West Midlands Bus route 8

8
National Express West Midlands Scania OmniLink 1829 passes Hockley Circus
Overview
OperatorNational Express West Midlands
GaragePerry Barr
VehicleScania OmniLink
Route
StartSaltley or Bordesley Green
ViaBirmingham Inner Ring Road
EndSaltley or Bordesley Green

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.

Present

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Like 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

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(Anti-clockwise from Saltley Gate, Alum Rock. Opposite direction for clockwise)[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Network West Midlands - Timetable search". jp.networkwestmidlands.com.
  2. ^ West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive, existence of both Birmingham circular routes 11 and 8.
  3. ^ National Express West Midlands, buses used on route 8 are from the Bordsley Depot
  4. ^ "Birmingham Rep Show Page". Archived from the original on 19 June 2004.

Further reading

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M.Hanson, D. Harvey and P. Drake The Inner Circle - Birmingham's No. 8 Bus Route. Tempus 2002.

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