Diamond Buses increases services ahead of schools reopening
A Black Country-based bus operator is to increase services next week ahead of children returning to school.
Extra services will be put on by Diamond Buses - which has its headquarters in Tividale - on eight bus lines from Tuesday, the operator has revealed.
Seven of the bus services will be available to all members of the public – meaning face masks must be worn when boarding vehicles as per Government guidances, the company says.
The lines which will have extra buses are: 002 Weoley Castle, Birmingham, to Merry Hill, Dudley; 226 from Merry Hill, Dudley, to Dudley town centre; 228 from Russells Hall, in Dudley, to Kinver, in south Staffordshire; 229 from Bilston, in Wolverhampton, to Dudley town centre; 401E from Walsall town centre to Yew Tree, Walsall; E88 from Erdington to Streetly; and 78 from Sutton Coldfield to Queslett.
Extra buses will also be put on for 35 Walsall to Lichfield but these will only be available to school children.
Timetable changes have also been announced on the following services: 4H from Walsall town centre to Hayley Green, Halesowen; 231 from Halesowen to Blackheath; 226 from Merry Hill, in Dudley, to Dudley town centre; 74A from West Bromwich town centre to Dudley town centre; and 002 from Weoley Castle, Birmingham, to Merry Hill, Dudley.
For more details visit www.diamondbuses.com.
Capacity on buses has been limited amid the pandemic.
The bus operator has asked parents to “ensure their children are familiar with Covid-19 hygiene guidelines, such as regular hand washing, use of hand sanitiser, using tissues to catch sneezes and coughs and to dispose of these safely in the bin when they get home,” a spokesman for Diamond Buses said.
The spokesman continued: “With the assistance of Government funding from many of the local authorities involved, from September 1 we will be able to provide additional vehicles on selected services, to enable social distancing to be maintained onboard busy peak time journeys.
Designated
“Some of these extra buses will be for general public use to create extra capacity for all passengers and public service social distancing guidelines will continue to be maintained on these services.
“Some buses will be designated school children only services and these will be subject to new guidelines.”
Government guidance says that children aged over 11 should wear face masks on dedicated school services, although that is not required by law.
The guidelines also says that children from the same school are permitted to sit by each other.
The spokesman for Diamond added: “We ask that children over 11 wear face coverings on this service unless exempt for health reasons.”
