National Express West Midlands routes 66 & 66A
Encyclopedia
The 66, 66A and 66E
The 66 and 66A are one of then most notable bus routes in the West Midlands, as it is the only Cross City bus route, which is operated by National Express West MidlandsNational 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...
in the West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
of 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...
.
Following service revisions on 28th March 2010 this route is no longer a Cross-City service. The section between City Centre and Five Ways / Ladywood is now covered by a revised Service 80 running City Centre - West Bromwich via Five Ways, Ladywood, Cape Hill and Smetwick
The 66 is now City - Erdington every 15 mins Mon - Sat and 66a City - Sutton Coldfield every hour evenings / Sundays and a 66e City - Star City on the alternate hour during evenings.
History
Back in the day the route was operated with the last journey departing Sutton Coldfield at 18:30, the last journey into Sutton departed Ladywood at 1750 and ran into Sutton, arriving at 1845, however this returned to the garage empty. The route at the time was operated by twelve two-step entrance single decks, E F G and H registration plate 'Leyland DAF Lynx's'Around 2000 the 'Lynx's', were gradually phased out and 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...
invested in low-floored single decks, using around eighteen on the route at one stage.
In the later years route 66 was simplified and now used just ten low-floor Mercedes-Benz O405
Mercedes-Benz O405
The Mercedes-Benz O 405 was a highly successful single-decker bus chassis built by Mercedes-Benz from the mid-1980s to the early 2000s. It was the replacement for the Mercedes-Benz O305 chassis and was widely used in Europe, Australia and Singapore....
single decks.
Present
Currently National Express West MidlandsNational 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...
(NXWM) operate the 66, Monday - Saturday at a 15 minute frequency during daytime hours (0700-1800). On weekdays, Saturday and Sunday evenings, NXWM operate the service at an hourly frequency (only to Starcity).
Service 66A operates Monday - Saturday evenings operate an hourly frequency, making a half hourly timetable with the 66E. Sunday daytime half-hourly, with the evening services from 1800 being every hour.
Routes
Service 66 (Monday to Saturday Daytime)- LadywoodLadywoodLadywood is an inner-city area in Birmingham, England. It is a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Ladywood ward and the wards of Aston, Nechells and Soho. In June 2004, Birmingham City Council conducted a city-wide "Ward Boundary...
- Birmingham City CentreBirmingham City CentreBirmingham city centre is the business, retail and leisure hub of Birmingham, England. Following the removal of the Inner Ring Road, the city centre is newly defined as being the area within the Middle Ring Road. Birmingham city centre is undergoing massive redevelopment with the Big City Plan...
- NechellsNechellsNechells is an area in inner-city Birmingham, England, with a population of 27,969 . It is also a ward within the formal district of Ladywood. Nechells local government ward includes areas, for example parts of Birmingham city centre, which are not part of the historic district of Nechells as such...
- Star City, BirminghamStar City, BirminghamStar City is a family leisure and entertainment complex in Birmingham, England. It is located in the north east of the city very close to Junction 6 of the M6 motorway , and Aston Train Station.- Development :...
- 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...
Service 66A (Evenings and Sundays)
- LadywoodLadywoodLadywood is an inner-city area in Birmingham, England. It is a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Ladywood ward and the wards of Aston, Nechells and Soho. In June 2004, Birmingham City Council conducted a city-wide "Ward Boundary...
- Birmingham City CentreBirmingham City CentreBirmingham city centre is the business, retail and leisure hub of Birmingham, England. Following the removal of the Inner Ring Road, the city centre is newly defined as being the area within the Middle Ring Road. Birmingham city centre is undergoing massive redevelopment with the Big City Plan...
- NechellsNechellsNechells is an area in inner-city Birmingham, England, with a population of 27,969 . It is also a ward within the formal district of Ladywood. Nechells local government ward includes areas, for example parts of Birmingham city centre, which are not part of the historic district of Nechells as such...
- Star City, BirminghamStar City, BirminghamStar City is a family leisure and entertainment complex in Birmingham, England. It is located in the north east of the city very close to Junction 6 of the M6 motorway , and Aston Train Station.- Development :...
- 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...
- BoldmereBoldmereBoldmere is a residential area of Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England. It is bordered by New Oscott, Sutton Park, Wylde Green and Erdington, and is in the ward of Sutton Vesey.- Toponymy :...
- Sutton ColdfieldSutton ColdfieldSutton Coldfield is a suburb of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Sutton is located about from central Birmingham but has borders with Erdington and Kingstanding. Sutton is in the northeast of Birmingham, with a population of 105,000 recorded in the 2001 census...
Service 66E (Early Morning, Evenings and Sundays)
- LadywoodLadywoodLadywood is an inner-city area in Birmingham, England. It is a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Ladywood ward and the wards of Aston, Nechells and Soho. In June 2004, Birmingham City Council conducted a city-wide "Ward Boundary...
- Birmingham City CentreBirmingham City CentreBirmingham city centre is the business, retail and leisure hub of Birmingham, England. Following the removal of the Inner Ring Road, the city centre is newly defined as being the area within the Middle Ring Road. Birmingham city centre is undergoing massive redevelopment with the Big City Plan...
- NechellsNechellsNechells is an area in inner-city Birmingham, England, with a population of 27,969 . It is also a ward within the formal district of Ladywood. Nechells local government ward includes areas, for example parts of Birmingham city centre, which are not part of the historic district of Nechells as such...
- Star City, BirminghamStar City, BirminghamStar City is a family leisure and entertainment complex in Birmingham, England. It is located in the north east of the city very close to Junction 6 of the M6 motorway , and Aston Train Station.- Development :...