National Express West Midlands Services 344, 346, 348 & 361

The 344, 346, 348 and 361 are four bus routes in the West Midlands, United Kingdom.

The 344, 346 and 361 all link Walsall with Bloxwich via Pelsall. The 344 also serves High Heath, the 346 Heath End and the 361 Lower Farm.

The 348 links Walsall with Pelsall via Rushall and Shelfield.

Present

The 344 is operated by National Express West Midlands and only runs at Evenings and on Sundays. The service links Walsall with Bloxwich via Rushall, Shelfield, High Heath and Pelsall and runs at an hourly frequency.

The 346 is operated by Thandi Buses and National Express West Midlands, at half hourly frequencies for each company during Monday - Saturday daytime. Buses run between Walsall and Bloxwich via Rushall, Heath End and Pelsall.

The 348 is operated by National Express West Midlands at an hourly frequency through the day, but at Evening peak times additional journeys are introduced by Choice Travel, again at an hourly frequency. The service links Walsall with Pelsall Wood via Rushall, Shelfield, High Heath and Pelsall.

The 361 is another Evening and Sundays only service operated by National Express West Midlands. It is operated at an hourly frequency between Walsall and Bloxwich via Rushall, Heath End, Pelsall and Lower Farm.

All four services follow the same route from Walsall to Rushall.

Usually, National Express West Midlands use a mixture of Volvo B6LE single decks, with Wright Crusader bodywork, and MCW Metrobus on the routes. Thandi use Dennis Darts, as do Choice Travel who also use Optare Solos and Optare Excels on the service.

History

*1999 - National Express West Midlands (then Travel West Midlands operates several services between Walsall and Pelsall. The 344 runs between Walsall and Bloxwich, following the same route as currently, at an hourly frequency. Arriva Midlands and Travel West Midlands both operate the 345 between Walsall and Norton Canes. Arriva Midlands only operate on this service during weekday peaks, but TWM operate it hourly Monday - Saturday daytime. This service follows the same route as current service 346 between Walsall and Pelsall. The 346 is operated by TWM only at a twenty minute Monday - Saturday daytime frequency between Walsall and Bloxwich, again, following the same route as currently. The 348, is operated by TWM and again follows the same route and frequency as currently. Another service is the 349, operated by TWM between Walsall and Brownhills. This service runs hourly during Monday - Saturday daytimes and follows the same route between Walsall and Pelsall as current service 346. The 361 ran between Walsall and Bloxwich at the same frequency and times as currently. Quite strangely, each route is operated by Low Floor buses.
*2000 - Daytime journeys on the 348 are extended to Bloxwich Wood. The frequency remains hourly
*2003 - The 348 journeys to Bloxwich Wood are withdrawn.
*2005 - The 345 is withdrawn.
*2006 - Thandi Buses start operating on the 346, causing TWM to lower its frequency. The 349 is withdrawn.

Future

Diamond Bus are to start operating service 348 hourly on a Monday - Saturday from October 26th. This is in place of the Choice Travel journeys, which are being withdrawn.

Routes

External links

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