Media Centre

Halesowen back on the road to Russell Hall Hospital

08 Mar 2010

Halesowen will soon have a direct bus to Russell Hall hospital and Sunday services to Dudley thanks to network improvements by National Express West Midlands.

From 28 March the region’s largest bus operator is making a series of improvements to services 9 and 222 following customer feedback in the area. 

The 222 will run between Merry Hill and Halesowen every 20 minutes, providing a sought after link to Russell Hall Hospital. For the first time the route will also run on Sunday evenings to cover visiting hours at the hospital and provide a link to Dudley throughout the weekend.

Phil Tonks, Operations Officer for England, Bus Users UK, said:

"We are very pleased to see a direct link created between Halesowen, Cradley Heath and Russell Hall Hospital. It enables many more Black Country people to access the major hospital directly, as a patient or as a visitor. Staff will also benefit from this new link".

As part of the changes the current 99 service is being withdrawn and the route will be covered by additional 9 services and an extended 222 between Halesowen and Dudley. The new timetables will provide a more regular service for customers travelling to Birmingham, resulting in less waiting time at bus stops.

Bob Emery, Area Manager for National Express West Midlands, said:

“From 28 March the 9 and 222 service will be relaunched to provide Halesowen with a direct bus link to Russell Hall Hospital and better coordinated services into Birmingham. We’ve spent several months looking at the services and have listened to customer feedback to design a timetable which provides more frequent and reliable buses throughout the day, everyday.”

Key service changes from 28 March:

·         A more frequent 9 service running every 7/8 minutes during the day and every 20

minutes evenings and Sundays. This will replace the 99 service between Birmingham and Halesowen.

·         A better coordinated timetable from Halesowen, Quinton and the Hagley Road. This will reduce the time most passengers have to wait.

·         A direct link to Russell Hall Hospital on the 222 service from Halesowen

·         A new Sunday evening service on the 222

National Express West Midlands is holding a series of exhibitions to provide more details on the service changes. Bus users are encouraged to come along on the following dates with their queries:

Tuesday 23 March: Blackheath Town Centre 10:00am - 3:00pm

Wednesday 24 March: Halesowen Bus station 8:30 - 4:00pm

Thursday 25 March: Oldbury Town Centre (exhibition bus) 10:00am - 3:00pm

ENDS

For more information please contact Carly O'Donnell on 0121 460 8867