Birmingham Outer Circle
| 11 | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Overview | |
| Operator |
National Express West Midlands Social Travel (Clockwise Direction Only) |
| Garage | Acocks Green |
| Route | |
| Start | Acocks Green |
| Via | A4040 |
| End | Acocks Green |
| Length | 27 miles |
West Midlands bus route 11, also known as the Birmingham Outer Circle, is a 27-mile route that circumnavigates Birmingham via the A4040. It is operated by National Express West Midlands.It is the longest urban bus route in Europe. It operates in both clockwise and anti-clockwise directions as routes 11C and 11A.
The route is operated by National Express West Midlands. Since bus deregulation in 1986, several companies have competed on sections of this route. Falcon Travel, Serverse Travel, Birmingham Motor Traction, AM PM Travel and Joe's Travel have traversed the entire route.
Route 11 is Europe's longest urban bus route after Coventry's route 360 was withdrawn in 2016. It first came into existence as two routes in 1923: route 10 ran from King's Heath to the King's Head (Hagley Road) via Cotteridge, and route 11 from Six Ways Erdington to Acocks Green and Moseley. The route was first operated as a complete circuit on 26 April 1926, the idea being to better link the suburbs of Birmingham, as most routes at that time travelled in and out of the city
The route was operated by Birmingham City Transport until the formation of West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive (WMPTE) on 1 October 1969. In 1986, WMPTE's bus operations were taken over by West Midlands Travel who now operate as National Express West Midlands.
The route is traversed annually by a cavalcade of vintage buses. Run by the Aston Manor Road Transport Museum, the event began in 1977 and has continued each year since with the exception of 2000, in which it was cancelled due to a national fuel shortage.
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