West Midlands Bus route 8, also known as the Birmingham Inner Circle, is a roughly circular bus route in Birmingham, England.[1] It follows the city's middle ring road with some small deviations on parts of the route. The service dates back to the days of Birmingham City Transport.
| 8 | |
|---|---|
 | |
 National Express West Midlands Scania OmniLink 1829 passes Hockley Circus | |
| Overview | |
| Operator | National Express West Midlands |
| Garage | Perry Barr |
| Vehicle | Scania OmniLink |
| Route | |
| Start | Saltley or Bordesley Green |
| Via | Birmingham Inner Ring Road |
| End | Saltley or Bordesley Green |
Present
editLike the Outer Circle service 11, buses on the 8 travel both anti-clockwise (8A) and clockwise (8C).[2] The service is operated by National Express West Midlands with Scania OmniLink single deck buses, and was formerly operated by Mercedes-Benz O405N buses, several of which were branded for the Inner Circle.[3]
In 2004, the Birmingham Repertory Theatre staged the musical "Ridin' The Number 8" by Laurie Hornsby and Euan Rose, in which a cast of 'Brummie' characters board an Inner Circle bus and reminisce about the people and places they encounter along the route.[4]
In October 2020, the 8 transferred to Perry Barr garage upon the closure of Bordesley; where the routes had been operated since 2005.
Route
edit(Anti-clockwise from Saltley Gate, Alum Rock. Opposite direction for clockwise)[1]
- Saltley Gate/ Alum Rock interchange
- Nechells
- Newtown interchange (A34)
- Hockley interchange
- Jewellery Quarter
- Five Ways interchange (Broad Street, Birmingham)
- Lee Bank
- Highgate
- Sparkbrook interchange
- Small Heath interchange
- Bordesley interchange
- Saltley Gate/ Alum Rock interchange
References
edit- ^ a b "Network West Midlands - Timetable search". jp.networkwestmidlands.com.
- ^ West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive, existence of both Birmingham circular routes 11 and 8.
- ^ National Express West Midlands, buses used on route 8 are from the Bordsley Depot
- ^ "Birmingham Rep Show Page". Archived from the original on 19 June 2004.
Further reading
editM.Hanson, D. Harvey and P. Drake The Inner Circle - Birmingham's No. 8 Bus Route. Tempus 2002.