Birmingham Outer Circle
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The Birmingham Outer Circle is a roughly circular, 43km 'bus route in Birmingham, England (a small section crosses into Sandwell.). It follows the route of the city's outer ring road, the A4040 with some small deviations.
Buses on the Outer Circle travel both clockwise (service 11C) and anti-clockwise (11A). Operated by National Express owned Travel West Midlands with new Wrightbus Volvo double decker buses, the number 11 is Europe's longest urban bus route and first came into existence in 1923. The route passes such landmarks as Cadbury's in Bournville, the world's largest chocolate factory.
A full circuit takes 2hrs and 20 minutes to complete, and the servcie carries 50,000 passengers each day. There are 272 bus stops. The route serves 233 schools, colleges or universities, 69 leisure and community facilities, 40 pubs, 19 retail centres and 6 hospitals. It also links some 15 commercial centres.
The route is also traversed, annually, by a cavalcade of vintage busses.
External links
- Birmingham City Council page about upgrading the route (http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/11showcase)