I'd suggest would be to extend the 76 from the QE to Five Ways via the current 98/99 route and then follow the 1 route to Five Ways. Would provide Selly Park and Kings Heath with a route to Broad Street and the business area.

[karl724223]

Hope the 244 will run on time when it goes to pastures new

[MasterPlan]

If you look at the actual facts you will find the opposite, one of the reasons the 21 was stopped was unreliability. Currently Harborne Road is actually has the most delays on it of any route into Birmingham in the morning peak

What facts are they then exactly?  I'm not being funny but I've gotten the X64 on a regular basis for years and it significantly worse than what the 21 was.
As for the Harborne Road, yeah it has been bad but you get traffic everywhere. I've noticed the Metchley Lane traffic hasn't been as bad as it used to be.

[MasterPlan]

Another idea I'd suggest would be to extend the 76 from the QE to Five Ways via the current 98/99 route and then follow the 1 route to Five Ways. Would provide Selly Park and Kings Heath with a route to Broad Street and the business area.

That's another reason I'd bring back the 21. There's currently no bus that goes from Selly Oak and the QE Hospital to Broad St etc. Surely you'd get more customers than the current X64 route? Barely anybody gets on board on the Bristol Road.

You are not the first to suggest curtailing the 99 to the QE but I totally disagree with that idea. When visiting family in Harborne I choose the 99 as my bus of choice from the City centre. I do not get off until Tennal Rd and can certainly say that there are plenty of people who travel beyond the QE from the City on it and would have their journeys disrupted by stopping the 99 going to town. When driving the 144, the stop in front is for the 98/99 service and whenever I see one they always have a good number of people on. I'd think the 98/99 combined route to the city from the QE is somewhat of a success story compared with the previous 44 it replaced which was not as frequent or as well used, so why mess with them? Surely your idea for a 20/21 could just use the Bristol Rd like the current X61/X64 anyway to get to and from town.

I don't think there'd be a need for the 20 and the 62 to be honest. I'd stick with just the 62.

[Trident 4194]

Hope the 244 will run on time when it goes to pastures new

Pastures new?

[:D]

More bus lanes and more bus lane enforcement.

The congestion in Birmingham is getting worse and if we expand the capacity of the roads, we do nothing to reduce the congestion.

If we paint more bus lanes, congestion will worsen but some car users will eventually stop using cars thereby reducing the congestion.

I recall a news article basically saying Birmingham has the worst commute times out of the UK.

[The Real 4778]

Birmingham has the worst commute times out of the UK.

It's hardly surprising as we're the city furthest from the ferries  8)

[MW]

All these ideas of restricting bits of the City Centre so that cars can't go there can f*** off as far as I'm concerned. As much as I'm interested in buses, if the powers that he want any form of restriction, they can build a bus station somewhere in the City Centre and have everything terminate there.

Why should car drivers have to suffer? Equally entitled to the road as buses. Frankly, the restrictions at the moment are ridiculous too. And as for making bus lanes to make life harder for cars so those people use buses, have you seen the amount of tramps using the buses? With the behaviour of some of the passengers on buses, I think I'll stick to my car.

[MasterPlan]

if the powers that he want any form of restriction, they can build a bus station somewhere in the City Centre and have everything terminate there.

I'm not sure there'd be enough space for everything to terminate there but still not a bad idea. Other places have one, why don't we?

[the trainbasher]

I'm in favour of more restrictions on the roads. If there was less room for private conveyances and more room for buses to have quicker journeys, more people would use the bus as reliability would be up

If I had my way, Moor Street would have the entire inside Lane in both directions fully bus and taxi only, Priory would be bus and taxi only all the way up, Lower Bull Street would be bus and taxi only, all down Colmore Row from Livery Street to the lights where the buses turn right and Upper Dean Street.

When I say buses and taxis only, I mean when Hackney Carriages, not those pesky Uber cars!!

In dudley I would have a bus lane all the way from the Hospital to Queens Cross, the entrance to Foster Street in Stourbridge (and the lane on the ring road leading up to it), the entire inside lane from Halesowen bus station round to the island at the bottom of Mucklow Hill/bottom of Manor Way, both directions on Brierley Hill High Street from the five ways lights to the lights at the police station, plus Mill Street heading High Street bound.

[The Real 4778]

I'm not sure there'd be enough space for everything to terminate there but still not a bad idea. Other places have one, why don't we?

What would you demolish to build it?

[MasterPlan]

What would you demolish to build it?

Not to sure to be honest...