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Service 417: Service History

Service 417 (1925–1928)

Operated by Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Company Limited

Between Saturday 16^th May 1925 and Friday 10^th February 1928, Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Company Limited (BMMO—Midland “Red” Motor Services) operated Service 417 between Stratford-Upon-Avon and Chipping Campden. This was a Market day service with two return journeys on Tuesdays and Fridays only.

On Saturday 11^th February 1928, BMMO renumbered their network, and at this time this version of Service 417 between Stratford-Upon-Avon and Chipping Campden became Service 532.

Service 417 (1928–1974)

Operated by Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Company Limited

On Saturday 11^th February 1928, Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Company Limited (BMMO—Midland “Red” Motor Services) renumbered their entire network and at this time Service 300 between Worcester, Ledbury, and Hereford was renumbered to Service 417.

Service 417 route ran between Worcester and Storridge via Rushwick, Bransford and Leigh Sinton much the same as the buses on the 417 route run today, but then ran via Stiffords Bridge, Prestons Cross and Finchers Corner between Storridge and Bosbury, with the Cradley Village only being served on Saturdays. Certain journeys diverted at Finchers Corner to run to Mathon, returning to Finchers Corner over the same route.

Timetables from the late 1920s and early 1930s were quite complex, with each day of the week having a different, unique set of running times. Buses on Thursdays did not run between Ledbury and Worcester at all, probably because this was half-day closing in Ledbury, while certain journeys on Tuesdays, which is Market Day in Ledbury, ran as Service 473 via Colwall and Ham Green. On Wednesdays certain journeys ran as Service 410 via Ashperton, and on Saturdays additional short-working journeys ran between Worcester and Cradley Village as Service 417, and between Worcester, Cradley and Mathon Village ran as Service 418.

By mid-1933, the Service 410 variation via Ashperton had been withdrawn. The Service 473 Market Day variation had been cut back to run only between Ledbury, Colwall and Mathon Village, while additional Service 418 journeys were added on Tuesdays, extended to Ledbury via Colwall, to give extra journeys on that section of the route. The Service 418 variation was withdrawn during the Second World War and after the War was later replaced by additional Service 473 journeys between Ledbury and Mathon Village only.

On Thursday 1^st July 1937, BMMO acquired the operations of H.F. Taylor and with it a service that ran between Ridgeway Cross, Finchers Corner, Prestons Cross, Stiffords Bridge, Leigh Sinton and Belmont. BMMO operated this route as Service 376 until Friday 27^th May 1938, when it was withdrawn and replaced with additional journeys on Service 417, which were timed to connect at Leigh Sinton with Service 377 (Worcester–Leigh Sinton–Malvern) to provide a through service to Malvern. Service 377 was withdrawn on the outbreak of the Second World War and was not replace after the war finished, as the post-war Service 377 ran over a different route and did not serve Leigh Sinton.

By the 1950s, many Service 417 journeys ran between Hereford and Ledbury only, or between Worcester and Mathon only, with only a very small number of peak time journeys running the whole route between Worcester and Hereford. These journeys were very generously timed and crews would often comment that it would be quicker to walk. Buses working the whole route were required to turn round in Ledbury at the Market House, and then would typically be parked up for a while as the crews took advantage of the generous running time and visited a local cafe for a cup of tea, safe in the knowledge that they could recover any late time on the next leg of the journey.

From the early 1950s a small number of short-working Market Day journeys ran between Cradley and Ledbury only on Tuesdays, these journeys were operated by Malvern depot, and were withdrawn in 1972 as part of wider cuts to rural services.

In May 1960, Service 417 was shortened to run only between Worcester and Ledbury, and the Ledbury to Hereford section was replaced by extra journeys on Service 477 which ran between Great Malvern, Ledbury, and Hereford. This change was probably introduced because of the introduction of one-man operations at Hereford depot in 1956. Splitting the route at Ledbury would ensure that all journeys between Hereford and Ledbury could be operated solely by Hereford depot, and thus be completely converted to one-man operations. On Saturday 16^th March 1968, Service 477 was also split at Ledbury, with the Hereford to Ledbury section then becoming Service 476.

Route Summary

¹  During the 1940s and 1950s, very few journeys ran the whole route between Worcester and Hereford. Many journeys ran either between Worcester and Prestons Cross (or by the mid-1950s, Mathon) only, or between Ledbury and Hereford only.
²  Only certain journeys ran to Mathon, other journeys ran direct between Finchers Corner and Bosbury.

Service 417 (1974–1981)

Operated by Midland Red Omnibus Company Limited

On Saturday 11^th March 1978, Midland Red Omnibus Company Limited introduced the “Wandaward” MAP area scheme in the Hereford area. At this time the timetable was just as chaotic as before, with only Monday and Friday running the same schedule. The Cradley to Ledbury section of the route was withdrawn on Saturdays and only ran with one or two journeys on weekdays. Service 418 was introduced as a variation running via Coddington Turn on Tuesdays only, for Ledbury Market Day, partly replacing the Service 419.

The timetable issued at the “Wandaward” MAP launch stated that ”these services are at present under review”, and soon after, possibly with the “Severnlink” MAP scheme, the Cradley to Ledbury section was withdrawn on all days.

Midland Red Omnibus Company Limited ceased trading as a bus and coach operator at the end of services on Saturday 5^th September 1981, and Service 417 passed to the newly formed Midland Red (West) Limited from the following day.

Route Summary

¹  Only certain journeys ran to Mathon, other journeys ran direct between Finchers Corner and Bosbury.

Service 417 (1981–1986)

Operated by Midland Red (West) Limited

Midland Red (West) Limited took over operation of Service 417 on Sunday 6^th September 1981 following the closure of Midland Red Omnibus Company Limited. Soon after, probably around March 1982, the Cradley to Mathon section of the route was withdrawn so the route now only ran between Worcester and Cradley, running in a loop clockwise via Cradley Village, Finchers Corner, Prestons Cross and Stiffords Bridge, before returning to Worcester.

During this period the route and timetable for Service 417 remained largely unchanged, except for some journeys being extended to start and/or finish in Newport Street Bus Station before or after calling at Angel Place.

In the run up to regularisation in 1986, Midland Red (West) Limited gave notice to withdraw an evening return journey. Operation of this journey was won under tender by Smiths Motors (Ledbury) Limited, and was operated by them from Monday 2^nd June 1986 to Friday 26^th May 1989.

Route Summary

Service 417 (1986–1999)

Operated by Midland Red West Limited

After privatisation, Midland Red West Limited operated the route with “Midland Express” branded Leyland Leopard coaches for a number of years. These were quite unsuitable for the narrow lanes around Cradley and were not really required as passenger numbers were low, but later they were replaced with Mercedes-Benz L608D minibuses were used which were much more suitable.

From Saturday 27^th May 1989, additional journeys were operated with funding from Hereford & Worcester County Council. These journeys had previously been operated by Smiths Motors (Ledbury) Limited, and were won by Midland Red West Limited under the tendering process. Between Saturday 5^th January 1991 and Saturday 28^th December 1991, additional journeys were operated on Saturday afternoons by Rover Coaches (Bromsgrove) Limited.

On Sunday 25^th October 1998, Service 417 was extended to serve Bosbury and Ledbury at the request of Herefordshire Council. Three return journeys were operated over the extended route between Worcester, Cradley and Ledbury, with the aid of subsidies from Herefordshire Council, with additional short-working journeys running only between Worcester and Cradley which were subsidised by Worcestershire County Council.

Route Summary

Service 417 (1999–2001)

Operated by First Midland Red Buses Limited

In 1997, Midland Red West Limited became part of FirstBus and renamed to First Midland Red Buses Limited on Friday 26^th March 1999. Initially First Midland Red ran Service 417 to the same timetable as operated by Midland Red West, but this arrangement didn't last long and under the tendering process First Midland Red lost part the contract to operate the service to Bromyard Omnibus Company Limited. From Monday 6^th September 1999, First Midland Red only operated two return journeys each day, Monday to Friday, between Worcester and Ledbury, with Bromyard Omnibus Company operating journeys at other times and all journeys on Saturdays.

From Sunday 1^st April 2001, the remainder of the contract passed to Bromyard Omnibus Company, who operated all journeys from that date.

Route Summary

Service 417 (2001–2009)

Operated by First Midland Red Buses Limited

After five months of being operated solely by Bromyard Omnibus Company Limited, a single short-working journey between Worcester and Cradley was introduced by First Midland Red Buses Limited on Sunday 2^nd September 2001. This journey departed Worcester Bus Station at 17:45 on Mondays to Fridays and terminated at Cradley (Buryfields) at 18:15. There was no journey in the other direction and no service on Saturdays or Sundays.

From Monday 24^th March 2003, First Midland Red Buses Limited started operating additional Service 417 journeys alongside Bromyard Omnibus. The five-year contact to operate all Service 417 journeys was regained by First Midland Red Buses Limited on Monday 6^th September 2004, and from that time four return journeys between Worcester and Ledbury ran each day, plus two short journeys between Worcester and Cradley.

Initially Worcester depot were unable to operate the new contract because of staff shortages so all journeys were worked by Hereford depot, and this continued for about two years before the service moved to Worcester depot.

One journey each day diverted to run via Wellington Heath between Bosbury and Ledbury. This section of the route was seldom used and withdrawn on Sunday 31^st August 2008, with all journeys running direct along the B4214 from this time. On Saturday 5^th September 2009 the contract for Service 417 passed to Astons Coaches.

Route Summary

¹  During c. 2007, certain journeys via Fromes Hill, omitting Bosbury.

Service 417 (2017— )

Operated by First Midland Red Buses Limited

In May 2017, Herefordshire County Council invited operators to submit tenders to operate Service 417 and other services in the Ledbury area. First Midland Red Buses Limited won this contract, which also included local Ledbury Service 600, Service 675 running between Ledbury, Colwall, West Malvern and Great Malvern, and Service 676 which runs as a variation to Service 675 omitting Ledbury Railway Station and Wellington Heath.

Service 417 was previously operated by Astons Coaches of Kempsey with three full return journeys and four short-working journeys each day, but this timetable was simplified for the new contract to eliminate the short-working journeys and give an overall reduction in service. The contract started on Monday 4^th September 2017, which was the date for the start of the new school term, and is for a period of seven years with the option of a review after three and five years.

On Monday 14^th May 2018, First introduced a number a changes to route operated as part of the Herefordshire contract. From this time, Service 417 had a new timetable with most journeys running about 10-minutes later. In addition, new Service 418 was introduced as a variation to Service 417, running on Summer Saturdays only direct between Cradley, Finchers Corner, and Worcester. This new route is to accommodate large numbers of Seasonal Workers using the bus on their day off, and is operated with a double-deck vehicle.

Route Summary