End of NX Buses between i54 and Hednesford

Passengers who use the 154 bus service in Wolverhampton will be dealt a shock on the 4^th February 2018 when they find that it will no longer be running.

Following the withdrawal of support by the i54 complex, National Express West Midlands have decided to pull the service, with some villages being forced, according to the Express and Star, to resort to having to use Arriva bus services, which have been deemed by a few residents of Cannock as unreliable and the fares more expensive.

National Express West Midlands have said that they find that the service would not be viable to run without the support of i54, who manage the site near the M54 motorway, therefore they have been forced to withdraw the service.

It has gotten to the stage where some residents of Cannock have organised a petition to try to force National Express West Midlands to do a U-turn on the changes, but this has only gathered 179 signatures.

A spokesman for Staffordshire County Council told the Express and Star “Unfortunately passenger numbers have been relatively low north of the i54 South Staffordshire site and available funding has now all been allocated.

“There has been a significant increase in car sharing to the site which may have contributed to the lower passenger numbers. A decision has been made by the consortium that there are no further available resources to reinvest in the services, which the operator cannot run commercially.”

This withdrawal means that Cannock loses its links with several areas within the north Wolverhampton area, but is served by alternate bus routes which cover the villages that the route currently serves. The only exception is the area surrounding Brinsford Prison, which will only be covered by the Sunday 70A service.

National Express West Midlands say that that there are alternative options to i54, however this will be at the current hourly frequency, with service 4 also providing additional buses between Wolverhampton and i54 via Stafford Road during the day.

Do you use this service? If so, what do you think of the changes. Please comment with your views on the withdrawal.