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Service 343: Service History

Service 343 (1982–1985)

Operated by Midland Red (West) Limited

Service 343 was introduced by Midland Red (West) Limited on Saturday 20^th March 1982 under a broader revision of services in the Worcester and Malvern areas. It replaced Malvern local Service M3, which had been inherited, along with the remainder of the ‘M’-prefixed local services in the Malvern area, from the Midland Red Omnibus Company (MROC) upon formation of the company on Sunday 6^th September 1981.

Upon introduction, it was a direct replacement for Malvern local service M3 between Great Malvern and Barnards Green. Unlike its predecessor which operated a loop from Barnards Green along St. Andrews Road to Poolbrook and Brook Farm via Arosa Drive, the initial rendition of Service 343 operated direct from Barnards Green to Brook Farm via Guarlford Road and Poolbrook Road, turning at Bredon Grove.

The service operated twice daily during the off-peak on weekdays with an additional journey on Saturdays, interworked with sister Service 342 which had been introduced on the same date.

The service remained unaltered until a revision to services on Saturday 23^rd November 1985 saw the service withdrawn in favour of an amended Service 342 that also incorporated together most of the common sections of route between local Service 341 and Service 343. The facility was extended from Brook Farm to Malvern Link via Belmont and ultimately to Worcester at a much improved frequency.

Route Summary

Service 343 (1986–1989)

Operated by Midland Red (West) Limited

Service number 343 was revived after a brief hiatus on Sunday 1^st June 1986 as an off-peak variant of Service 342 that ran bi-hourly Monday to Saturday. This rendition operated from Worcester to Great Malvern via Malvern Link and Belmont and then continued to Malvern Wells. Journeys during the summer season, which ran until Saturday 25^th October 1986, ran farther by continuing to British Camp.

The summer season recommenced on Saturday 18^th April 1987 and operated until Saturday 24^th October 1987. A revision to services on Saturday 31^st October 1987 saw Service 343 curtailed to operate from Malvern Link to Malvern Wells only with a reduction in frequency along the Worcester to Malvern Link section of route. Services would commence from Worcester as either Service 344 or Service 345 and change at Great Malvern (although timetables contemporary to the period detailed the connection as early as Barnards Green), returning to Malvern Link via Belmont as Service 343. Most journeys would then become Service 342 and operate via that service’s respective route. However, certain bi-hourly journeys would remain as Service 343 and return via Belmont to Great Malvern and then continue direct via the A449 Wells Road to Malvern Wells (Upper Welland Turn) or, during the 1988 summer season from April 2 to October 22, to British Camp.

The service was again revised into its final rendition on Saturday 3^rd September 1988. Service 343 was amended to simply operate as a circular route between Malvern Link and Great Malvern via Belmont. Journeys would commence from Worcester as either Service 344 or Service 345 as before, changing at Great Malvern and continuing to Malvern Link. Return journeys terminated at Great Malvern (Graham Road) and double-backed to Malvern Link where journeys changed to Service 342 and continued to Fruitlands. The Great Malvern to Malvern Wells/British Camp section of route was transferred to Service 344.

Further revisions to services in the Malvern area occurred on Saturday 1^st April 1989 with the introduction of minibuses and a simplified network of services, as an extension to Worcester’s “Citibus” network. Service 343, along with sister Service 342 and peak-time variant Service 349 were all withdrawn and the routes combined into new Service 42. At the same time, Service 344 and Service 345 were replaced with Service 44 and Service 45, and Service 348 between Malvern and Ledbury was withdrawn and not replaced.

Route Summary

¹  Continues to British Camp during summer season.

Service 343 (1993–2004)

Operated by Midland Red West Limited

Service number 343 was reused from Saturday 10^th April 1993 for an evening variation of Service 143, running between the Alexander Hospital, Redditch Town Centre and Bromsgrove.

Service withdrawn Sunday 18^th April 2004.

Route Summary

¹  Certain journeys run direct between Redditch and Hewell Park.