Major changes to provide Solihull with a new and improved bus network have been introduced this Sunday (January 25) in order to meet the 21st century lifestyles of passengers.
Transport authority Centro and bus operator National Express West Midlands (NEWM)in conjunction with Solihull Council, has designed the new network to provide a more up-to-date and effective bus system.
The new routes and timetables aim to meet changing working and shopping hours and provide better links to other bus services and rail stations.
Stephen Rhodes, Centro’s director of bus and highways said: “This weekend saw the start of a new era for bus travel in Solihull, with a new network designed to meet the needs of today’s passengers and businesses.
“We understand that this is a big change for many people but we believe the borough should benefit significantly from the modern and easy to use bus system that this review aims to provide.”
The new network sees major improvements including more regular bus services that complement each other and new cross town routes which will benefit people who want to travel further than just their local centre.
This includes increased frequencies on services 6 and 37 between Solihull and Birmingham, and four buses an hour running on service 76 between Solihull and Kings Heath instead of just three, giving passengers a bus every 15 minutes.
The National Express service 4 has become the service 5 between Birmingham and Solihull, with buses every 20 minutes instead of half hourly. A new service S4 has been introduced to serve Woodlands Estate and Cheswick Green by operator Grosvenor Coaches.
Service 19 between Solihull and Coventry now provides residents with an hourly service in the Heart of England villages, new local services S2 and S3 serve Knowle, Dorridge and Hockley Heath and new service S12 has been introduced to provide a new link for residents to the Hobs Moat shops.
There are also improvements to some evening and Sunday services and better links between Dickens Heath and Shirley rail station.
To make using and identifying Solihull services even easier, many bus numbers have changed to begin with the letter S.
Alex Perry, Operations Director for National Express Bus and Coach said: “We are committed to our customers throughout Solihull and any changes we make have been aimed at simplifying the network, providing easier access and improving links to key destinations, including better connections to rail stations like Solihull and Shirley.
“We have also ensured with the changes that no one is left without a service although they may need to use a different route. The changes will be positive for a majority of people.”
Centro, Solihull Council and local bus operators have undertaken a comprehensive publicity campaign in a bid to make sure people are aware of the changes.
New timetables and posters informing people of the changes have been installed over the last month at bus stops across the borough.
Leaflets have also been distributed to more than 110,000 homes and thousands of people have attended joint exhibitions staffed by Centro and NEWM in Solihull, Shirley and Chelmsley Wood and at Birmingham International rail station and the A45 Coventry Road.
To further help passengers there will be extra staff on hand next week at key bus interchanges across the borough to give advice and information on the new times, numbers and routes.
People can get more information on the changes by visiting www.networkwestmidlands.com/solihull or by popping into the National Express travel information centre in Solihull town centre.
