UPDATE FROM TRANSPORT FOR WEST MIDLANDS
I just wanted to update you around our bus service provision around the Meriden Gap during these unprecedented times.
Service 89 will continue to operate as normal for the meantime at least. We are obviously monitoring patronage numbers around this, and will act accordingly if necessary, but we do understand some of the vital links that this gives individuals who can struggle to access the conventional bus network.
Service X20 (formerly the 82) will be reducing to every 2 hours from next Monday (timetable attached). Please note that this will only be for the course of the current crisis, and we will monitor passenger numbers accordingly too. We have the numbers from this week, and with first and last journeys still covered are confident that the impact will be relatively low.
Service X1 is continuing to operate on a special timetable every 30 minutes between Coventry and Birmingham and will continue to serve Meriden.
Regarding the ‘feeder bus’, we understand the need that many individuals in the community have in terms of accessing key facilities, and we are working very closely with the operators of this (Community Transport) to see how we can best utilise this resource. We have also made contact with the parish council to have a discussion on how this could interwork with community groups in the area, be this around offering a ring and ride to enable small numbers of individuals to reach key services, or even bringing the key services to individuals who are unable to access them during the current time of isolation. It is a very much ‘watch this space’, but I have full belief that between them and ourselves, we will come out with something to best serve the community.
