Post by pricel on Feb 8, 2024 14:57:11 GMT 1
Here is how I would change services in South Calderdale.
With new changes such as the 538 being formed as part of the BSIP it could make services E1 and E2 useless but in order to make them still of use to people, I have thought of some route changes.
This change also includes the addition of 564 (E4) being extended to Ripponden via Krumlim to allow 561/2 to run hourly via Norland restoring both Norland and Krumlims old hourly frequency from services 557/9 and E7. This also reconnects Ripponden with Elland and Brighouse and should hopefully bring a few more customers onto the 564 (E4) as terminating at Barkisland is quite random.
Services 900/1/2 will be renumbered to 367/8/9 to match up with the NewHey Road corridor of services 370/1/3/7/8. With service 368 (901) being rerouted through Rishworth and 369 (902) being designed to run on Sundays via Oakes replacing 536 and allowing 537 to run a simple hourly service.
Hourly service reintroduced to 586 to coordinate an all week frequency between Halifax and Ripponden every 30 minutes (including Sundays).
So continuing on the previous changes mentioned on this thread with 537/8/9 forming an every 15 minutes frequency direct to Elland, I would use this as an opportunity to make the X1 faster by being limited stop along certain sections. Coming out of Halifax, the service can serve the First Bus depot, the 3 main stops around Calderdale Royal Hospital, Exley Bank and then non stop to Elland Morrison's.
538 Halifax to Brighouse via Elland
This service would be designed to follow the 537 towards Huddersfield Road in Elland where it will then run along the old 278 route via Lower Edge into Brighouse Town Centre. With this service being added, I would send the 549 via Rasterick Common, to cover for the loss of 547 also allowing the service to see double deckers when needed.
560 Halifax to Commons
A new evening only service following the old 557 route but with a diversion around Krumlim as well. Monday to Friday journeys will depart Halifax at 20:15 (replacing last 562), 21:15 and 22:15 and on Saturdays at 19:55, 20:55 and 21:55 on Saturdays. The Oldham Road section is the most densely populated area in Ripponden and also contains the village of Rishworth which has a population of around 1,000 and is quite regularly used by bus. An every 2 hour frequency is actually quite shocking, considering how other services in the area that run to the middle of nowhere have a more regular service.
561/562 Halifax to Ripponden Circular
I would make these services skip out Krumlim, allowing a more simple service that runs hourly through Norland. Since the withdrawal of the 557/9 in 2015, bus usage from Norland has gone down since they were left with a 2 hourly service. In replacement, new service 564 (E4) will be extended to run to Ripponden via Krumlim restoring an hourly frequency back to Scammonden and Saddleworth Roads. Also the Saturday timetable will be upgraded to run hourly and a new Sunday service running every 2 hours. Also additional Mon-Sat evening service will be added on trial between Halifax and Sowerby Bridge via Copley on services 561/2, with journeys terminating at Sowerby Bridge railway station to connect with trains. Departures from Halifax (Mon -Fri) will be at 20:50 & 22:50 and 20:20 & 22:20 during Saturdays. The reasons behind the 561/2 evening journeys is because a new massive housing development has sprouted opposite LBG.
563 Halifax to Brighouse
I would coordinate this service with 561/2 to form an every 30 minutes frequency between Halifax and Copley village providing a more reliable and better service. A new route will also be used between West Vale and Brighouse with the service following the current E4 bus route along Long Wall, Elland Bridge and Park Road allowing for a faster and reliable service. Sundays will remain running the same route but being numbered 563A combined with Sunday's 564 to provide an hourly service between Brighouse, Upper Edge and Elland. Service 563A will also run during the evening combined with service 561/2 to form an hourly service between Copley and Halifax. During the evening, journeys will depart on service 563A from Halifax at 19:50 & 21:50 (Mon - Fri) and 18:00, 19:20 and 21:20 (Saturday).
564 Brighouse to Ripponden
This service will replace the E4 extending to Ripponden via Krumlim, restoring an hourly service back to the hamlets along Saddleworth and Scammonden Roads. There is also a development of 5 new houses to be built next to Ringstone Edge Reservoir and having an hourly service compared to every 2 hours is more of a drive for residents to use the bus. This service between Brighouse and Elland will also be swapped around with the 563 to serve Upper Edge and Rasterick Common to provide quicker journey times on service 563.
586 Halifax to Commons
It's pretty daft how this service runs every 2 hours, with it being the most used service that runs into Ripponden and the only commercial service in the area. An Every 2 hour frequency isn't good for commercial gain and has put strain on the 587 with buses being rammed and nothing to do about it because there are vehicle height restrictions along the route. I would restore an hourly service back to the route running at xx20 from Halifax fkr most of the day then running at 15:30, 16:35, 17:45, 19:00, 20:10, 22:10 and 23:10 to form a half hourly evening service apart from the 579 and daytime from the 587. On Sundays, the service will also run every hour allowing for better coordination with the 587.
587 Halifax to Rochdale.
I would coordinate this service with the 586 to form a half-hourly daytime frequency all week. The 06:20 from Halifax will be retimed to depart at 05:50 with a 586 leaving at 06:20 in replacement. An extra 06:50 journey will also run. During the day buses will depart at 50 past the hour, until 13:50 with the next buses being at 14:55, 16:05, 17:10, 18:15 and 19:30. Sunday timetables on this service are currently a mess and are ran 5 minutes behind a 586. The issue is reverting back to the original timetable won't work too well as it was suggested by users to Yorkshire Tiger to run the first 2 journeys 55 minutes earlier. So instead Sundays will be upgraded to hourly with the first journey departing Halifax at 0850(586), 0920(587), 0950 (586), 1020 (587), 1050 (586) and 50 (586), 20 (587) until 18:20 (587) then at 19:20, 20:20 and 21:20 for 586.
E1/E2 Brighouse to Elland via Lower Edge
With 538 arriving giving Lower Edge a half-hourly frequency, it makes E1/E2 pretty much redundant. But in order to not cut the routes as they have importance to the Woodhouse estate area I would send both E1/E2 via Woodhouse Grove with E1 also being routed through Gasmere Drive, Whitell Green Lane & Dewsbury Road in replacement of E3 and E2 through Emmerdale Drive and Bracken Way to serve the new build housing estate off Lower Edge Road. Service (E2) will also now run on Saturdays. A clockwise (E1), and anticlockwise (E1) loop will also be formed around Catherine Street, Charles Street and Burley Street in replacement of the old 400 service withdrawn in 2015 and hopefully to gain a few more passengers along the sub-urbs.
E3 Elland to Greetland Circular
This service will no longer run to Gasmere Drive and will be replaced by service E1. An additional hourly Saturday service will also now run.
New services 367/8/9
These are the new numbers for the 900/1/2 with service 368 (901) now running a simple hourly service departing Huddersfield at 00 past the hour in coordination with service 537. Journeys will also run via Rishworth and Commons to provide 2 buses an hour on Oldham Road, with it being a fair change as Oldham Road is more populated than Rochdale Road. This should also see increased bus usage in Rishworth as they are now also connected with Huddersfield, town popular for education and work and then Hebden Bridge, a popular tourist town. Sunday daytime frequency will also be upgraded to run hourly between Huddersfield and Commons and then every 2 hours onto Hebden Bridge with services 368 and 369. Service 369 will run between Huddersfield and Commons only but via Oakes replacing service 536 to allow 537 to have a simple hourly Sunday timetable.
With new changes such as the 538 being formed as part of the BSIP it could make services E1 and E2 useless but in order to make them still of use to people, I have thought of some route changes.
This change also includes the addition of 564 (E4) being extended to Ripponden via Krumlim to allow 561/2 to run hourly via Norland restoring both Norland and Krumlims old hourly frequency from services 557/9 and E7. This also reconnects Ripponden with Elland and Brighouse and should hopefully bring a few more customers onto the 564 (E4) as terminating at Barkisland is quite random.
Services 900/1/2 will be renumbered to 367/8/9 to match up with the NewHey Road corridor of services 370/1/3/7/8. With service 368 (901) being rerouted through Rishworth and 369 (902) being designed to run on Sundays via Oakes replacing 536 and allowing 537 to run a simple hourly service.
Hourly service reintroduced to 586 to coordinate an all week frequency between Halifax and Ripponden every 30 minutes (including Sundays).
So continuing on the previous changes mentioned on this thread with 537/8/9 forming an every 15 minutes frequency direct to Elland, I would use this as an opportunity to make the X1 faster by being limited stop along certain sections. Coming out of Halifax, the service can serve the First Bus depot, the 3 main stops around Calderdale Royal Hospital, Exley Bank and then non stop to Elland Morrison's.
538 Halifax to Brighouse via Elland
This service would be designed to follow the 537 towards Huddersfield Road in Elland where it will then run along the old 278 route via Lower Edge into Brighouse Town Centre. With this service being added, I would send the 549 via Rasterick Common, to cover for the loss of 547 also allowing the service to see double deckers when needed.
560 Halifax to Commons
A new evening only service following the old 557 route but with a diversion around Krumlim as well. Monday to Friday journeys will depart Halifax at 20:15 (replacing last 562), 21:15 and 22:15 and on Saturdays at 19:55, 20:55 and 21:55 on Saturdays. The Oldham Road section is the most densely populated area in Ripponden and also contains the village of Rishworth which has a population of around 1,000 and is quite regularly used by bus. An every 2 hour frequency is actually quite shocking, considering how other services in the area that run to the middle of nowhere have a more regular service.
561/562 Halifax to Ripponden Circular
I would make these services skip out Krumlim, allowing a more simple service that runs hourly through Norland. Since the withdrawal of the 557/9 in 2015, bus usage from Norland has gone down since they were left with a 2 hourly service. In replacement, new service 564 (E4) will be extended to run to Ripponden via Krumlim restoring an hourly frequency back to Scammonden and Saddleworth Roads. Also the Saturday timetable will be upgraded to run hourly and a new Sunday service running every 2 hours. Also additional Mon-Sat evening service will be added on trial between Halifax and Sowerby Bridge via Copley on services 561/2, with journeys terminating at Sowerby Bridge railway station to connect with trains. Departures from Halifax (Mon -Fri) will be at 20:50 & 22:50 and 20:20 & 22:20 during Saturdays. The reasons behind the 561/2 evening journeys is because a new massive housing development has sprouted opposite LBG.
563 Halifax to Brighouse
I would coordinate this service with 561/2 to form an every 30 minutes frequency between Halifax and Copley village providing a more reliable and better service. A new route will also be used between West Vale and Brighouse with the service following the current E4 bus route along Long Wall, Elland Bridge and Park Road allowing for a faster and reliable service. Sundays will remain running the same route but being numbered 563A combined with Sunday's 564 to provide an hourly service between Brighouse, Upper Edge and Elland. Service 563A will also run during the evening combined with service 561/2 to form an hourly service between Copley and Halifax. During the evening, journeys will depart on service 563A from Halifax at 19:50 & 21:50 (Mon - Fri) and 18:00, 19:20 and 21:20 (Saturday).
564 Brighouse to Ripponden
This service will replace the E4 extending to Ripponden via Krumlim, restoring an hourly service back to the hamlets along Saddleworth and Scammonden Roads. There is also a development of 5 new houses to be built next to Ringstone Edge Reservoir and having an hourly service compared to every 2 hours is more of a drive for residents to use the bus. This service between Brighouse and Elland will also be swapped around with the 563 to serve Upper Edge and Rasterick Common to provide quicker journey times on service 563.
586 Halifax to Commons
It's pretty daft how this service runs every 2 hours, with it being the most used service that runs into Ripponden and the only commercial service in the area. An Every 2 hour frequency isn't good for commercial gain and has put strain on the 587 with buses being rammed and nothing to do about it because there are vehicle height restrictions along the route. I would restore an hourly service back to the route running at xx20 from Halifax fkr most of the day then running at 15:30, 16:35, 17:45, 19:00, 20:10, 22:10 and 23:10 to form a half hourly evening service apart from the 579 and daytime from the 587. On Sundays, the service will also run every hour allowing for better coordination with the 587.
587 Halifax to Rochdale.
I would coordinate this service with the 586 to form a half-hourly daytime frequency all week. The 06:20 from Halifax will be retimed to depart at 05:50 with a 586 leaving at 06:20 in replacement. An extra 06:50 journey will also run. During the day buses will depart at 50 past the hour, until 13:50 with the next buses being at 14:55, 16:05, 17:10, 18:15 and 19:30. Sunday timetables on this service are currently a mess and are ran 5 minutes behind a 586. The issue is reverting back to the original timetable won't work too well as it was suggested by users to Yorkshire Tiger to run the first 2 journeys 55 minutes earlier. So instead Sundays will be upgraded to hourly with the first journey departing Halifax at 0850(586), 0920(587), 0950 (586), 1020 (587), 1050 (586) and 50 (586), 20 (587) until 18:20 (587) then at 19:20, 20:20 and 21:20 for 586.
E1/E2 Brighouse to Elland via Lower Edge
With 538 arriving giving Lower Edge a half-hourly frequency, it makes E1/E2 pretty much redundant. But in order to not cut the routes as they have importance to the Woodhouse estate area I would send both E1/E2 via Woodhouse Grove with E1 also being routed through Gasmere Drive, Whitell Green Lane & Dewsbury Road in replacement of E3 and E2 through Emmerdale Drive and Bracken Way to serve the new build housing estate off Lower Edge Road. Service (E2) will also now run on Saturdays. A clockwise (E1), and anticlockwise (E1) loop will also be formed around Catherine Street, Charles Street and Burley Street in replacement of the old 400 service withdrawn in 2015 and hopefully to gain a few more passengers along the sub-urbs.
E3 Elland to Greetland Circular
This service will no longer run to Gasmere Drive and will be replaced by service E1. An additional hourly Saturday service will also now run.
New services 367/8/9
These are the new numbers for the 900/1/2 with service 368 (901) now running a simple hourly service departing Huddersfield at 00 past the hour in coordination with service 537. Journeys will also run via Rishworth and Commons to provide 2 buses an hour on Oldham Road, with it being a fair change as Oldham Road is more populated than Rochdale Road. This should also see increased bus usage in Rishworth as they are now also connected with Huddersfield, town popular for education and work and then Hebden Bridge, a popular tourist town. Sunday daytime frequency will also be upgraded to run hourly between Huddersfield and Commons and then every 2 hours onto Hebden Bridge with services 368 and 369. Service 369 will run between Huddersfield and Commons only but via Oakes replacing service 536 to allow 537 to have a simple hourly Sunday timetable.