Knighthead strike new deal to counter major Birmingham City stadium issue
Birmingham City have made a significant step to reducing the congestion around St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park on match days by striking up a partnership with National Express West Midlands.
Blues have announced that NX West Midlands will run shuttle buses from the city centre to St Andrew’s, and back, on the remaining match days this season. The free service will provide up to 700 supporters with transport to the stadium and take cars off the roads.
The buses will operate up to every 15 minutes on a looped route between the NS5 bus stop on Smallbrook Queensway and St Andrew’s Road near to the ground.
The aptly named ‘1875’ bus will start running at 12:30pm ahead of Saturday’s fixture with Peterborough United and the last bus back into the city centre is scheduled to leave at around 6:30pm.
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With more and more matches at St Andrew’s selling out, the traffic around the stadium has increased in 2024. In some cases supporters are struggling to arrive in time for kick-off and the roads can be gridlocked for hours after the final whistle on a Saturday.
Birmingham City's chief commercial and operations officer, Jonty Castle, said: “This new initiative is part of our ongoing transport strategy to help improve the matchday experience for supporters.
"By offering a free, dedicated shuttle bus service it will make it easier for our supporters to get to the stadium, enjoy the pre-and post-match entertainment, while taking more cars off the road on matchday and help car parking around the ground.
“National Express West Midlands is a great partner and has significant experience in offering a similar service in Birmingham. We can’t wait to see the 1875 dropping off supporters at St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park!”.