This Thursday, the 24th, is the final day of First running the Bitterne Hoppa routes. Does anyone know when they started? They've certainly been running for as long as I can remember.
Good Friday is the first day of First M1 running to Marwell Zoo this year. Here's the route for those journeys that start from Southampton City Centre:
and here's the list of stops served towards Marwell:
The Bitterne Hoppa routes resume after a makeover with Xelabus on Wednesday 30th March. Details of the route changes and new timetables here. They will now only run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Next Tuesday, there are new timetables on Xelabus routes X9, X10 and X12, with the X12 being cut to run on just two days a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays).
If train operators can run a normal weekday/Saturday service,on Good Friday and Easter Monday,then why can`t the bus operators??
ReplyDeleteBecause the demand isnt there to cover the costs.
DeleteHow would they know if they have`nt tried it?There`s no difference between Good Friday and a Saturday!All the shops are open.The only difference being that all these shop staff had to pay extra for a taxi ,or get someone to give them a lift instead of catching a bus!
DeleteThe Bitterne Hoppa started on Monday 27th September 1993. It was a 30p flat fare for adults or children, 10p for Senior Citizens with bus pass. There was also a 85p transfer fare that allowed you to transfer to another city bus.
ReplyDeleteDear Customer
ReplyDeleteWE are delighted to be taking over the Bitterne Hoppa from 30th March. We will be placing bus stops along the routes for our customers to find easier to use and each route is colour coded. WE really do want to build trade back up on these important local routes and we are planning to work with Sainsbury's on offering customers some reasons to shop at their Bitterne store. The Hoppa 3 will run as timetabled for those residents who need to visit Thornhill Park Surgery and can't at present. It is all a smaller timetable but we hope that custom will build significantly to look to revert to a five day week service. It is very important to us to offer these links for those who are elderly and do not have other services close by to be able to use.
New timetables for the Southampton City, All area guide and Bishops Waltham are all available now and from next Tuesday they will be available at over 30 locations around the area and on buses.
Customer Services
Xelabus Limited
Can you say where the locations are?
DeleteIndeed,as half the time the buses don't have them on board.The timetable for Hoppa 3 is so bad,I can't see it being of any use for most visiting Thornhill Park Surgery.Most of the route is covered by other frequent services connecting to Bitterne Shops,and I'm sure it will be another dead duck.
DeleteI Wouldn't count Bluestar 3 being frequent as that is hourly.
DeleteBluestar 3 at hourly is more than adequate for the numbers carried on it
DeleteWould be better if there was a later bus on the 3 from Hedge End and Botley and that journey that only runs on School Holidays to also run on Schooldays
DeleteYes,it's a pity a journey back to Southampton in the afternoon only operates Mondays to Fridays during School Holidays,and a pity also there is no journey outward towards Boorley Green between 1545 and 1720.I'm sure at some stage if Bluestar see it to be viable they will rectify these gaps.As for later buses when they were there in the past they were very poorly patronised, and would be again if they were reintroduced,which I'm sure they won't be.
DeleteI think the bus operators should trial a Saturday Service on Good Friday one year. I have noticed that most supermarkets in England & Wales open as normal on Good Friday (although they have limited opening hours on Bank Holiday Mondays).
ReplyDeleteQuite right Sunday times are no good for getting people to work in the morning and during the day the buses cant run to time because there is more traffic on the road and to many passengers. Sunday evening services are not good for a friday night either. We are not lucky enough to have nightbuses in Southampton now but I see in Bournemouth they have even cancelled the night buses tonight when it will be busy even though they run them on all week nights the rest of the year when they must be dead.
DeleteTo be fair i went out this Good Friday evening and the pubs were dead!
DeleteThe Oxford Bus Company (which is owned by Go-Ahead) are in fact providing a Saturday service on most of their routes on Good Friday. Why are Go-Ahead able to provide a Saturday Service in Oxford but not in Southampton or across Bournemouth/Poole?
ReplyDeleteThis is because Oxford is one of the few areas of the country where competition in the bus market has worked to the benefit of passengers
ReplyDeleteIt was nice to see Bluestar using Double Deckers on all 18 Journeys today
ReplyDeleteThey could have run a Saturday service instead,then retail workers could have saved money by not having to get taxi`s to work ,or getting a partner /parent up early to give them a lift to town.If train operators can run normally/Saturday service on Good Friday,then no reason the bus companies can`t.The same lack ogf thought applies on Easter Sunday ,when all the stores are shut,yet they still run an normal Sunday service.It seems to be laziness on the bus operators part.
DeleteAnd on Boxing Day when most shops are open and having sales, it seems to be a limited service with only the most popular/competing services running.
DeleteMakes no sense
Yes,too much competetion and very little service
DeleteTo be fair Boxing Day services have improved massively in the last few years and most main routes do now have a decent level of service for most of the day.
DeleteIndeed,however not all live on main routes
DeleteFirst have announced extra journeys on the 8 will run on all major cricket events including a concert.
ReplyDeleteTimetables will be released soon
All very childish when BS17 runs 10 mins late on a Bank Holiday evening,when there are no delays ,just to run moments before first`s no.3,to try and pinch customers.Any other evening it runs on time!
ReplyDeleteAll part of being competetive,which has nothing to do with what passengers would like
DeleteMaybe they should just change the times of BS17 in the evenings on Sundays and Bank Holidays,if they just want to run directly in front of First`s no.3,instead of leaving passengers waiting around on a chilly evening.
DeleteA buddy of mine from SCC says Xelabus are for sale. Can someone from Xelabua confirm or deny this
ReplyDeleteThere is absolutely no "childish"/"competitiveness" between Bluestar and First at Driver level. If a bus runs late and happens to be slightly in front of the competition, it is a coincidence, however, if it occurs on time, it's the planners or schedulers who may or may not have done it on purpose. But it's not drivers purposely trying to steal customers.
ReplyDeleteQuite agree. The drivers just get on and do the job they were employed to do.Most of the drivers of any bus company are all friendly with each other, and most are not remotely interested in the fact that a potential customer would choose another operators bus instead of theirs
DeleteSorry this comment was meant to be in reply to anon on 29/3/16 at 14:13
DeletePerhaps they should remember where their wages come from then.
ReplyDelete