Changes to Black Country services - 25 July 2010

From 25 July a number of service changes will take place across the Black Country. These changes aim to simplify the bus network and provide a faster, more reliable service to better connect people with work, education and local facilities.

The changes include:

  • Service 243 - extended to Merry Hill Shopping Centre
  • Improved frequency on service 244 between Hasbury, Halesowen and Dudley    
  • Increased daytime frequency on service 276·    
  • New links from Norton to Stourbridge Junction Station and Merry Hill Shopping Centre·    
  • Increased frequency on between Warstones and Wolverhampton on services 512 and 513
  • Improved frequency between Goldthorn Park and Wolverhampton on services 526 and 527
  • Details of Black Country service changes for 25 July 2010:
  • 9 Birmingham - Stourbridge via Halesowen 141 Birmingham - Merry Hill via Blackheath As a response to customer requests an extra journey has been introduces on service 9 during the morning peak time journey has been added to provide extra capacity from Halesowen to Birmingham.
  • Also in response to customer requests service 141 will now serve Sainsbury’s and evening journeys have been change in order to fit better with finishing times.  
  • Dudley and Wrens Nest area services  206, 207  Dudley - Wrens Nest Circulars  544  Dudley - Wolverhampton via Wallbrook and Bilston  581,  582,  583 Dudley - Wolverhampton via Wrens Nest and Roseville  Dudley - Bilston via Roseville  Bilston - Wolverhampton Services 206 and 207 are incorporated into services 581, 582 and 583. Due to the significant changes in bus use around Wrens Nest, particularly following the demolition of houses in the Forest Road area services 206 and 207 are being withdrawn - allowing us to develop new routes connecting the area with Bilston, Dudley and Wolverhampton.
  • Service 544 is renumbered 582 and will run between Bilston and Dudley with the Bilston to Wolverhampton section covered by new service 583. Residents near Laurel Road and Wrens Nest Road will now be served by services 581, 582 and 583 - offering a bus every 10 minutes throughout the day, whilst residents in Forest Road can continue to use the 126 which links Priory Road to Wolverhampton, Dudley and Birmingham.
  • Bus services 581, 582 and 583 will all pass Greens Health Surgery to provide residents with a link to the local doctors.   
  • 222  Halesowen - Dudley via Russells Hall and Merry Hill  The route has been altered to serve more heavily populated areas and to cover part of the current 244 service. It will now run via Boulevard and Old Hill Station and Lodgefield Road.   
  • 242, 243  Stourbridge - Dudley via Halesowen and Old Hill  244  Dudley - Hayleys Green via Netherton Service number 242 is withdrawn, it is incorporated into 243 and 244 which have been amended to create new links and improve overall frequency along the major bus corridors.
  • Service 243, which will run every 20 minutes, is extended from Cradley Heath to Merry Hill. The new route will be: Dudley - Blowers Green Rd - Cradley Heath - Timbertree - Quarry Bank - Merry Hill More buses are introduced on service 244 which will now run every 20 minutes during the day with extra journeys introduced I the evenings and on Sundays. This service will now run via Haden Hill instead of Old Hill Station (which will be served bu the rerouted 222 service. The changes will provide better coordination between bus services 243 and 244 with new links from Timbertree to Merry Hill and an improved frequency from Halesowen to Hasbury. There will now be a bus every 10 minutes between Dudley - Baptist End - Netherton. All of the current 242 service is covered by the changes.   
  • 254, 255,  256, 257,  259  Stourbridge or Merry Hill to Kingswinford, Wombourne and Wolverhampton Service 254 will operate between Merry Hill and Wall Heath, covering more of the Wall Heath area, maintaining a 15 minute service between Merry Hill and Kingswinford with the 255 service, which extends from Kingswinford to Womborne and Wolverhampton.
  • Service 256 will continue to operate every half hour from Wolverhampton to Wombourne, Kingswinford and Stourbridge. The service 257 route remains unchanged from Dudley to Gornal Wood, Kingswinford and Stourbridge.
  • Service 259 is withdrawn but buses will continue to run every 15 minutes between Wall Heath and Kingswinford on other services.
  • Services 255 and 256 will both run via via Billy Buns Lane into Wombourne.   
  • 276  Dudley - Stourbridge via Merry Hill  294, 295  Stourbridge - Norton Circulars  More buses are introduced on this popular service, which will now run every 20 minutes and will extend to Norton replacing the 294 and 295 and offering direct links to Stourbridge Junction and Merry Hill.
  • Services 294 and 295 are withdrawn replaced by the improved 276 which will run along a simplified route every 20 minutes providing a more consistent service for Norton. Customers in Norton will now also benefit from direct links to Stourbridge Junction Station and Merry Hill. Please note: Service 276 will be affected by roadworks until 18 August 2010 and will not be able to serve Worcester Street.   
  • 283  Merry Hill - Dudley - Bilston - Wolverhampton The 283 has been renumbered 583 to create an easier to remember network with services 581 and 582 between Dudley, Wrens Nest and Coseley. The service has also been extended to Wolverhampton in place of the 544. The changes have been made following a a review of services in the Wrens Nest area and the revised services aim to provide a a simple high frequency link between Dudley, Wrens Nest and Coseley (services 581, 582 and 583).   
  • 417  Halesowen Circular via Hayley Green The 417 evening and Sunday service is replaced by service 244 operating hourly.   
  • 438, 439  West Bromwich - Cape Hill  444  West Bromwich - Bearwood via Londonderry 
  • 450  West Bromwich - Bearwood via Smethwick Service 450 has been amended to incorporate majority of services 438 and 439 and will now run from West Bromwich via Halfords Lane, Crocketts Lane, Windmill Lane and Smethwick to Bearwood. Extra early morning and early evening Monday - Saturday journeys are also introduced on service 450.
  • The route of service 444 is slightly amended to run via Trinity Way, covering additional parts of the 438 and 439.   
  • 512, 513  Wolverhampton services to Warstones and Bilston - additional buses have been added to these busy services into and out of Wolverhampton. The frequency for both services is increased to every 10 minutes.
  • Service 513 is extended from Warstones Estate via Warstones Road to Penn Roundabout. Warstones Road (between Penn Roundabout and Warstones Drive), Coalway Road and Lea Road will all benefit from more buses.   
  • 514, 515  Wolverhampton - Mount Road / Springhill loop  614  City Centre - Great Brick Kiln Street - Oxbarn Avenue - Coalway Road - Penn Road New service 614 is introduced to replace services 514 and 515 on those sections of route not covered by the 512 and extended 513. This new service is designed to provide a better fit with the 613 and to maintain the hourly daytime frequency in areas not served by service 512 and extended service 513. No areas are left unserved as aresult of these changes and the frequency is improved along a number of roads including Coalway Road, Lea Road, Warstones Drive and Warstones Road.   
  • 526, 527  Wolverhampton - Goldthorn Park - Bilston - Stowlawn  541, 541A  Wolverhampton - Goldthorn Park - The Straits - Gornal Wood - Dudley  641 Wolverhampton - Goldthorn Park New service 527 is introduced to replace services 541 and 641 between Wolverhampton and Goldthorn Park. Service 527 will follow a single route through The Straits. It will operate an hourly frequency between Wolverhampton and Dudley with additional buses operating between Goldthorn Park and Wolverhanpton and Northway to Dudley. The frequency of services 526 and 527 has been co-ordinated to provide better links from most of Goldthorn Park into Wolverhampton. Buses will operate up to every 10 minutes from Patricia Avenue and Ednam Road. Service 526 will be routed to serve Patricia Avenue to improve links to Bilston. The service along Jeremy Road and Himley Crescent is maintained.

Published 16th July 2010

 
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