Three ‘staple’ Black Country bus services will terminate at the end of April after a review of commercial services by Diamond Bus.

The 002 (Weoley Castle to Merry Hill), 45 (Walsall to West Bromwich) and 226 (Merry Hill to Dudley) services will stop on 15th April.

Whilst a number of services run by the operator are subsidised by the Combined Authority, the three terminating routes are commercial services funded purely on the income through ticket sales and the acceptance of network cards and National Concessionary Passes. A spokesperson cor Diamond Bus said:

“Unfortunately, all our Commercial Services are loss-making in the TfWM area. 

“In January, service revisions were put in place to try and align the income and expenditure of these routes and improve their viability.      

“This alignment has subsequently failed, and Diamond Bus has now reluctantly taken the decision to cancel our 45, 002 and 226 services.  

“The long-established position was that ‘Low Fare Zone’ ticketing would be phased out and all fares would align to a consistent rate across the whole West Midlands region.

“This is now expected not to happen, which means these services will continue to money.

”We will continue to work with TfWM, as they assess options to maintain service provision in those areas affected by these withdrawals and we will keep passengers updated with further details over the coming weeks.”