People in Wythall saw the return of their evening and Sunday bus service for the first time in over four years this week thanks to an overhaul of the bus network in South Birmingham.
The new 69 and 69A will provide passengers with a regular bus service between the village and Kings Heath until after 10pm seven days a week.
The 69 service, which operates every half hour during the day from Monday to Saturday, will run from Becketts Farm Island to Brandwood End via the Maypole, Yardley Wood and Kings Heath until around 18:30.
The 69A then takes over during the evening and on Sunday, providing a new hourly off peak service for residents between Wythall and Kings Heath thanks to a subsidy from transport authority Centro.
The new services, operated by National Express West Midlands, have been introduced following feedback from residents, community groups, schools and councillors as part of the South Birmingham bus network review.
Centro and National Express West Midlands, in consultation with Birmingham City Council, have been working together to improve the already extensive bus network in the area and provide passengers with better connections to several new developments.
The improvements will give people across South Birmingham and neighbouring areas better access to key centres, existing shops and services and new developments, making it easier than ever for them to benefit from the facilities and employment opportunities they offer.
The new 69 and 69A service mean that Wythall residents have access to a regular bus service throughout the day, better meeting the needs of a 21st century society.
They also allow passengers better connection with regular buses to Solihull, Shirley, Cotteridge, Longbridge and Rubery at the Maypole, meaning people will find it easier and quicker to get to these key centres during evenings and weekends as well as during the day.
The village also maintains its current links to Birmingham city centre, Redditch and Solihull via the 175, 177, 178 and 179. There is a timetable for the 69/69A and a separate one showing all six services together available at www.networkwestmidlands.com/busreview
Guy Craddock, Bus and Highway Development Manager at Centro said: “We’re very pleased to have been able to enhance the bus services on offer for people living in Wythall as part of our improvements to bus services in South Birmingham.
“The changes have been focused on providing people with a more modern bus network which meets people’s needs, and that means providing people with buses that tie in with 21st century working and shopping times whether they live in urban or more rural areas.
“Therefore, following feedback from local residents, we decided to take this opportunity to fund new evening and Sunday bus links for Wythall, but we really need to make sure people get on board to secure the long term future of these extra services.”
Details of all the changes that came into effect on 25 October (2009) and timetables are available at www.networkwestmidlands.com/busreview
