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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2008) |
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 4773,in NEWM livery, but with TWM Logos. |
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| Parent company | National Express Group |
|---|---|
| Founded | 04 Feb 2008 |
| Headquarters | Birmingham |
| Locale | Birmingham |
| Service area | West Midlands |
| Service type | Urban and interurban bus services |
| Destinations | Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall |
| Fleet | 1741 |
| Operator | National Express Group |
| Chief executive | Richard Bowker CBE, |
| Web site | West Midlands |
National Express West Midlands (NXWM) is the brand name of West Midlands Travel Ltd (part of the National Express Group), a company which operates bus services from depots in the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, and Wolverhampton, as well as the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, and Walsall in the West Midlands county of England, and some adjacent areas. The Birmingham depots also operate routes in the borough of Solihull. It is one of the largest bus operators in Great Britain, and the largest in the Greater Birmingham area.
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History
On 26 October 1986 West Midlands Travel Ltd came into existence as part of the deregulation of the bus industry in England and Wales. It was previously the bus operations of the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive (WMPTE).
In April 1995 the company was purchased by the National Express Group, and rebranded as Travel West Midlands in September 1996. On 9 December 2002 the Coventry services were rebranded Travel Coventry.
The former Travel Your Bus and Travel Merry Hill subsidiaries have been merged into the main fleet.
4 February 2008 saw the latest rebranding, to National Express West Midlands.[1]
Today, National Express West Midlands is considered by many[who?] to operate almost as a monopoly on West Midlands-based bus travel, and is often criticised for poor value for money and poor service.[citation needed]
Ticketing
Fares used to be roughly linked to distance travelled, but there is now only a standard fare and a cheaper 'short hop' fare on most routes. Cash fares can be bought from the driver on the bus, but no change is given. Child fares are available. There are no bus conductors, but tickets are often checked by roving inspectors and West Midlands Police.
Various pass type tickets are sold in advance (off-bus), for varying periods from 1 day to 1 year, covering different parts of (or the complete) operating area. The all day Daysaver ticket, also available on-bus, includes NXWM routes running outside the West Midlands county (where single fares are sometimes higher).
NXWM generally increases fares at least once a year, with January the month of choice. 2009 was no exception, despite falling fuel prices, and the recession.
Senior citizens (aged 60 or over) and disabled persons are eligible for free concessionary travel pass in a similar fashion to that offered in other areas. An add-on ticket can be purchased to extend the concession to cover weekday travel within the West Midlands county before 9:30am.
Garages and routes
NXWM has eleven garages - Acocks Green, Bordesley Green, Birmingham Central, Lea Hall, Perry Barr, Yardley Wood, Pensnett, Walsall, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton and Coventry.[2] Previously, the company and its predecessors have operated garages in Stourbridge, Dudley, Sutton Coldfield,
Many routes can be traced back to the days of municipal operation, such as service number 11, the Birmingham Outer Circle, which is one of the longest urban services in Europe. However, in certain areas, there has been substantial changes to the service structure, with many new routes introduced. For example, at the end of April 2008, NXWM in conjunction with Centro, Dudley Council & other operators, re-routed, re-timed, and renumbered buses in the Dudley, Halesowen and Stourbridge areas. A similar process took place in Solihull in January 2009, with future similar events planned in the Summer of 2009 for South West Birmingham, in 2010 for Sandwell and Walsall North (Bloxwich, Brownhills & Aldridge) and then later in the year or early 2011 in Walsall West (Willenhall & Darlaston) and Wolverhampton.
Antisocial behaviour and fare evasion
Antisocial behaviour and vandalism is an ongoing problem on NXWM buses, with travel on the upstairs deck sometimes being particularly challenging. The installation of CCTV on buses was part of the attempt to stabilise the level of crime and antisocial behaviour.
Safer Travel (ST, formally known as Operation Safer Travel), a 'partnership' between National Express West Midlands, Centro, and West Midlands Police, entails the stopping of buses, generally on trunk routes into Birmingham city centre, while all tickets are checked by NXWM inspectors and Police. Typically 10 to 20 police constables and community support officers are present at the bus stop where the 'Gateway' check is being conducted. Most of the cost of ST is met from public, rather than NXWM, funds.
The ST name is also used for presentations for schools 'educating children about how to respect their buses'.
Fleet
National Express West Midlands is aiming for the whole fleet to be low floor by March 2010.[3]
About 400 buses are now in the new National Express West Midlands livery, many of those being the new 61 buses that have already arrived and began to enter service-Scania OmniLink and anEnviro 300 which went to Pensnett garage.
Hopefully there will be even more new buses ordered soon.
References
- ^ "TWM rebranding". travelwm.co.uk. http://www.travelwm.co.uk/news/archived/twm_news_item.jsp?news_id=2651. Retrieved on 2008-02-16.
- ^ "TWM Fleetlist & Depots". travelwm.co.uk. http://www.travelwm.co.uk/news/fleetlist.jsp. Retrieved on 2007-09-24.
- ^ "£69 million Bus & Coach Order". travelwm.co.uk. http://www.travelwm.co.uk/news/archived/twm_news_item.jsp?news_id=2458. Retrieved on 2008-03-03.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: National Express West Midlands |
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