The Number 17 Bus Route

I know the 17 bus route off by heart I’ve used it that much; and unfortunately, it’s not a pleasant route to know so well.
It’s one of the very very few buses that I can actually catch to town, and out of that few, it’s the most reliable (and that’s saying something, seriously!) If you need to get somewhere quickly, I honestly suggest planning your journey an hour in advance, because it’s more than likely that this bus service will unpredictably be delayed severely. I don’t think it has ever got me into town on time, and if it says ‘5mins’ on the screen, don’t build your hopes up, because it’ll probably shoot up to a 10 minute wait, and the a 20, and who knows, maybe even a 30!
The service is meant to be roughly every 8 minutes during the day, and then after 6pm, the bus turns up ever half an hour. I don’t know who decided this schedule, but if they see the amount of people that use the single decker 17 everyday, they’d have a shock. And of course, as soon as the bus is full, it’ll miss stops out, making pedestrians even angrier. But to be honest, you don’t want to be squashed on this bus, which always gets gridlocked in Small Heath and Digbeth; Then you have to wait for them to swap bus drivers just before you get into the city!
I’d avoid this bus route if you can afford to, it might be better to get a bus to Acocks Green and get the 37; there’s tonnes of those, you’ll be in the city centre before you know it!