New cross-city bus services

[Solo1]

There are plans to add a new bus lane on Highgate Middleway and a bus gate to allow vehicles to easily enter Moseley Road southbound.

Also, I recall they're looking to introduce more enforced bus lanes on Moseley Road through Balsall Heath. But as I've pointed out before here, there are already bus lanes that are not enforced, and that adds to the congestion as buses have to go around the parked cars and vans.

From my own experience of travelling on the 50, the section through Balsall Heath is the worst part for congestion, once you get to Moseley its generally fine.

need more cameras at bus lanes to catch car drivers that drive in them how  would they;like it was other was around a passenger was car driver & car driver was passenger they woukd soon moan

[MW]

Again, in comparison to the bus route I drive in Bristol (the m1 for those who are aware of it), I think cross city routes are far superior provided proper bus priority measures. My route has its own junction of the motorway for example. Even regular buses running Not In Service are allowed to use this junction! The route doesn't accept cash, only mtickets and Tap and Cap. Boarding and running times are very very fasts. All that along with Dual Door buses and overall the experience is far faster which is something passengers comment on all the time when compared to the nearest 'regular' buses that serve the same destinations.

Having driven the 50 in Birmingham, the City Centre to Moseley will need a bus lane, which is possible as the road currently (mostly) is 2 lanes on each side of the road, although as others have pointed out, is always full of parked cars and the bus lanes are disregarded.

The last time I was in Birmingham I noticed a rather annoying (as a car driver) bus only zone by the Bullring, but all this will benefit of course!

[bususer28]

From my own experience of travelling on the 50, the section through Balsall Heath is the worst part for congestion, once you get to Moseley its generally fine.

And that's my 'fear' about cross-city services, when I use the 50 at the weekends, it's more often to go to Kings Heath rather than city and if I have to go to city, I sometimes change to the 35 because it's quiter and ever so slightly quicker (and serves the markets). Especially for passengers on either end of the route (I'm sure it's similar for passengers in Cape Hill or Oldbury), people are going to be put off because too many buses are stuck in the city when they only need to go a few stops down the road.

[Pat]

And that's my 'fear' about cross-city services, when I use the 50 at the weekends, it's more often to go to Kings Heath rather than city and if I have to go to city, I sometimes change to the 35 because it's quiter and ever so slightly quicker (and serves the markets). Especially for passengers on either end of the route (I'm sure it's similar for passengers in Cape Hill or Oldbury), people are going to be put off because too many buses are stuck in the city when they only need to go a few stops down the road.

Agreed.  Think about how many services will ultimately be curtailed because of traffic delays etc?  Defeats the purpose of cross city and minimising the amount of buses people have to catch,.

[ellspurs]

If they're able to effectively police the bus lanes through Balsall Heath, Moseley and through to Kings Heath, then that part of the route would be viable. For a time I was travelling up from Maypole to Moseley at 6.30am and you could sail through.

It is going to be hard though.

[monkeyjoe]

There are online webinars next reference the proposals

[mesub]

A friend of mine sent me this.

Some of the coloured lines do seem to match whatever colour branding that area's buses use (for example, Harborne is red and Selly Oak/University is a lightish blue).

[2206]

A friend of mine sent me this.

Some of the coloured lines do seem to match whatever colour branding that area's buses use (for example, Harborne is red and Selly Oak/University is a lightish blue).

The blue line that starts at Bartley Green, is that supposed to be the X22? Not sure what the Frankley one is supposed to be though, as the current routes on the University corridor go to Cofton Hackett(X20)/Woodcock Hill(X21)/Woodgate(X22)?

And is the red line saying they're merging the X12 and 23/24? Though when one combines to every 5 minutes and the other is currently every 20 minutes, how would that work?

[Trident 4194]

A friend of mine sent me this.

Some of the coloured lines do seem to match whatever colour branding that area's buses use (for example, Harborne is red and Selly Oak/University is a lightish blue).

Stourbridge- Coventry - that will be like a 2.5 hour trip

[Bus_user_jay]

I don't think the silver lines are cross city routes? Wolverhampton is on there and surely they're not going to do a cross city route from there? People from that far out just use the train...

[ellspurs]

And is the red line saying they're merging the X12 and 23/24? Though when one combines to every 5 minutes and the other is currently every 20 minutes, how would that work?

94 and 23/24.

[MasterPlan]

A friend of mine sent me this.

Some of the coloured lines do seem to match whatever colour branding that area's buses use (for example, Harborne is red and Selly Oak/University is a lightish blue).

Are these cross-city routes replacing existing routes?

[j789]

Would it not make sense to make the cross city route every 10-12 minutes and then also keep the original route every 10-12 minutes as well as that each part of the route maintains a 5-6 minute frequency. That way if there was a delay on either side of the cross city route, the other side wouldn't be badly affected as it would still have a bus running the shorter route?

[2206]

94 and 23/24.

55/94 don't go to Bromford, and Bromford is on the map. Its definitely the X12 which is shown.

[ellspurs]

55/94 don't go to Bromford, and Bromford is on the map.

I knew you were going to say that. The X12 only goes to Castle Bromwich village, not the main part of Castle Bromwich. The 94 would fit in with your concerns about having the routes frequency match up closer, and with the previous Washwood Heath google incident you know that people don't seem to know where the different bits of east Birmingham actually are.

And if you look at the routes covered, the areas are mainly the non-express routes covered.

Package one - no specific route
Package two - 65/16 and 35/47(or 45?)
Package three - 50 and 82/87
Package four - 907/67/x14 and 61/63/x20/x21/x22 [this one seems to be a mashup of existing routes]
Package five - 23/24 and 94
Package six - 74 and 97

The colours may have had something to do with how they've planned this out, but remember the x12 isn't branded any more.

I'd have thought that these cross-city routes would be kept separate to the express/limited stop routes.