Departure boards / Obelisk rat run / Sunday

All bus operators in our region will have a Sunday service on Bank Holiday Monday 2nd May.

Bluestar have introduced live departure boards on their website. From the panel on the left hand side of their front page you can select your route, direction and stop and then see something like this:

Do leave a comment and let us know your experiences of using the new system. The times are supposedly more real than those that appear on NextBuses, which covers all operators nationwide, but tends to rely more often on the timetable rather than actual bus locations:

First three will be rerouted during weekday morning rush hours from 29th May to run via Obelisk Road towards the city centre in order to avoid traffic on Portsmouth Road. Obelisk Road used to have regular bus services until First cut them before this blog started. Do you remember when they were cut?

Stand by for a new type of regular post from Sunday, which might interest our friends in Winchester, Portsmouth, Salisbury and Bournemouth!

New timetable summary

A reminder that this week just gone, we had new timetables on the following routes. Click the route number to see the new timetable:

• Xelabus X1: Eastleigh - Stoke Common
• Xelabus X2: Eastleigh - Boyatt Wood
• Xelabus X3: Eastleigh - Asda

From today, 10th April, we have new timetables on the following routes:

• First 8: Southampton - Hedge End Station
• First 13: City Centre - Harefield
• First X5: Southampton - Gosport

From next Sunday, 17th April, there's a new timetable on:

• Stagecoach 66: Romsey - Winchester

April fool!

As you may have guessed, that last story was indeed an April fool's joke!

First are staying, but hopefully Xelabus will be able to expand anyway.

Normal service resumes...

Farewell First, hello City Green!

After using the comments on this blog to publicise upcoming service changes before they appear on their own website, local bus company Xelabus will announce later today that they are to expand significantly in Southampton, by purchasing First's operations in the city.

First's Southampton network has seen considerable reductions in the last few years. Compare this map of their network back in 2009...

... with their current network:

A Xelabus spokesperson told this blog exclusively that First's core City Red network will change colour: "The successful City Red routes are the foundation from which we can build a major locally owned regional bus network. The branding will change to City Green to bring it into line with our current Village Green rural network."

From this...

...to this...

...alongside this...

The Solent Ranger X4 and X5 routes to Locks Heath, Fareham, Gosport and Portsmouth will remain with First, being operated from their Hoeford depot.

The future of First's non-City Red network hangs in the balance as Xelabus decides whether it's worth continuing to run routes like the 6 to Hamble and the 8 to Hedge End. If they do pull out, Bluestar will no doubt fill the gap in the market.

The official changeover will take place on 1st October.

First have been in our city since 1997 when they bought the former municipal Citybus from its then employees. First has already pulled out of several towns and cities over the last few years, such as Northampton, Wigan, Chester and Hereford.

More as we get it...