Wolverhampton Route Changes

Travel West Midlands have announced a number of route revisions that will affect bus services in Wolverhampton from July 23rd onwards. The changes are designed to improve service reliability and include:

• 513 reduced in frequency to every 20 minutes
• 526 reduced in frequency to every 30 minutes
• 525 and 544 will have increased running times
• 527 will be absorbed into a revised 528 service
• 545 section between Merry Hill and Dudley is withdrawn
• 613 will revert back to linking Bradmore and Northwood Park
• 682 will revert back to linking Finchfield and the City Centre
• 683 is withdrawn

From a personal point of view, the changes affect routes I have enjoyed exploring over the years. Top of that list is the 527, an old favourite of mine from various visits to Wood End and Ashmore Park. I don't have any photos of the route at Ashmore Park whatsoever, so it would be nice to ride it again and get some shots before it is incorporated into the 528, giving the route a good send off in the process.

The changes to the 545 mean that Wolverhampton will now only have one direct connection (the 260) to the Merry Hill Centre, and follows on from the shortening of the 541 a few years back. The 545 is a long route, which I've always thought was part of its charm - a twisting tour of the Black Country that provides great exploration connections. It won't quite seem the same when it just goes to Dudley, and the local network will seem a little more boring as a result.

The 613 changes mean I'll have to get the camera out and head down to Fordhouses whilst the route still terminates there. The changes do have an upside, as they return the service to the route I explored back in May 2004 when I caught the bus from Northwood Park to Bradmore but somehow managed to miss out on getting any photos - I might now be able to fill those holes in the archive.

The 682 and 683 changes provide a different conundrum - both are members of the rare breed of Wolverhampton bus routes I have never ever been on (yes, there are some!), although I did get a photo of the 682 at its Finchfield terminus. I'll certainly have to investigate the 683 before its consigned to history, and with the 682 terminating at Finchfield again rather than being a circular, I might be able to add to that earlier photo.

I'm never quite sure what to make of route changes - in one sense they freshen up the network and provide different exploration opportunities, whilst they can remove favourite services, connections and locations from the bus landscape. At least these changes give me an excuse (did I ever need one anyway?!) to get back out there exploring the Wolverhampton bus network, so it can't all be bad!