A SURVEY into plans to shake up to bus services in Dudley closes tomorrow.

Services between Dudley, Stourbridge, Kingswinford, Gornal and Russells Hall Hospital could change later this year if the proposals by National Express West Midlands are implemented.

Some services will be amended and others axed if the proposals are carried out.

A consultation was launched last month and closes tomorrow (August 9) and can be found here: http://bit.ly/2MOcr27

Bus chiefs say the plans will make services more reliable, increase frequency, make the network easier to understand and will provide more direct links to Russells Hall Hospital.

If the proposals are implemented on October 27, some bus passengers may lose their service or have altered travel times.

Nick Vane, Commercial Director, National Express West Midlands, said: “We’ve reviewed our bus services across West Dudley and put together a proposal that we feel will deliver an even better service for both our loyal customers and also attract new customers onto our public transport network.

“We’re hopeful that most people will either see no change to the bus they catch or an improvement with better reliability and more buses serving key locations such as Russells Hall Hospital. We’re also hoping to introduce some new links and better connectivity as a result of this consultation.”

Routes that may change include the 2 and 2A, 4, 8, 15 and 15A, 16, 17, 27 and 27A, 81, 82 and X8.

The 17 from Dudley to Stourbridge via Kingswinford and Gornal Wood could be in line for the axe and could be replaced with other services between Kingswinford, Dudley, Stourbridge and Wall Heath.

A new through service could be introduced connecting Wolverhampton, Bilston, Roseville, Wrens Nest, Dudley, Russells Hall Hospital and Merry Hill, by linking the current 2 & 2A services with the 82 route.

The number 8 service that currently connects Wrens Nest to Wollaston via Dudley, Merry Hill and Stourbridge could also be in line for a change.

The 8 would be replaced by the new 15 and 81 between Wrens Nest and Dudley and would then continue to Gornal Wood, Stickley, Wall Heath and Kingswinford.

There is no change planned for the current 8 route between Dudley, Merry Hill, Stourbridge and Wollaston, but it is proposed for the route to be extended beyond Dudley to Roseville and Wolverhampton along Birmingham New Road.

It has also been mooted that the 15 between Merry Hill, Kingswinford and Wall Heath will no longer serve Wolverhampton.