First Bus changes come into force

First York have brought in changes to some local bus services from Sunday 22nd November, including the number 4.

Number 4 bus

The changes are being made in response to problems that arose after changes were made to bus services during the summer. There will now be a shorter route for the number 4, which will loop back after Clifford Street in town heading back to Acomb round Skeldergate – see new route below.

New route of the number 4 bus

New route of the number 4 bus

There has been a slight change to the number 1 service (not to the route) but the timetable (Monday to Friday) has been altered to help buses keep to the advertised times. More details are available via the First Group website at http://www.firstgroup.com/york/news-and-service-updates/planned-changes/service-changes-around-york

Many residents reported that number 4 buses were frequently bunching into groups of three with long gaps in between. After the new service has been running for a short while we would be grateful if residents could let us know how the changes are working out.

Service 4  Acomb – Foxwood – City Centre

The route will be revised, with buses running between Acomb and the City Centre only, to improve reliability.

Buses will drop off on Rougier Street, then continuing to Clifford Street. Buses towards Acomb will start from Clifford Street, stop TB.

Buses will no longer pick up in Rougier Street, stopping instead on Station Road at stop CE.

A new timetable will apply, but no changes will be made to the frequency. Buses will run:

  • Up to every 10 mins, Mondays to Fridays
  • Every 10 mins, Saturdays
  • Every 20 mins, Sundays
  • Every 30 mins, each evening

First York announce changes to bus services

Number 4 to loop through Skeldergate – direct link between Acomb and York University broken

First buses have responded to complaints about unreliability and lack of capacity on some bus services.

click to enlarge

click to enlarge

A major change to the number 4 – the best used bus service in the City – means that it will no longer travel to the University. Instead it will loop through Skeldergate and over Skeldergate Bridge to reach its new terminus on Clifford Street. There are frequent buses from there to the University.

The last change to the route of the number 4  -which took the service on a meandering journey through Tang Hall before reaching Heslington – was heavily criticised by passengers. On occasions 3 or 4 buses would arrive in Acomb in convoy. We hope that the new service – which retains a 10 minute frequency during the day – will prove to more reliable when it is introduced on 22nd November.  The Sunday frequency will be 20 minutes while buses will continue to run every 30 minutes in the evening.

An additional morning service will be provided between Dunnington and York College on Tadcaster Road

Other changes affect service 6 (which gets a direct link to York University) and service 10 which will run via Battlefields Way with an early morning service between Bishopthorpe and the railway station also being introduced. 

Some minor timetable changes are promised on the number 1 service which links Chapelfields to Wigginton. A twelve minute frequency is promised at peak times between Monday and Friday.

Number 4 bus service diverted because of St Helen’s Road burst water main

  • Area: St Helens Bridge in Dringhouses
  • Cause: Burst Water Main

We have a road closure at St. Helens bridge in Dringhouses.

Service 4 is operating down Tadcaster Road to Askham Bar Roundabout and then diverting via Moor Lane Bridge, Chaloners Road and Thanet Road and back on normal service at Eason View.

Coming into York from Acomb we are running normal service to Eason View then left onto Thanet Road, left onto Chaloners Road and then left over Moor Lane bridge and onto Tadcaster Road picking up normal route at Cross Keys pub.

The diversion is due to a burst water main at the bridge and is expected to last for the foreseeable future.