Number 1 Bus Route

Ah the number 1 bus route… on some levels this is Birmingham at its finest — it’s a really scenic route that takes in the Cricket Ground, Canon Hill Park and the wonders of Moseley and beyond but on the other hand… well, its an absolute nightmare. I’ve lived in Moseley and Kings Heath for fairly large chunks of my life and have been visiting various hostelries there since the Stone Roses were popular the first time round and I’ve had so many number 1 related nightmares it’s hard to pin it down to one aspect, But I think its general tardiness is key.
So there are nights out cut short because it hasn’t turned up, the memorable time a bloke went mental just outside ‘Oh Velvet’ because the bus driver seemed to be having a snooze (thus making a very late bus even later), not to mention several mornings where I’ve turned up late to work and felt like a right fibber because I’ve blamed the lack of buses for my late arrival.
And then of course there’s the unpredictable nature of the route — some mornings hundreds were turn up — seemingly in all manner of shapes and sizes (everything from double decker to single decker to almost taxi sized) and the fact that at certain times of the day it carries on to the Town Hall only to swing off down Calthorpe Road at others — still it keeps you on your toes I suppose.
It is however a fairly ‘respectable’ route — and the only bus I’ve ever boarded where the smell of cigar smoke greeted me on the top deck. In recent months — and I have to say this is possibly because I no longer use it as much — it seems a bit better. They have a new fleet of buses and it almost always turns up within ten minutes or so of it’s allotted time. So yep, by all means board this if you wish to take in the MAC but make sure you give yourself plenty of time.