BUS services in Dudley and Sandwell are changing in September as part of National Express West Midlands’ future plans.

As part of the changes there will be a new express service between Birmingham, City Hospital, Smethwick, Oldbury, Dudley and Wolverhampton, as well as direct and regular links between Halesowen and Russells Hall Hospital, and between Merry Hill and Gornal Wood.

However, there are some areas in the boroughs which will no longer receive a bus service due to routes and service numbers being altered.

Changes include:

  • Buses will be extended every hour from Merry Hill to Brierley Hill High Street, Russells Hall Hospital, Pensnett and Gornal Wood with financial support from TfWM. This extension will reinstate the direct link between Gornal Wood, Russells Hall Hospital and Merry Hill.
  • The 120 Dudley to Birmingham will be renumbered to service 12 and will combine with the new 12A.
  • Between Blackheath and Oldbury, the 120A will be replaced by new services 3 and 3A. The 3 and 3A will also replace the 289.
  • The 121 Dudley to West Bromwich will be partly replaced by new service 12A
  • Between Birmingham and Dudley, the 126 will be replaced by service 15. The 15 will run to the same route as the 126 between Birmingham and Dudley but will be renumbered to fit with other services along Hagley Road. Buses will run every 15 minutes.
  • Between Wolverhampton and Dudley, the 126 will be replaced by new services X7 and X8. The X7 and X8 will combine to run every 10 minutes.
  • The 127 Dudley to Birmingham will be renumbered 13A. Between Blackheath and Dudley, the 127 will be replaced by changes to the 241. The 241 will run between Halesowen, Blackheath, Oakham and Dudley, replacing the 127 to Dudley, although Mincing Lane and Bell End will no longer be served.
  • The 140 Dudley to Birmingham will be replaced by new service X8.
  • The route of the 205 Dudley to Kingswinford will be unchanged but the frequency will be reduced to every hour.
  • Off peak journeys on the 222 Dudley to Merry Hill will divert between Pensnett and Brierley Hill to serve Wallows Road on a trial basis following customer requests. The whole length of Pensnett Road will not be served on affected journeys. The 255 will continue to serve the affected section of Pensnett Road at all times of day.
  • The route of the 241 Dudley to Halesowen will change between Dudley and Blackheath to cover most of the current 127. Mincing Lane and Bell End would not be served.

National Express West Midlands’ managing director Tom Stables said: “Our new Dudley network means faster and more frequent services for our Black Country customers. And it means we can bring our beautiful top-spec Platinum bus services – with free wifi and USB charging – to Blackheath and Oldbury.

“Our network planners have worked hard to better co-ordinate services together, to make it easier for customers making journeys that involve a change of bus.

“In October 2017, we launched a consultation process on our proposed changes to bus services in and around Dudley. We received over 1,500 responses from the public. We’ve looked at all that feedback and used it to inform our route redesign.”

The final draft of the proposed changes to bus services in Dudley and Sandwell can be found by clicking here.

Members of the public can make comments and suggestions on the plans until June 15 by emailing services@nationalexpress.com.

The changes will take effect from September 2.