Thursday 28 October 2010

EYMS: Fare increases and Service Cuts Likely

EYMS has revealed to the Hull Daily Mail that fare increases of up to 10% and cutbacks to rural and low frequency routes are likely. Staff redundancies cannot also be ruled out. This is down to cuts in concessionary fare payments, of which details are expected in December from local councils. Additionally the cut in BSOG (Bus Service Operators Grant) will increase costs from 2012. EYMS fears their losses could be £2.25 million a year, compared to a £600,000 profit last year.

Stagecoach have said they have no immediate plans for fare increases or service reductions.

Wednesday 27 October 2010

X62 via Clive Sullivan Way

As well as being diverted to serve North Ferriby and Hut Green/Eggborough, from 1st November Stagecoach's X62 (Hull-Brough-Goole-Leeds) shall also be diverted via Clive Sullivan Way instead of operating via Anlaby Road and Boothferry Road. Hull Royal Infirmary shall continue to be served.

However Stagecoach have been unusually poor in providing details of the North Ferriby and Eggborough diversions with no information as to what stops in these villages will be served. While containing other errors, West Yorkshire's Metro at least has some street names for the North Ferriby and Hut Green stops.

Also I take it that between Goole and Hut Green/Eggborough the X62 will operate on the M62 and not via Snaith?

'New' service 6 in Grimsby

The trial reinstated service for part of Weelsby Road in Grimsby will be a 'new' service 6, operating three times a day Monday to Saturday from Grimsby Bus Station to Grimsby Hospital via Hainton Avenue, Weelsby Road and Nuns Corner. Service 6 will be operated by Stagecoach Grimsby Cleethorpes with funding from North East Lincolnshire Council.

I use 'new' in inverted commas because I'm sure there has been a service 6 in Grimsby a few years ago. Not sure if it operated via Hainton Avenue or Weelsby Road though.

Wednesday 20 October 2010

Hybrids for the 57

EYMS CEO Peter Shipp has told Route One magazine that his company intends to use 8 new hybrid buses to replace the current double deckers used on service 57 between Longhill, Hull City Centre and Hessle. The route currently has a need for 8 double deckers and 6 single deckers.

It was announced last week that EYMS had won a share of the Department for Transport's green bus fund to purchase 8 hybrid vehicles.

Tuesday 19 October 2010

Stagecoach Barton website

Those of you familiar with the Stagecoach UK Bus website will know at the top right hand side is a list of place names that can be selected to take you to the relevant local website. I have just noted today Barton has been added to the list. Great, but it takes you to the Grimsby-Cleethorpes website which has no mention of the main Stagecoach service to Barton, the Humber Fastcat (nor does it mention the 360 college service to Scunthorpe). Not exactly ideal, any customer unfamiliar with the Stagecoach network in Barton wouldn't know they could get to Scunthorpe. Even those with a knowledge of the network could be left confused looking for the Humber Fastcat timetable.

Neither the Hull not Scunthorpe websites cover all the Stagecoach services to serve Barton either, so it's not really a solution to redirect the Barton link to them. If Stagecoach want a Barton website they are going to have to make one, rather than just redirect to another. Shouldn't be that hard to add a few links to the standard template used. But even if they don't do that, I don't think the current Grimsby-Cleethorpes site redirect works.

Saturday 16 October 2010

Trial 'reinstated' service in Grimsby

The Grimsby Telegraph reports that North East Lincolnshire Council have arranged with Stagecoach Grimsby-Cleethorpes to 'reinstate' a bus service around Hainton Avenue and Weelsby Road in Grimsby, lost when the Interconnect 3 was altered earlier in the year. No word on what form the replacement, which will be on a 6 month trial, will take. Earlier in the year Stagecoach were looking at diverting the 51 to Louth via the area.

I use the word reinstate in inverted commas, since the Humber Flyer still serves Hainton Avenue, so it is only a small part of Weelsby Road currently without a service.

EYMS Beverley Area Changes

As expected, EYMS are making service changes from 1st November in the Beverley Area. The changes are minor, with retimings of a morning service on the 182 (Hessle-Beverley) and a couple of afternoon town service journeys (on the 521 and 523) now running Saturday only.

Thursday 14 October 2010

EYMS win Green Bus Fund money

EYMS have been awarded £794,400 to fund 8 new hybrid or electric buses from the Department for Transport's Green Bus Fund. Would be interested to see what route these are intended for.

Friday 8 October 2010

X62 to North Ferriby and Hut Green

A commentator on this blog post says Stagecoach's X62 (Hull-Brough-Goole-Leeds) will be serving North Ferriby and Hut Green (near Eggborough Power Station) from November.

Wednesday 6 October 2010

New X55 Saturday service

The November changes to the X55 Petuaria Express will involve a Saturday service on the Gilberdyke-Brough-Hull service.

The current weekday service is also carrying over 1000 passengers a week. An anonymous commentator on the original blog post says this is about 10 passengers per journey, including 'against peak' journies which will bring the average down. Thanks to the same commentator for alerting me to the above news, originally posted on the EYMS website.

Friday 1 October 2010

Service 110 Funding Status Correction

You may remember my rather critical post about the re-introduction of service 109 in the Cottingham area at the start of September. In that I stated Stagecoach's service 110 was a tendered service. However having picked up a paper timetable for the 110, it is important to note it only receives council financial support for the diversion into the Bricknell Avenue Estate, otherwise it is commercial.

This doesn't stop the 109 being a wasteful duplicate for the 110... (the original post discusses why the 109 is pointless in detail).