West Midlands bus route 404

National Express West Midlands Routes 404 & 404A and Diamond Bus Routes 404E & 404H are four bus routes operating in West Midlands, England.

History

The 404 was Petes Travels (which eventually become Diamond Bus) first ever bus route.

The route south of Oldbury originally formed part of Midland Red's Service 217/218 route between Oldbury, Whiteheath, Blackheath, Halesowen and Hayley Green, with buses operating every ten minutes between Oldbury and Blackheath and every 20 minutes between Oldbury and Hayley Green. West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive extended these routes into West Bromwich in the late 1970s, renumbering them Service 415 (West Bromwich-Oldbury-Blackheath-Cradley Heath) and 417 (West Bromwich-Oldbury-Blackheath-Halesowen-Hayley Green).

• 1999 - National Express West Midlands, then Travel West Midlands, runs the 404 between Walsall and Blackheath at a ten-minute Monday - Saturday Frequency. Pete's Travel also operate the service between Walsall and West Bromwich at a 10-20 minute frequency. Only TWM operate the service on evenings and Sundays, running the route to a thirty minute evening frequency and 20 minute Sunday frequency..
• 2000 - TWM start using brand new low-floor Mercedes-Benz O405N Buses on the route.
• 2003 - The 404A is introduced to serve the 'Bermuda Triangle' for buses between Blackheath and Cradley Heath. The overall frequency of the 404s for both Pete's Travel and TWM is increased. The Sunday frequency now runs at a combined 15 minute daytime frequency between the 404 and 404A.
• 2006 - Pete's Travel is taken over by Go Ahead and starts to trade under the Diamond Bus Brand. The frequency, meanwhile of the 404 & 404E is increased to over every 10 minutes.
• 2007 - A2Z Travel start a short lived Sunday service on the 404, between Walsall and West Bromwich. The service is withdrawn by the end of the year.
• Mid-2008 - Diamond Bus introduce two new services. The 404B and 404H both run at irregular regular frequencies from West Bromwich to Blackheath and Cradley Heath/Merry Hill Centre respectively. At the same time, National Express West Midlands reroute the 404/A so that journeys into Walsall no longer serve inner-Caldmore, following complaints from residents. The frequency is also increased on the 404 to every Six minutes.
• September 2008 - Diamond Bus (now owned by Rotala Group) start using brand new Volvo B7RLEs (Plaxton Centro) on the 404, 404B & 404H, using a new trading name, Black Diamond.
• November 2008 - Diamond Bus withdraw off the 404B and begin to operate the 404H at a steady 30 minute off-peak and 20 minute peak frequency, Monday - Saturday.
• January 2009 - Diamond Bus reroutes the 404E into Walsall, so that it now follows the same route as NXWM services.
• February 2009 - National Express West Midlands start using the first of a batch of fiteen Scania OmniLinks on the 404/A.

Present

The 404 is a bus route between Walsall and Blackheath via West Bromwich and is operated by National Express West Midlands.

There is an extended working of 404, the 404A, which extends from Blackheath to Cradley Heath and is also operated by National Express West Midlands.

Additionally there is a shortened working of the 404 operated by Diamond Bus. The 404E operates only between Walsall and West Bromwich, following the same route.

Finally there is another spur to the 404 route, the 404H. This route, again operated by Diamond Bus operates between West Bromwich and the Merry Hill Centre, following the same route as the 404A between West Bromwich and Cradley Heath. To add to confusion, several of these journeys terminate at Cradley Heath.

All of these services run very regularly on a Monday - Saturday with a combined frequency of every 7-8 minutes between every section of the route (with the exception of the corridor between Cradley Heath and Merry Hill Centre, which has a 20-30 Min Frequency).

None of the three Diamond Bus routes operate on a Sunday, but National Express West Midlands operate the 404 and 404A to a combined fifteen minute daytime frequency.

At present National Express West Midlands use brand new Scania OmniLink single-deck buses from its West Bromwich garage on the 404/A. Since July 2008, and the introduction of the 404B and 404H, Diamond Bus have begun using 08-plate Volvo B7RLEs with Plaxton Centro bodywork on their services, in Black Diamond livery.

Certain journeys, when the bus is returning or starting the route to/from the depot, on services 404, 404A & 404H terminate at West Bromwich Bus Station, Stone Cross, Blackheath and Sandwell and Dudley railway station.

Future

There are no changes to route 404 in the foresable future

Current Routes

Service 404, NXWM

• Walsall
• Caldmore
• Stone Cross
• West Bromwich
• Oldbury
• Blackheath

Service 404A, NXWM

• Walsall
• Caldmore
• Stone Cross
• West Bromwich
• Oldbury
• Blackheath
• Cradley Heath

Service 404E, DIA

• Walsall
• Caldmore
• Stone Cross
• West Bromwich

Service 404H, DIA

• West Bromwich
• Oldbury
• Blackheath
• Cradley Heath
• Merry Hill Centre

External links

• Official site (Only for National Express West Midlands)
• Network West Midlands
• West Midlands Buses (Only for National Express West Midlands)