National Express West Midlands routes 50 and 50A

Infobox West Midlands Buses
number=50/50A


operator=National Express West Midlands/Diamond Bus
garage=Yardley Wood Depot/ Tividale
vehicle=Alexander Dennis Enviro400s, Dennis Trident 2 Alexander ALX400/ Dennis Darts
pvr=26 (NXWM)
start=Birmingham
via=Kings Heath, Myapole
end=Druids Heath - 50, Wythall - 50A
length=Approx 7.7 Miles
level=Daily
frequency=Service 50 every 3-8 minutes Monday - Saturday, every 10-12 minutes evenings and every 3-9 minutes on Sunday. Service 50A only runs during peak hour.
time=approx 40 minutes
day=04:30 - 00:00 Monday - Saturday, 06:30 - 00:00 Sunday
night=None

The 50 and 50A are bus routes in the West Midlands, United Kingdom.

Service 50 links Birmingham with Druids Heath and service 50A links Birmingham to Wythall.

History

* 20th July 2008 - Diamond Bus reduce their frequency on service 50 to every 10 minutes or more. The weekday evening service also ended early.

* 07th May 2008 - Diamond Bus has a slight decrease in overall frequency, from every 4 to 6 minutes off-peak and every 10 minutes peak. Weekday evening service runs every 24 minutes with the Saturday evening service withdrawn.

* 27th April 2008 - Diamond Bus withdraw the nights service 50N. This service was run commercially.

* February 2008 - The National Express West Midlands Alexander Dennis Enviro400s make an appearance on the 50/ 50A. These will slowly displace the Dennis Trident 2 Alexander ALX400s found on the route.

* 02nd September 2007 - Diamond Bus introduce night service 50N. National Express West Midlands increased their off-peak frequency slightly between Maypole and Birmingham - creation of the unofficial '50E'.

* 15th October 2006 - Sunrise Travel start operating the 50 running every 30+ minutes. They withdrew the service a couple of months later.

Travel Your Bus used to operate on the same route under the heading 50Y before they were taken over by Travel West Midlands, now known as National Express West Midlands and renumbered to 50. Equally of note is that People's Express used to operate a rival service before being taken over by Diamond Bus.

Present

Service 50 currently serves Birmingham, the edges of Sparkbrook, Moseley, Kings Heath, Maypole before ending at Druids Heath however Service 50A does not serve Druids Heath but ends in Wythall. National Express West Midlands operates the service every 2-5 minutes Monday - Saturday, every 12 minutes evenings and 9 minutes on Sundays. Service 50A runs two trips in the evening from Birmingham to Wythall, Monday - Saturday and three trips in the mornings from Wythall. The service is usually run by Alexander Dennis Enviro400s, many of which are branded specifically for the 50, however Dennis Trident 2 Alexander ALX400's are know to appear from time to time. Both services are run very frequently.

Service 50 also experiences competition from Diamond Bus who run every 10 minutes or more during the day, 30 minutes during weekday evenings and 24 minutes on Sundays with later starting and earlier finishing times. There is no longer a Saturday evening service or late night service for this route.

National Express West Midlands currently charge a maximum fare of £1.50 on both services.

Current route

;Service 50
*Birmingham
*Sparkbrook
*Moseley Interchange
*Kings Heath Interchange
*Maypole
*Druids Heath;Service 50A, NXWM
*Birmingham
*Sparkbrook
*Moseley Interchange
*Kings Heath Interchange
*Maypole
*Wythall;Service 50E, NXWM
*Birmingham
*Sparkbrook
*Moseley Interchange
*Kings Heath Interchange
*Alcester Road South, Wheelers Lane

External links

* [http://www.diamondbus.co.uk Diamond]
* [http://www.travelwm.co.uk Travel West Midlands website]
* [http://west-midlands-buses.fpic.co.uk West Midlands Buses (Photographs)]