New National Express bus between Bromsgrove and Longbridge

A new National Express West Midlands bus service is set to be introduced between Bromsgrove and Longbridge to replace sections of the axed First Bus 144 route.

It was annouced earlier this month that the 108-year-old 144 bus service linking Worcester to Birmingham would now terminate in Catshill instead of Birmingham.

But after more than 2,000 people signed a petition opposing the cut, an agreement has now been reached between National Express West Midlands and Worcestershire County Council to replace sections of the route for at least the next six months.

The new service is replacing the First Bus 144 route between Bromsgrove and Longbridge, which is being removed from Sunday 1 May.

From Tuesday, 3 May, the new 144A bus service will run between Bromsgrove, Catshill, Rubery and Longbridge.

It means those in Worcester and Droitwich who wish to get to Birmingham by bus can now change buses at Bromsgrove bus station, and get on the new 144A to Rubery and Longbridge where they can connect with more frequent services into Birmingham city centre.

From Longbridge customers can board the bus company’s 63 service or catch the cross city rail link from the local rail station.

The service will initially operate up to every 70 minutes Monday to Saturday.

National Express said that they are working with Worcestershire County Council on plans to operate a more frequent service “as soon as possible.”

What’s been said about the new service?

David Bradford, National Express West Midlands Managing Director, said: “Working in partnership with Worcestershire County Council, we are delighted to step in and serve Bromsgrove - a town that we have not served for many years and which we are delighted to be able to include again in our network.

“National Express West Midlands has a range of low-cost ticket and pass options to suit customers’ travel needs. You don’t even need to be always trying to work out the best fares - if you simply tap your contactless bank card each time you get on a bus, you’ll never pay more than £4 to travel all day anywhere on our services.

“We are now working hard to mobilise the new services at short notice to ensure that local communities do not lose their vital bus connections. We hope that new and existing customers will take advantage of our new 144A bus link between Bromsgrove and Longbridge to ensure that it goes from strength to strength.”

Full details including the new timetable are available online, here.

A message from the editor:

Thank you for reading. BirminghamWorld is Birmingham’s latest news website, championing everything that is great about our city - reporting on news, lifestyle and sport. We want to start a community among our readers, so please follow us on Facebook,Twitter and Instagram, and keep the conversation going.