South Birmingham Consultation 2017

[Tony]

The 31 being pointlessly renumbered really winds me up, let alone it means Shaftmoor Lane no longer has a bus to the City. But it does mean the Gospel Oak users will be happier with a faster bus to City. The 1 no longer serving Gospel Oak is a shock considering the 1 and 31 currently do slightly different routes around the estate.

That's because again you are being know it all without knowing what's going on.

The 31 isn't being renumbered pointlessly. The 31 is being cut short to run between Acocks Green and Solihull only. The 1 is still serving part of the estate (not the Gospel Oak pub), but a different part to the 4A which is a brand new route, so has a brand new number

[Straightlines]

Surprised no one's mentioned this that was on the website:

"Following an extensive public consultation, this summer we're making some changes to bus routes in and around South / South West Birmingham.

These include small changes, such as timetable improvements so that our buses can run more reliably. There are also some larger route changes, to cater for new and emerging travel needs, and also help to overcome increasing traffic congestion around busier areas.

These changes will bring new express services, more direct routes to Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the University of Birmingham, and a simpler network that is easier to understand.

Many will see very little change to their journey, but we've put together this route-by-route guide to tell you about what's happening in the coming weeks.

The following changes will be made from Sunday 22nd July 2018.

[Insert Map]

Service 1 will be replaced with the following new and modified routes:

1 / 1A  Fox Hollies – Acocks Green – Springfield – Moseley – Cannon Hill Park – Five Ways (1) or University / QE Hospital (1A) 

Buses run up to every 10-20 minutes

4A  Gospel Oak – Acocks Green – Birmingham 

Buses run up to every 10 minutes

+ More buses will run through Mosley (1 / 1A)

+ New direct route to University / QE Hospital (1A)

+ Gospel Oak will have more and faster buses to / from the city centre (4A)

- Gospel Oak will no longer be served by the 1

The 1 / 1A will run up to every 10 minutes between Acocks Green and Edgbaston, from there the 1 will run up to every 20 minutes to Five Ways; the new route 1A will then run up to every 20 minutes along Bristol Road and Aston Webb Boulevard to University / QE Hospital.

In Acocks Green / Fox Hollies, buses on the 1 / 1A route will run around a loop of Shirley Road, Dolphin Lane and Olton Boulevard East.

The new 4A will run from Gospel Oak along Severne Road and Gospel Lane to Warwick Road, then through Acocks Green and direct along Warwick Road to Birmingham city centre, reducing journey times for our passengers.

     

2 / 3  Maypole – Warstock – Yardley Wood – Billesley – Birmingham 

Buses run up to every 10 minutes between Wake Green and Birmingham

+ Buses will run up to every 10 minutes between Billesley and the city centre

Between Wake Green and the city centre, services 2 / 3 will now use the same route along Stoney Lane. Showell Green Lane will now be served by the 5.

     

4 / 4A  Solihull (4) / Gospel Oak (4A)  – Acocks Green – Birmingham 

Buses run up to every 10 minutes

+ Buses will run up to every 5 minutes between Acocks Green and the city centre along Warwick Road

+  Buses will run up to every 10 minutes to / from Gospel Oak

The new 4 / 4A services replace routes 37 and 31, see these sections for more information.

       

5  Solihull – Monkspath – Shirley – Sarehole Mill – Birmingham 

Buses run up to every 6 minutes along Stratford Road (when combined with the 6)

+ More reliable buses by avoiding Springfield Road and traffic in Solihull

+ Robin Hood Lane will be served again

- Buses will not serve Springfield Road due to ongoing issues with parking

Between Solihull and Widney Manor Station, buses will no longer serve stops on New Road and Warwick Road, due to delays caused by traffic queuing for town centre car parks.

At Widney Manor Station, buses towards Solihull will now stop opposite the station entrance and not pull into the forecourt.

Springfield Road will no longer be served due to ongoing issues with parking, preventing larger vehicles from passing and causing delays. All buses on this route will now serve Showell Green Lane. This may be revised if the problem improves in future.

         

Services 22 / 23 will be replaced with the new and modified routes:

23  Bartley Green – Woodgate – Harborne – Five Ways – Birmingham

Buses run up to every 8-10 minutes

X22  Woodgate – Kitwell – Bartley Green – University / QE Hospital – Birmingham

Buses run up to every 20 minutes

+ More buses in Bartley Green, Woodgate & Woodgate Valley South areas (23)

+ Harborne to Birmingham buses will now simply be numbered 23 / 24

+ New and direct links to University / QE Hospital from Kitwell, Bartley Green, Jiggins Lane and Quinton Road

+ New Platinum buses on routes 23 / X22, offering premium comfort with extra legroom, wifi and USB points

- Kitwell and Jiggins Lane will no longer have direct buses to Harborne; passengers can connect to 23 / X22 services along Stonehouse Road or California Way

- Buses will run less often during the day to Kitwell and Jiggins Lane, running every 20 minutes instead of every 15 minutes

The current 22 / 23 services will be combined into one, simpler, more frequent route; the new 23. This will run from Newman University via Bartley Green, Romsley Road, Woodgate, Woodgate Valley South, Harborne and Five Ways to Birmingham.

Kitwell and Jiggins Lane, currently served by the 22, will be served by the new X22. This will run from Woodgate via Kitwell, Romsley Road, Bartley Green, Jiggins Lane, California, Quinton Road and University / QE Hospital to Birmingham.

To help improve reliability, bus stops on Stonehouse Lane and Stonehouse Hill will be moved onto California Way and Northfield Road."

Thank you for sharing this

@Tony - Any idea if this has increased or reduced the PVR at the Respective Garages?

[Stu]

Clearly it looks to me as if a 'draft' of the service changes article was 'published' in error. The copied text here mentions referring to the 'section on the 31 and 37' which did not appear, so there is more to this than the "31 pointlessly being renumbered", as Tony has already pointed out.

As someone who has lived in Acocks Green and used buses there, I welcome the changes, as the curtailed 31 will be a far more reliable service than it is at present for those who travel between Acocks Green and Solihull only.

And yes, it is sad that the 37 route number is changing, but it will then 'fit in' with the other Stratford Road service numbers, and should hopefully stop people being confused with the 37 between Walsall and Willenhall  :P

It would help if some people could be a little more patient and wait for the finalised full details to be published on the NX Bus website before jumping to conclusions.

[Steve3229vp]

Clearly it looks to me as if a 'draft' of the service changes article was 'published' in error. The copied text here mentions referring to the 'section on the 31 and 37' which did not appear, so there is more to this than the "31 pointlessly being renumbered", as Tony has already pointed out.

As someone who has lived in Acocks Green and used buses there, I welcome the changes, as the curtailed 31 will be a far more reliable service than it is at present for those who travel between Acocks Green and Solihull only.

And yes, it is sad that the 37 route number is changing, but it will then 'fit in' with the other Stratford Road service numbers, and should hopefully stop people being confused with the 37 between Walsall and Willenhall  :P

It would help if some people could be a little more patient and wait for the finalised full details to be published on the NX Bus website before jumping to conclusions.

It would help if NXWM just published the changes. The East Birmingham changes came into force on 4th June last year and changes appeared on the NXWM website at the end of April, that's six weeks earlier. The South Birmingham changes come into force 22nd July, thats just over 4 weeks !

[sonic84]

And yes, it is sad that the 37 route number is changing, but it will then 'fit in' with the other Stratford Road service numbers, and should hopefully stop people being confused with the 37 between Walsall and Willenhall  :P

They might get confused with the 4 between Walsall and Blackeath now (Joke btw)  :)

[monkeyjoe]

Personally I don't mind people speculating etc, it's better than reading what bus number is out on a route for a day.

[BK63 YWP]

I am liking the simplications of numbers, I just wish that the Dudley review will just re number all the routes in the area instead of bits at a time. And when will the X96 lose it's X!

[Steveminor]

I personally think it's time nx published the changes with the amount information & misinformation that's out there passengers are starting to get worried about their travel plans.

[monkeyjoe]

I personally think it's time nx published the changes with the amount information & misinformation that's out there passengers are starting to get worried about their travel plans.

On that note what's happening with the regular centro updates they seem to be a bit lacked these days

[Mike K]

I am liking the simplications of numbers, I just wish that the Dudley review will just re number all the routes in the area instead of bits at a time. And when will the X96 lose it's X!

I personally don't get this obsession with 'simplification' of numbers, and I don't think routes into Birmingham need it. They're already simple and most people aren't retards. The 37 has been around for donkeys years, changing the number is more likely to cause confusion than simplification. And often, a simpler network is just politician speak for reducing the number of routes serving a corridor, and often reducing the number of buses per hour along most of that corridor.

[Steveminor]

The person who usually does the ita sheets has been on long term sick but is back now so these should start again soon.

[monkeyjoe]

Thanks for the update.

Also agree on the numbers things people can read :)

[MasterPlan]

I personally don't get this obsession with 'simplification' of numbers, and I don't think routes into Birmingham need it. They're already simple and most people aren't retards. The 37 has been around for donkeys years, changing the number is more likely to cause confusion than simplification. And often, a simpler network is just politician speak for reducing the number of routes serving a corridor, and often reducing the number of buses per hour along most of that corridor.

Fully agree with this.

[Bus1237]

Why is the 37 getting a frequency decrease?! Why mess with something that is perfectly fine as it is? It is always busy during the daytime and peak time?

[2206]

Why is the 37 getting a frequency decrease?! Why mess with something that is perfectly fine as it is? It is always busy during the daytime and peak time?

The whole of the 37 route isn't having a slight frequency decrease, its only Acocks Green to Solihull is having a slight frequency decrease to every 10 minutes.
Acocks Green to City Centre will be every 5 minutes, a very slight increase.