West Midlands bus route 31
West Midlands bus route 31 (Service 31) is a bus route in Birmingham, United Kingdom
Route 31 is a bus route linking Birmingham with Shirley, via Acocks Green
The Route
Service 31 runs between Birmingham City Centre and Shirley, serving Camp Hill, Sparkbrook, Sparkhill, Shaftmoor Lane, Acocks Green, Gospel Lane/Oak, Robin Hood Island and Stratford Road/Shirley shopping parade. National Express West Midlands are the main operator, running 15 minute services Monday to Saturday daytimes, and every 30 minutes Sunday daytimes & Evenings.
Service 31 FACES competition from service 5 and 6, between Birmingham and Shirley. It takes the longer to get to Shirley, due to it serving other places before, and running through smaller roads between Acocks Green & Robin Hood Island.
Service 31 also faces competition from service 37, between Birmingham and Acocks Green. It is timetabled to take 2 minutes longer between Birmingham and Acocks Green, although service 37 is runs through a lot of traffic usually, whereas service 31 usually goes faster in bits of the route, particularly between Sparkhill and Acocks Green.
Service 31 currently operates with a mixture of Volvo B7TL vehicles with both Wright Eclipse Gemini bodywork, and Plaxton President, as well as Volvo B10L buses with Wright Liberator bodywork. The route runs directly outside Acocks Green bus depot. Many drivers use the route to link Acocks Green Garage and Acocks Green village, along with route 11.