KEV'S BUS SITE

GENERAL HISTORY OF OPERATIONS

The recent experiments with Electric Buses on Merseyside can fall into three distinct phases, in the late 1990’s, Merseytravel Funded an experiment with ‘ECO FRIENDLY’ vehicles on new contracts the, first to start was in Birkenhead in 1998 with a circular service using small vehicles based on Milk float technology, the second which falls outside the scope of this essay was in 1999 with four vehicle powered by LPG working Park & Ride services in Southport, other Eco friendly routes have been started but with low emission diesel vehicles, The third, starting in 2002, was in St. Helens using larger vehicles of the same type as in Birkenhead, with the most recent being in Liverpool started in 2005, using hybrid diesel electric vehicles based on the OPTARE Solo bus.

BIRKENHEAD ROUTE. E1

From a shelter opposite Woodside ferry terminal building the route runs around the outside of Woodside bus station turning left onto Chester St. and up the hill, this road is of commercial property some of which is empty, with a little residential style property, the bus turns left onto a buses only road to a stop at Ivy Street before turning left then right back onto Chester St. before turning almost immediately left into Market Street, which again is commercial or light industrial in nature, left onto Hamilton Street then right into Hinson Street then right onto Argyle Street before going round the roundabout onto Conway Street, the street is commercial with newer or fully refurbished buildings, the bus turns into Birkenhead bus Station before continuing along Claughton Road past the front of the outside market on one side and a shopping parade on the other, then turning left onto Catharine Street and left onto Oliver Street and Left onto Coventry Street, this just circles a car park with the rear of shop premises on Oliver street, turning right onto Claughton Rd and almost immediately left into Hemingford Street which has the rear of the shopping parade on one side and older municipal style buildings on the other a right turn brings us onto Conway Street for the sort run to Europa Boulevard, passing Conway Park railway station, there are quite modern office buildings along this rather pleasant road, w right turn onto Price Street with it’s older commercial or light industrial property then after crossing a abandoned railway cutting a left turn into Lord Street brings us to Cleveland Street with the various council offices running onto the Georgian elegance of Hamilton Square a left turn into Hamilton Street takes us past Hamilton Sq. Station and down the hill to Woodside. The nature of this route is mainly commercial or light industrial property with little residential property along its line