Boxing Day bus and tram bonanza

Shoppers heading for the sales this Boxing Day will have more buses and trams to take them to the bargains than at any Christmas time since the early 1980s.

Centro, the region's transport authority, and bus operator National Express West Midlands have unveiled a comprehensive network of bus services for December 26.

Services will also start earlier in the morning than in previous years and end later at night.

The decision to increase the number of services and extend the operating hours follows talks with major retailers who are hoping for a double Boxing Day bonanza this year.

Key shopping areas such as Birmingham city centre and Merry Hill have been keen to see as many buses laid on as possible so people can easily get to the shops not just on December 26, which this year falls on a Saturday, but also on the Monday which is the official Boxing Day Bank Holiday.

National Express West Midlands will run buses on 44 key routes into Birmingham city centre with the first services of the day arriving shortly before 8am and the last leaving just after 8pm. The company, the biggest bus operator in the West Midlands, will operate a further 14 services in the Black Country and nine in Coventry.

Centro will support the Boxing Day network further by paying for extra services right across the West Midlands in those places where there are no buses being run on a commercial basis.

Centro and National Express West Midlands have also arranged to run a normal Sunday bus service on December 27 and again on Monday December 28.

Meanwhile, the Midland Metro will operate a 20 minute service between 10am and 6pm on Boxing Day and there will be a Sunday service on December 27 and on Monday December 28.

On top of the bus and tram services, Ring & Ride, the charity which provides transport for elderly and disabled people who cannot use conventional public transport, will run every day including Christmas Day when it will be available to wheelchair users who are registered with the organisation.

Trains will have a two day scheduled break on December 25 and 26 but will operate a Sunday service on December 27 and a Saturday service on Monday December 28.

Centro started paying for Boxing Day bus services on key routes seven years ago. Before that there had been no services for more than two decades.

The move proved extremely popular and passenger numbers are now so high that National Express West Midlands operates many of the routes on a commercial basis without the need for a subsidy from the public purse.

Full details of public transport services over the entire festive period including Boxing Day timetables will be available shortly.