JFV 317S 178 8 8 East Lanc H50/36
Left NBB in December 2004 and acquired by Trevor Wrigley, Barnsley.
JFV 318S 18 East Lanc H50/36
Left NBB in February 2005 and acquired by Trailways, Bloxwich.
JFV 319S 19 East Lanc H50/36
Left NBB in February 2004 and acquired by Trevor Wrigley, Barnsley.
JFV 320S 20 East Lanc H50/36
Left NBB in August 2003 and acquired by Trailways, Bloxwich.
URN 321V 21 East Lanc H50/36
Left NBB in October 2006 and acquired by Trevor Wrigley, Barnsley.
The company was founded by Dave Wall, and was run by:
Dave Wall: Founder & Operations Director
Patrick Lane: Chairman & Managing Director
Ken Daniels: Finance Director
North Birmingham Busways started running services on 14th March 2004. The first route ran was Birmingham to Sutton Coldfield via Aston Expressway and Erdington, (Limited stop between Aston Expressway and Birmingham.)
Over the years North Birmingham Busways added more routes and won a number of Centro Routes.
Here are the routes operated by North Birmingham Busways in July 2007:
104X Birmingham - Sutton Coldfield, via Erdington.
108X Birmingham, Pype Hayes, Walmley, Reddicap Heath.
Services sponsored by Centro (with Low Floor vehicle requirement):
113X Birmingham - Streetly, via Perry Barr and New Oscott.
118 Erdington - Streetly, via New Oscott and Kingstanding.
167 Erdington, ASDA, Walmley, Sutton Coldfield.
168 Sutton Coldfield - Minworth, via Whitehouse Common, Reddicap Heath & Walmley
377 New Oscott - Walsall, via Streetly. (2 AM PEAK JOURNEYS ONLY)
School services operated:
739 Erdington - St Francis of Assisi School (Aldridge).
740 Great Barr - St Francis of Assisi School (Aldridge).
756 Bishop Walsh School (Sutton Coldfield) – New Oscott.
805 Bishop Walsh School (Sutton Coldfield) – Wylde Green. (PM ONLY)
821 Handsworth Grammar School – Hall Green.
830 Walmley - King Edward VI Schools, Aston and Handsworth.
833 Sutton Coldfield - King Edward VI Schools, Aston and Handsworth.
835 Pype Hayes - King Edward VI Schools, Aston and Handsworth.
837 John Willmott School (Sutton Coldfield) – Tyburn. (PM ONLY)
853 Bishop Walsh School (Sutton Coldfield) – Sutton Coldfield. (PM ONLY)
855 Bacons End – St Paul’s School for Girls.
872 Banners Gate – Plantsbrook School (Sutton Coldfield). (AM ONLY)
The Fleet grew with the acquisition of Leyland Atleanteans from Plymouth, Preston and Stagecoach Manchester.
Click here to see the full fleet acquired and ran by North Birmingham Busways. (NBB_FleetList_08.12.2006.pdf)
(Fleetlist acquired from Patrick Lane on 30th July 2007)
North Birmingham Busways didn’t only run Leyland Atleanteans.
In 2001, two vehicles were acquired from new. These were:
2 Y2 NNB Dennis Trident 2 Plaxton President H47/27F
3 Y3 NNB Dennis Dart SLF Alexander ALX 200 B38F
6 Alexander bodied double deckers were acquired.
Acquired from Arriva London North East
26 F126 PHM Volvo D10M Alexander H47/37F Acquired 2003
28 F128 PHM Volvo D10M Alexander H47/37F Acquired 2003
33 F133 PHM Volvo D10M Alexander H47/37F Acquired 2003
Acquired from Lothian Buses
36 F346 WSC Leyland Olympian Alexander H51/34F Acquired 2006
37 F347 WSC Leyland Olympian Alexander H51/34F Acquired 2006
As well as the large number of Double Deckers acquired, North Birmingham Busways also had 6 single decker vehicles.
(Note No 3 was only bus acquired new in 2001)
3 Y3NNB Dennis Dart SLF Alexander ALX 200 B38F
6 H536 YCX DAF SB 220 LC Optare Delta B49F Acquired 2006
9 V389 KVY Optare Excel L1150 Optare Excel B44F Acquired 2006
41 R401 XFL Dennis Dart SLF Marshall B42F Acquired 2004
45 P345 OEW Dennis Dart SLF Marshall B42F Acquired 2004
46 S496 MCC Dennis Dart SLF Plaxton Pointer B39F Acquired 2005
73 V703 LWT Dennis Dart SLF Alexander ALX 200 B38F Acquired 2001
90 S490 MCC Dennis Dart SLF Plaxton Pointer B39F Acquired 2002
All of the vehicles at North Birmingham Busways were well maintained and well preserved. However when a vehicle broke down, NBB had two maintanence/support vehicles on hand:
Q142 VOE - Fleet No. 1 - ex-BMMO AEC Matador tow truck, to assist broken down vehicles back to the yard.
L73 AUY - Fiat Cinquennto that was aquired from a member of staff. Used as a Support Vehicle
North Birmingham Busways was loved by the passengers in the West Midlands. Everytime I planned to catch a North Birmingham Busways vehicle, it was always punctual and fantastic condition for there ages.
All drivers were well trained. Not only had they got NVQ2, but were learnt how to treat passengers correctly.
A subsidiary company was formed, North Birmingham Training. The trainer vehicle used was a Leyland National 2, SHH 389X.
North Birmingham Busways was acquired by Rotala for £860,000. Rotala have recently acquired other Birmingham bus operators like Flights Hallmark, Birmingham Traction Co and Zaks Buses. All of these were run from Long Acre, Birmingham. The Bus operations are run as CentralConnect.
As from 1st August 2007, operations of North Birmingham Busways ran from Long Acre depot.
On 30th July 2007, the last bus ran from Wood Lane, Erdington. The last Atlantean to return to Wood Lane from service was No 77, A757 NNA. The last Atlantean to leave Wood Lane for service was No 93, A693 HNB
All of the Leyland Atlanteans were expected to be sold as Rotala would replace them with newer vehicles. Even though the Atlanteans were in A1 condition, the vehicles were in need of upgrading.
Rotala have sold all (but one) of the Atleanteans that was in service with NBB. This is 57, A657 HNB. However the long term future is unsure.
All of the single deckers, Volvo Double Deckers, Leyland Olympians and the 2 NBB Dennis’ have remained at Rotala. All of the Double deckers have been repainted into Central Connect livery, and to date (Jan 2008) the single deckers still remain in NBB livery.
There are still a few ex-NBB vehicles in service in the West Midlands:
JFV 318S & JFV 320S are still in service with Trailways, Bloxwich.
A725 HNC is with The Green Transport Company, Oldbury, and roamed to keep NBB livery.
A757 NNA is being used for South Birmingham College.
A few are in preservation:
TYJ 4S left NBB in 2002 and is preserved in Brighton Corporation Livery.
STK 131T left NBB in 2000 and is now preserved in Southampton Citybus livery.
ANA 564Y was acquired by Holmes & Cliffe, Blackburn in 2007, and is to be preserved in NBB livery
A700 HNB left NBB in 2006 and is now in preservation with Selnec Preservation Society, and is to be preserved in NBB livery.
Q142 VOE (Tow Truck) is being preserved at BaMMOT, Wythall. (Hopefully remain in NBB Livery!!)
If you have any comments or questions about this article,
please e-mail telfordbusgroup@yahoo.co.uk.
