Wirral Bus Changes: Two Routes Withdrawn, Most Renumbered

Two Wirral bus services are being withdrawn when the borough’s network passes into public control on Sunday 25 October. The 216/217 Birkenhead Circular and the 423, which runs Birkenhead to Upton, Town Meadow and Seacombe, both disappear from the network.

Neither withdrawal is mentioned in the Combined Authority’s announcement of the changes, which lists improvements only (Next stop Wirral, Merseytravel, 14 September). Both are in the network listing Merseytravel published alongside it, a route-by-route table of what happens to all 36 Wirral services (Wirral network listing from 25 October 2026, Merseytravel).

The listing says what replaces them. The 216/217 is “replaced with additional 418 or 491 journeys”. The 423 is “replaced by 413 journeys and 407 around Town Meadow”.

Same number,something else changes 6 services: the 407, 413, 414, 471, 472 and 492 with 495

No change 12 services, including the 437 to West Kirby and the 432 and 433 to Liverpool

Brand new The 408 Liscard to Seacombe circular and the 483 and 484 Arrowe Park orbital

Withdrawn The 216 and 217 Birkenhead Circular, and the 423 to Town Meadow and Seacombe Source: Merseytravel, Wirral Bus Network Listing from 25 October 2026. Graphic by Wirral Online

Your bus probably has a new number

Fourteen Wirral services are renumbered. The pattern is that a 4 goes on the front, so the 17 becomes the 417 and the 82 becomes the 482.

The 653 is the odd one out. It is a school service, and the listing says the 453 will run “throughout the day with schooltime variations”. It also says the 653 will continue until July 2027, so both numbers are live for a while.

Not everything starts with a 4

The Combined Authority’s announcement says that “all new and existing Wirral routes will now start with the number 4”. Merseytravel’s own listing shows three that do not:

• the 1 and X1, Chester to Liverpool city centre, run by Stagecoach
• the 22, Chester to West Kirby
• the 811, Moreton to Broughton, peak journeys only

The first two are the ones to understand. Both are recorded in the listing as Permit, not Franchise. They are not passing into public control on 25 October, and the listing marks both “no change”.

What actually gets better, and what gets worse

The listing records the detail behind the announcement.

More buses:

• 417: evening and Sunday journeys introduced, hourly, on a route that currently has neither
• 413 (Birkenhead to Upton and Seacombe): evening and Sunday journeys introduced, every 30 minutes across the day
• 480 (West Kirby to Newton circular): frequency increased to hourly
• 482 (Heswall to West Kirby): hourly, and the route extended
• 492/495 (Birkenhead, Beechwood and Noctorum circulars): evening and Sunday frequency increased to hourly
• 405/406: route simplified, frequency increased to hourly, and it will serve Victoria Parade. The Combined Authority’s announcement describes this as Victoria Road; the listing says Victoria Parade
• 471/472 (Heswall to Liverpool): additional Sunday morning journeys

Fewer buses, or a shorter route:

• 407: no longer runs through to West Kirby or Cook Street. It terminates at Town Meadow. Evening and Sunday journeys are introduced in exchange
• 471 and 472: off-peak journeys no longer run to Cook Street
• 216/217 and 423: withdrawn

New services:

• 408: a Liscard to Seacombe circular, hourly Monday to Saturday daytime, with no Sunday or evening service
• 483/484: an Arrowe Park to West Kirby orbital, hourly, and the only one of the three new entries that runs on Sundays and in the evening

The 483 and 484 are the route the announcement describes as a new circular linking Arrowe Park Hospital with West Kirby, Meols, Hoylake, Moreton, Saughall Massie and Upton.

Who will be driving

Almost every franchised Wirral route passes to a single operator. The listing gives the new franchise operator for each service as GNW, replacing Arriva, Stagecoach and A2B.

That is Go North West, which was selected in January to run the Wirral network. The company said the contract covers over 40 routes, a fleet of 117 buses and 500 colleagues transferring across from existing operators (Go North West selected to operate Wirral bus franchise, 26 January 2026).

One date to watch. Go North West’s own January announcement gives the start as 26 October. Merseytravel’s September pages say services begin on Sunday 25 October. Use the 25th, which is both the more recent statement and the date printed on every new timetable.

Two caveats worth knowing before you plan around this

The network listing is headed “Wirral Bus Network Listing from 25th October 2025”. That is a typo in the document. Every other Merseytravel page, and the announcement, give the date as 2026.

More usefully, the listing carries its own health warning at the foot: “This list is correct at 04/05/26”, and notes that all services may be subject to minor timetable changes. It is a May document published in September. The individual timetables, which are dated 25 October 2026, are on Merseytravel’s new timetables page, and those are the ones to check for your own stop.

School services are separate. The listing says there will be no changes to services to schools until 3 January 2027 or 1 September 2027.

What it means for you

• Sunday 25 October is the day. Nothing changes before then.
• If you use the 216, 217 or 423, your bus is going. Check the 418, 491, 413 and 407 before that Sunday, not after it.
• If you use the 407 to West Kirby or Cook Street, it will not take you there. It stops at Town Meadow. The 438 and the new 483 and 484 cover the rest of the way to West Kirby.
• If you catch the 471 or 472 off-peak to Cook Street, that stops too.
• Check your route number. Fourteen of them change, and the bus stop flag will be the first place you see it.
• The 1, X1 and 22 are unaffected. They stay as they are, and stay outside the franchise.
• Concessionary passes, stops and ticketing are not covered by the listing. Merseytravel has a separate tickets and prices page for the fares side.

If you are planning a journey into Liverpool in the meantime, our Wirral train times page has the Merseyrail alternative, and the Wirral roadworks and travel page covers the tunnel closures running through late September.

Common questions

When do Wirral bus routes change?

Sunday 25 October 2026, the day the Wirral network passes into public control. Merseytravel’s new timetables all carry that date.

Which Wirral bus services are being withdrawn?

Two. The 216/217 Birkenhead Circular and the 423, which runs Birkenhead to Upton, Town Meadow and Seacombe. The network listing says the 216/217 is replaced with extra 418 or 491 journeys, and the 423 with 413 journeys and the 407 around Town Meadow.

Why is my bus number changing?

To remove duplicate numbers across the Liverpool City Region. Wirral routes are being given numbers in the 400s, so the 17 becomes the 417 and the 106 and 107 become the 405 and 406.

Who will run Wirral buses?

Go North West, under contract to the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. The network listing gives it as the franchise operator on every franchised Wirral route, replacing Arriva, Stagecoach and A2B.

Are any Wirral routes staying the same?

Twelve are recorded as no change in the listing, including the 437 to West Kirby, the 432 and 433 to Liverpool, the 410, 411, 418, 464 and 487. The 1, X1 and 22 keep their numbers and stay outside the franchise.