'Warm banks' for Acocks Green
Liberal Democrat Councillor working for Acocks Green Learn more
by Roger Harmer on 17 March, 2014
National Express West Midlands just can’t leave our buses alone. Having had one of their ‘consultations’, they have decided the alter the 1 route, which was not part of the consultation. The 3 will no longer run from Shirley to Acocks Green and the 1 will be extended down through the Gospel Estate to Shirley on the same route as the 31. Cllr Iain Bowen and I have written to Centro objecting to these changes as they were not consulted on.
As with many changes with Bus routes, they will bring a mixture of benefits and disadvantages, depending on where you live and which service you use. While I am concerned that extending the 1 risks worsening the delays on this service, which can be severe at times, the key thing is that there should be proper consultation on all these changes, so that objections can be raised and responded to properly.
1 Comment
The 1 was not originally part of the consultation, true, but changes to the 1 service are as a direct result of changes to the 3 service. The 3 has proved unpopular ever since it was withdrawn from its original route to Solihull, and passenger usage figures between Acocks Green and Shirley were the reason it was put up for change. Evidently there was enough response from passengers who took part in the consultation which stopped this part of the route from being withdrawn completely, or passed over to a smaller operator.