National Express West Midlands Hagley Road routes

Infobox West Midlands Buses
number=9, 138 and 139 "Hagley Road" services


operator=National Express West Midlands
garage=Birmingham Central
vehicle=Alexander ALX400, Volvo B7TL Plaxton President
pvr=30
start=Stourbridge (9), Russells Hall Hospital (138)/ Merry Hill Centre (139)
via=Halesowen, Quinton, Hagley Road, Bearwood, Five Ways
end=Birmingham
length=approx. 9-15 miles
level=Daily
frequency=Service 9: every 10 minutes, Service 138: every 12 minutes and Service 139: every 30 minutes
time=All approx 1 hour, 12 minutes
day=05:00 - 00:05
night=None National Express West Midlands routes 9, 138 and 139 are bus routes operated by National Express West Midlands in West Midlands, England.

History

The 138 and 139 were both part of the 109/139 corridor, with alterations.

Changes between 109/139 and 138/138

* Colly Gate is no longer served.
* Mucklow Hill is no longer served in the daytime (daytime services serve Spies Lane, 636 serves Mucklow Hill during the daytime)
* 139E is re-numbered 138 and extended to Russels Hall Hospital after 18:00 hrs.
* The early morning Saturday journey is no longer operated by Pensnett Depot, now it is operated by Birmingham Central Depot with Centro Support.
* The timetable was revised

Changes on service 9

This route used to experience major competition from Diamond Bus. Competition was very intense between both National Express West Midlands and Diamond Bus, however over the past 2 years, Diamond has withdrawn operations on this route slowly withdrawing services 9, 9A, 9B and 9N.

On 22nd June 2008, Travel Express also withdrew all operations on service 9.

Present

Services 9, 138 and 139 all currently serve Birmingham, Five Ways, Bearwood, Quinton and Halesowen. From here, service 9 goes off to Lye and Stourbridge whilst services 138 and 139 go to Cradley Heathand then Merry Hill. However, service 138 continues after Merry Hill Centre towards Russels Hall Hospital. National Express West Midlands service 9 runs every 10 minutes daytime Monday - Saturday, every 15 minutes evenings and 20 minutes Sunday. Service 139 runs in the weekday daytime every 15 minutes, with service 138 taking over in the evenings running every 30 minutes and on Sundays every 20 minutes.

The services are usually run by a mixture of Optare Spectra, Volvo B7TL Plaxton Presidents or Dennis Trident 2's. Both services used to have Plaxton Presidents route branded 'Hagley Road' (named after the major corridor it served), however these have since been de-branded and painted into the National Express West Midlands livery. There will be Enviro 400's on this route in the coming months

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

Current route

;Route 9
* Stourbridge
* Lye
* Halesowen
* Quinton
* Bearwood
* Five Ways
* Birmingham;Route 138
* Russels Hall Hospital
* High Oak, Pensnett
* Brierley Hill
* Merry Hill Centre
* Cradley Heath
* Old Hill
* Halesowen
* Quinton Church
* Bearwood
* Five Ways
*Colmore Row, Birmingham;Route 139
* Merry Hill Centre
* Cradley Heath
* Old Hill
* Halesowen
* Quinton Church
* Bearwood
* Five Ways
* Colmore Row, Birmingham

External links

* [http://www.travelwm.co.uk Official site]
* [http://www.networkwestmidlands.co.uk Network West Midlands]
* [http://west-midlands-buses.fpic.co.uk West Midlands Buses]