West Midlands Travel

I used to be a massive fan of the bus service offered in Birmingham, until I became too old for a bus pass and had to pay each and every time I used it.
I joined a gym on Broad Street, for £17.99 a month, a reasonable price, turning down others near by which cost £30-£35 a month. Oh, what a mistake.
Costing me practically £4 on the bus, with the price rising to £1.90 each way, the monthly cost began to cost me a lot more than I originally anticipated.
Needless to say I left that gym after a few months, with not only the ridiculous price disappointing, but also the dreadful time keeping that these bus drivers seem to have.
I understand that it may not, well it probably isn’t the their fault, but regardless, I am not a fan.

West Midlands Travel?
Don’t get me started!
What would we do without them eh?
There’s nothing like a bus to get about on, they’ve got it all; stairs, handrails central heating! In fact if you’re really hard up or a just a cheap tourist, buy a day saver and travel the to the ends of Birmingham and back… all for the price of of a posh pint!
Upstairs is quite frankly where’s it at, you’ve got it all, the honour of riding the back of the bus on those quiet days, or a front seat when’s it’s busy, sometimes you’ll bump into an old friend and it’s always a hoot gassing away about old times for the benefit of the whole top deck.

This bus service gives us Brummies quite the claim to fame. It’s so well known that it was used as the bus stops in the garden of Big Brother series 10. Go West Midlands travel!
But seriously, I’d never be able to get to different parts of Birmingham without this service. Well I could go into the city centre and get another bus out of, but I’m quite lazy and I’d prefer just to sit on one bus.
To me, the number 11 is like an ongoing soap opera. It has its ups, it has its downs, and at the end of each episode, they swap drivers. It’s great to watch a diverse collection of people who get on from different areas. From an array of drunks, to slightly quirky people, to majorly ‘quirky’ people, to chatterboxes, to strange smells, to practically empty in Bournville (because everybody here can afford to travel by car).
But it is those lovable annoyances that make the journey on the 11 route so much fun. It is a great way to see most of Birmingham if you are on a day trip, and to discover new areas of the city if you are a native.

Not strictly a business, the number 11 bus service is however, the stuff of legend (or nightmares depending on your most recent journey). Covering a 26 mile anti-​clockwise/​clockwise circumference and reputedly the longest bus route in the world, mention the words ‘number 11′ to anyone from Birmingham and they will know what you mean. They may shudder as you say it but they will definitely know what you mean. Moaning aside, it is actually a really useful bus to take — encompassing most of the major suburbs and tourist destinations in the city. Harborne, Kings Heath and Bearwood are served by it. It has inspired calendars, t-​shirts and even a 3 hour long DVD. Bands have been formed on the number 11 (Dexy’s Midnight Runners allegedly) and according to family folklore my great Uncle proposed to my great Aunty on the top deck of an 11C heading to Handsworth (via Selly Oak).
My relationship with the number 11, like I suspect many people is very much a love/​hate thing. I’ve had some truly bizarre experiences travelling to work in it which I couldn’t possibly list here but it also something of an institution and if you’re stuck for something to do, fancy sitting on a packed bus for 3 hours and seeing parts of Birmingham you never knew existed and don’t think ‘hell is other people’ then I guess there are worse things to spend your £1.90* on.
*£1.90 = actual price of a single bus ticket at time going to press.