Birmingham Outer Circle
Encyclopedia
The Birmingham Outer Circle is a roughly circular, 27 mile (43 km) bus
route in Birmingham
, England
(a small section crosses into Sandwell
). It mainly follows the city's outer ring road, the A4040
with some small deviations to serve some rail stations and shopping areas. Buses on the Outer Circle are numbered 11C on the clockwise journey and 11A on the anticlockwise journey. Buses are numbered 11E for journeys terminating at Acocks Green
or City Hospital
.
The route is operated by National Express West Midlands
, usually with Volvo B7TL
/Wrightbus
double-decker buses. Following bus deregulation
in 1986 several companies have competed on sections of this route. Falcon Travel, Serverse Travel and AM PM Travel
have traversed the entire route.
The route is traversed annually by a cavalcade of vintage
buses. Run by the Aston Manor Transport Museum, the event began in 1977 and has continued each year since with the exception of 2000, in which it was cancelled due to a national fuel shortage.
The route was upgraded in 2004 by Centro. Over £25 million was spent on CCTV coverage, bus priority
measures, new shelters with electronic information displays and new low-floor buses.
AM PM Travel
began operating on the service in October 2009, increasing the frequency of their route in December. Six re-furbished Volvo Olympian
buses have been entered onto the new service fitted with Wi-Fi
technology.
s, college
s or universities
, 69 leisure and community facilities, 40 pubs, 19 retail centres, 6 hospital
s, and one prison
. It also links some 15 commercial centres, and passes Cadbury's in Bournville
, one of the world's largest chocolate
factories
.
The outer circle is the traditional route for the BRMB Walkathon, a sponsored walk which raises funds for charity.
On weekdays service 11A runs every 7–10 minutes and the 11C every 7–10 minutes, with lower frequencies in the evenings and at weekends. The Wright Eclipse Gemini
s used on route 11A/C/E have green 'Every 8 minutes' branding.
On 11 November 2008 (starting at 11am), humourist Jon Bounds
spent eleven hours travelling the route, documenting his journey online, using Twitter
, Facebook
and a blog, elevenbus.co.uk.
In October 2009 Kevin Beresford, a 57-year old resident of Birmingham, created a calendar dedicated to the anti-clockwise portion of the route.
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
route in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
(a small section crosses into Sandwell
Sandwell
Sandwell is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands with a population of around 289,100, and an area of . The borough is named after Sandwell Priory, and spans a densely populated part of both the Black Country, and the West Midlands conurbation, encompassing the urban towns of Blackheath,...
). It mainly follows the city's outer ring road, the A4040
A4040 road
The A4040 is the Outer Ring Road in Birmingham, England. It is the route followed by the Birmingham Outer Circle bus route. It was formed mainly of redesignated old roads, unlike Birmingham's inner and middle ring road , which were mostly purpose built.Places along the route include:* Perry Barr*...
with some small deviations to serve some rail stations and shopping areas. Buses on the Outer Circle are numbered 11C on the clockwise journey and 11A on the anticlockwise journey. Buses are numbered 11E for journeys terminating at Acocks Green
Acocks Green
Acocks Green is an area and ward of south Birmingham, England. It is named after the Acock family who built a large house in the area in 1370. Acocks Green is one of the four wards making up Yardley formal district...
or City Hospital
City Hospital, Birmingham
City Hospital is a major hospital in the city of Birmingham, England. It is located in the Winson Green area of the west of the city....
.
The route is operated by National Express West Midlands
National Express West Midlands
National Express West Midlands , formerly known as Travel West Midlands , is the trade name of West Midlands Travel Ltd , a company which operates bus services from depots in the cities of Birmingham, and Wolverhampton, as well as the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall in the West...
, usually with Volvo B7TL
Volvo B7TL
Volvo B7TL is a low-floor double-decker bus which was launched in 1999 and replaced the 2-axle version of Volvo Olympian...
/Wrightbus
Wrightbus
Wrightbus is an independent coachbuilder and pioneer of the low-floor bus. Based in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, it was established in 1946 by Robert Wright and currently run by his son William Wright.-History:...
double-decker buses. Following bus deregulation
Bus deregulation
Bus deregulation in Great Britain came into force on 26 October 1986, as part of the Transport Act 1985.The 'Buses' White Paper was the basis of the Transport Act 1985, which provided for the deregulation of local bus services in the whole of the United Kingdom except for Northern Ireland and...
in 1986 several companies have competed on sections of this route. Falcon Travel, Serverse Travel and AM PM Travel
AM PM Travel
AM PM Travel was a family-owned bus company who operated services across the West Midlands and Staffordshire. Operating from their depot in the Tyseley district of south Birmingham, AM PM ran a fleet of 23 low-floor single and step-entry double-deck buses....
have traversed the entire route.
History
The number 11 is Europe's longest urban bus route and first came into existence as two routes in 1923: the no.10 ran from King's Heath to the King's Head (Hagley Road) via Cotteridge, and the no.11 from Six ways Erdington to Acocks Green and Moseley. The route was first operated as a complete circuit on 26 April 1926, the idea being to better link the suburbs of Birmingham, as most routes at that time travelled in and out of the cityThe route is traversed annually by a cavalcade of vintage
Vintage
Vintage, in wine-making, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product . A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine, where Port houses make and...
buses. Run by the Aston Manor Transport Museum, the event began in 1977 and has continued each year since with the exception of 2000, in which it was cancelled due to a national fuel shortage.
The route was upgraded in 2004 by Centro. Over £25 million was spent on CCTV coverage, bus priority
Bus priority
Bus priority or transit signal priority is a name for various techniques to speed up bus public transport services at intersections with traffic signals amongst other methods. Trams and light rail vehicles can also be given priority...
measures, new shelters with electronic information displays and new low-floor buses.
AM PM Travel
AM PM Travel
AM PM Travel was a family-owned bus company who operated services across the West Midlands and Staffordshire. Operating from their depot in the Tyseley district of south Birmingham, AM PM ran a fleet of 23 low-floor single and step-entry double-deck buses....
began operating on the service in October 2009, increasing the frequency of their route in December. Six re-furbished Volvo Olympian
Volvo Olympian
The Volvo Olympian was a rear-engine double decker bus built by Volvo at Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland. It was first built in 1992 and entered production in March 1993, replacing the Leyland Olympian....
buses have been entered onto the new service fitted with Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
technology.
Route
A full circuit takes 2–3hrs to complete, depending on traffic conditions, and the service carries 50,000 passengers each day. There are 266 bus stops on the route. The route serves 233 schoolSchool
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
s, college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
s or universities
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
, 69 leisure and community facilities, 40 pubs, 19 retail centres, 6 hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
s, and one prison
Birmingham (HM Prison)
HM Prison Birmingham is a Category B/C men's prison, located in the Winson Green area of Birmingham, England. The prison was formally operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service...
. It also links some 15 commercial centres, and passes Cadbury's in Bournville
Bournville
Bournville is a model village on the south side of Birmingham, England, best known for its connections with the Cadbury family and chocolate – including a dark chocolate bar branded "Bournville". It is also a ward within the council constituency of Selly Oak and home to the Bournville Centre...
, one of the world's largest chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
factories
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
.
The outer circle is the traditional route for the BRMB Walkathon, a sponsored walk which raises funds for charity.
On weekdays service 11A runs every 7–10 minutes and the 11C every 7–10 minutes, with lower frequencies in the evenings and at weekends. The Wright Eclipse Gemini
Wright Eclipse Gemini
The Wright Eclipse Gemini is a type of double-decker bus body built for Volvo B7TL and later Volvo B9TL and Volvo B5L Hybrid for use in the United Kingdom....
s used on route 11A/C/E have green 'Every 8 minutes' branding.
Current route
(Clockwise from the A34, in the North of the city.)- Perry BarrPerry BarrPerry Barr is an inner-city area in north Birmingham, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Perry Barr ward and the wards of Handsworth Wood, Lozells and East Handsworth, and Oscott, which elect three councillors to...
- WittonWitton, West MidlandsWitton is an inner city area in Birmingham, England, in the metropolitan county of the West Midlands. It was within the ancient parish of Aston in the Hemlingford hundred of the historic county of Warwickshire...
(for Aston Villa) - ErdingtonErdingtonErdington is a suburb northeast of Birmingham city centre, England and bordering Sutton Coldfield. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee...
- Ward EndWard EndWard End is an area of Birmingham, England. It covers the area between Saltley, Hodge Hill and Stechford and includes Ward End Park, a public park that has been open for over 100 years.-Ward End territory:...
- Stechford
- YardleyYardley, BirminghamYardley is an area in east Birmingham, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee.Birmingham Yardley is a constituency and its Member of Parliament is John Hemming.-Features:...
- Swan Shopping CentreSwan Shopping CentreThe Swan Shopping Centre is an under-construction shopping centre in Yardley, Birmingham, scheduled to open in Spring 2012.With its landmark high rise building, it stands on the A45 Coventry Road at its intersection with the A4040 Outer Ring Road , known as Swan Island.-History:It consists of a...
at South YardleySouth YardleySouth Yardley is one of the 40 electoral wards in Birmingham, England. The name of the ward was changed from Acocks Green Ward and with the name change, the boundary changed with Acocks Green village and Acocks Green railway station being lost and the boundary being extended north to Bordesley...
, where the route crosses the A45 roadA45 roadThe A45 is a major road in England. It runs east from Birmingham past the National Exhibition Centre and the M42, then bypasses Coventry and Rugby, where it briefly merges with the M45 until it continues to Daventry...
from Birmingham to the National Exhibition CentreNational Exhibition CentreThe National Exhibition Centre is an exhibition centre in Birmingham, England. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham International Airport and Birmingham International railway station. It has 20 interconnected halls, set in grounds of 628 acres making it the...
and Birmingham Airport - Acocks GreenAcocks GreenAcocks Green is an area and ward of south Birmingham, England. It is named after the Acock family who built a large house in the area in 1370. Acocks Green is one of the four wards making up Yardley formal district...
(Passing Acocks GreenAcocks GreenAcocks Green is an area and ward of south Birmingham, England. It is named after the Acock family who built a large house in the area in 1370. Acocks Green is one of the four wards making up Yardley formal district...
Bus Garage) - Hall GreenHall GreenNot to be confused with Hall Green, Wolverhampton or Hall Green, SandwellHall Green is an area and ward in south Birmingham, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee...
(for Sarehole MillSarehole MillSarehole Mill is a Grade II listed water mill on the River Cole in Hall Green, Birmingham, England. It is now run as a museum by the Birmingham City Council. It is one of only two working water mills in Birmingham, with the other being New Hall Mill in Walmley, Sutton Coldfield.Built in 1542 on...
) - BillesleyBillesleyBillesley may refer to:*Billesley, West Midlands, a district of Birmingham,*Billesley, Warwickshire, a village near Stratford-upon-Avon....
(Outskirts) - Kings HeathKings HeathKings Heath is a suburb of Birmingham, England, five miles south of the city centre. It is the next suburb south from Moseley on the Alcester Road.-History:...
- CotteridgeCotteridgeCotteridge is an area of Birmingham, England and is part of the Bournville ward. It is located about 4.5 miles south of Birmingham city centre. Connected to both the Watford Road and the Pershore Road, Cotteridge is a local shopping area.- St Agnes Church :...
- BournvilleBournvilleBournville is a model village on the south side of Birmingham, England, best known for its connections with the Cadbury family and chocolate – including a dark chocolate bar branded "Bournville". It is also a ward within the council constituency of Selly Oak and home to the Bournville Centre...
(for Cadbury World) - Selly OakSelly OakSelly Oak is a residential suburban district in south-west Birmingham, England. The suburb is bordered by Bournbrook and Selly Park to the north-east, Edgbaston and Harborne to the north, Weoley Castle and Weoley Hill to the west, and Bournville to the south...
(for University of BirminghamUniversity of BirminghamThe University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
and Selly Oak Hospital) - HarborneHarborneHarborne is an area three miles southwest from Birmingham city centre, England. It is a Birmingham City Council ward in the formal district and in the parliamentary constituency of Birmingham Edgbaston.- Geography :...
- Bearwood (in SandwellSandwellSandwell is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands with a population of around 289,100, and an area of . The borough is named after Sandwell Priory, and spans a densely populated part of both the Black Country, and the West Midlands conurbation, encompassing the urban towns of Blackheath,...
) - Winson GreenWinson GreenWinson Green is a loosely-defined inner-city area in the west of the city of Birmingham, England. It is part of the ward of Soho.It is the location of HM Prison Birmingham and City Hospital .The area has a very multi-racial population, with large Afro-Caribbean and Asian communities.R&B singer...
(for Winson Green PrisonBirmingham (HM Prison)HM Prison Birmingham is a Category B/C men's prison, located in the Winson Green area of Birmingham, England. The prison was formally operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service...
and Winson Green Outer Circle stopWinson Green Outer Circle tram stopWinson Green Outer Circle tram stop is a tram stop in Winson Green, Birmingham England. It was opened on 31 May 1999 and is situated on Midland Metro Line 1. Its name is derived from its connection with the Outer Circle bus route....
on the Midland MetroMidland MetroThe Midland Metro is a light-rail or tram line in the West Midlands of England between the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton via West Bromwich and Wednesbury. It is owned and promoted by Centro, and operated by West Midlands Travel Limited, a subsidiary of the National Express Group , under...
) - HandsworthHandsworth, West MidlandsHandsworth is an inner city area of Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. The Local Government Act 1894 divided the ancient Staffordshire parish of Handsworth into two urban districts: Handsworth and Perry Barr. Handsworth was annexed to the county borough of Birmingham in Warwickshire in 1911...
In popular culture
The Birmingham band Woodbine's eponymous 1999 album features the track "Outer Circle", a tribute to the bus route. In 2001 a group of musicians from Birmingham created a concert based on the route.On 11 November 2008 (starting at 11am), humourist Jon Bounds
Jon Bounds
Jon Bounds is a blogger, freelance social media and multimedia consultant and humorist from Birmingham, England.Raised in the City's Perry Barr district, he attended King Edward VI Grammar School, Aston, and now lives in the suburb of Moseley....
spent eleven hours travelling the route, documenting his journey online, using Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
and a blog, elevenbus.co.uk.
In October 2009 Kevin Beresford, a 57-year old resident of Birmingham, created a calendar dedicated to the anti-clockwise portion of the route.
External links
- 11-11-11 An art project encouraging people to spend 11 hours on the bus on 11/11
- 11A on FixMyTransport
- 11C on FixMyTransport