West Midlands bus routes 401E and 405

The 401E and 45 are two bus services in the West Midlands, England. The 401E is operated by Diamond Bus, whilst the 45 is operated by National Express West Midlands. The 401E and the 45 link Walsall with the Yew Tree Estate however the 45 then extends onto West Bromwich via Stone Cross and Charlemont Farm.
History
* Mid-1990s - National Express West Midlands (then Travel West Midlands) operated service 401 from Walsall - Bilston via West Bromwich.
* Late-1990s - Travel West Midlands shortened the 401 to operate between West Bromwich and Bilston only, with the exception of the first few and last few journeys of the day extending to Walsall for access to the bus garage.
* Late-1990s - Pete's Travel (later People's Express then Diamond Bus), start operating the 401 from between West Bromwich and Bilston. They also start new service 401E between Walsall and The Yew Tree Estate.
* 2000 - Travel West Midlands shorten their evening service on the 405, so that it now terminates in West Bromwich (like the daytime service), instead of Princes End. The frequency of the normal daytime service is also increased from every 20 minutes to every 15.
* 2000 - Travel West Midlands withdraw their service 405A which ran Monday - Saturday daytime between Stone Cross and West Bromwich.
* 2000 - Pete's Travel introduce new service 405E between The Yew Tree Estate and West Bromwich at a half hourly daytime frequency.
* 2001 - The 401 journeys to/from Bilston from Walsall are withdrawn.
* 2001 - Pete's Travel service 405E is withdrawn. The frequency of the 405 is also decreased back to 20 minutes.
* 2003 - Travel West Midlands increase the frequency of the 405 again, to every 15 minutes Monday - Saturday daytime.
* 2005 - Travel West Midlands introduce service 405A, running via Walsall and West Bromwich, but missing out Bescot at a half hourly Sunday morning frequency.
* November 2007 - Service 405E between Walsall - The Yew Tree Estate is introduced at a fifteen-minute frequency during daytime off-peak hours.
* August 2008 - Service 405A is withdrawn by National Express West Midlands. These journeys are replaced by normal 405 services.
* November 2008 - Service 405E between West Bromwich and The Yew Tree Estate is reintroduced by Diamond Bus, running at a half hourly Monday - Saturday frequency.
* August 2009 - Diamond Bus withdraw their 405E journeys due to a lack of patronage.
* September 2009 - National Express West Midlands reroute the 405E service so that it now serves more of The Yew Tree Estate, following a similar route as Diamond Bus service 401E. The service is also renumbered the 305, but continues to run every 15 minutes.
*April 2011 - National Express West Midlands change the timetable of the 405 so it can interwork with route 406.
*June 2011 - National Express West Midlands withdraw route 305.
*July 2011 - National Express West Midlands transfer route 405 and 406 to West Bromwich garage.
*October 2012 - National Express West Midlands route 405 renumbered 45.
Present
Currently, National Express West Midlands operate the full length 45 between Walsall and West Bromwich at a fifteen-minute frequency during daytime hours, hourly during evenings and half hourly on Sundays.
Diamond Bus also operate an identical shortened working of the 45 between Walsall and the Yew Tree Estate numbered the 401E. This service also serves the Tamebridge Estate. This service runs at a fifteen-minute frequency, throughout Monday - Saturday daytimes. There is no evening or Sunday on this service.
Previously Volvo B6LE's with Wright Crusader bodywork were commonplace on the 45 however other vehicle types were known to appear on odd journeys. Currently the service is operated by a mixture of Volvo B6LE's and Mercedes O405N's, some of which carry route specific fare branding for the 45. In 2013 National Express introduced brand new ADL Enviro 200's on the 45.
Diamond Bus use Dennis Darts and occasionally Optare Solo's on the 401E.
Current route
Service 401E (DIA)
*Walsall
*Palfrey
*Bescot Stadium
*Yew Tree Estate
Service 45 (NXWM)
*Walsall
*Palfrey
*Bescot Stadium
*Yew Tree Estate
*Stone Cross
*Charlemont Farm
*Sandwell General Hospital
*West Bromwich

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