Xelabus will run the X4 (Eastleigh-Hedge End) and X4A (Eastleigh-Velmore) for the final time on Saturday 29th July. After that, they transfer in some form to Bluestar in the form of routes 23 to Velmore and 24 to Hedge End. Hampshire County Council seem to have some involvement, which could mean cuts to the current frequencies. Also, the choice of route numbers mean Bluestar could already have plans for new routes numbered 21 and 22 - more on that as we get it.
Go South Coast (Bluestar, More, Salisbury Reds, Southern Vectis) are dropping their The Key smartcard from 31st July, so if you still use it, plan your alternative.
With First now gone from Southampton, Bluestar increased the cost of the Southampton City zone tickets from 5th June. Dayrider rises from £3.50 to £3.80 and the Weekly ticket rises from £10 to £12. Despite the name, these tickets are not valid throughout the city, only on routes which used to compete with First - full details here.
While we're on the subject of fares, since the start of the year, the government has been subsidising most single bus fares, which are capped at £2. The scheme was initially planned to run to the end of March and was then extended to the end of June. The government have said they're extending it to the end of October, but not all of our local operators have confirmed that they will continue to participate beyond the end of June. Stagecoach are carrying on to October, but First and Go Ahead have not yet confirmed - their websites mention the scheme as ending on 30th June, so be prepared for full price singles to return.
Stagecoach changed some of their ticket prices from last Sunday 18th June. The all zones South Gold Dayrider has been reduced to £8 for an adult. Other local tickets have new prices - see the full details here.
Unibus in Bournemouth are launching a new route, the U5, in October between Lansdowne and Talbot Campus. It will run on Wednesdays only and won't accept cash - only 10 trip tickets purchased via their app, although Unibus annual tickets will also be accepted. The exact route and timetable are still to be revealed.
The New Forest Tour starts again for the summer season on 1st July, for those wanting to enjoy an open top ride through the forest.
From 23rd July, First Wessex launch route X50 between Swanage and Wool. It already runs between Wool and Weymouth, so this is a useful extension. Details of times are still to be released. From the same date there are changes to First Solent F1 between Fareham and Highlands and E1/E2 to Gosport.
30th July sees the cancellation of Stagecoach 95 between Winchester and East Stratton, and of First Solent 12 between Tipner and Fratton, both presumably without replacement. From the same date there are changes to Stagecoach 67 between Winchester and Petersfield, as well as Salisbury Reds R10 and PR15.
3rd August sees a change to Southern Vectis 7 between Newport and Alum Bay.
From 6th August, there are changes to First Solent 7 between Portsmouth and Cowplain.
From 27th August, there are changes to First Solent 2 between The Hard and Paulsgrove.
3rd September sees changes to First Solent routes 7 and 8 through Waterlooville.
I was wondering why Bluestar missed out on BS21 and BS22-hopefully new exciting routes to come,as you say.
ReplyDeleteStrange that Xelabus are keeping the X11 and X12 for now-they could have become BS21 and BS22.
ReplyDeleteDon’t forget the X21 to the Science Park!
ReplyDeleteFor your information, as we have stated, Xelabus is concentrating more on private hire, special events and rail replacement and a further new coach arrives today with more in the pipeline. The Services X11, X12, Hoppa and X21 do fit within scheduled contracts.
ReplyDeleteWe have also arranged with Bluestar for them to take over the Barton Peveril College services from September.
PHILIP BLAIR
Commercial Manager
Xelabus Limited
You've slightly misdescribed the Bournemouth University U5. It's a service that starts at the Lansdowne then picks up at Talbot Campus (or maybe the other way round) then runs to the University Sports Ground at Chapel Gate which is near to Bournemouth Airport. Its the location of the Rugby7's and also where the University holds events like the Summer Ball. It's for students to undertake sporting activities.
ReplyDeleteThey should have merged this new U5 route with the 737, essentially diverting that via Talbot Campus and Boundary Road/Redhill Avenue.
DeleteYou are right. This is basically a 737 that goes nowhere near the airport.
DeleteFair point. Btw on the topic of university routes I wonder if Southampton will ever get another Unilink route. A service from Highfield Campus to Chilworth Science Park would make sense with the University owning those facilities.
DeleteI'd like to see some kind of extension of the U6 beyond the General Hospital through Shirley to the City Centre. This would improve links to that side of the city from the University area. Perhaps it could be numbered 17 beyond the hospital and run on the existing 17 route, but branded Unilink not Bluestar.
DeleteI also sometimes wonder about resurrecting some kind of University-Portswood-Bitterne-Woolston-City route. Would again improve inter-suburb links.
Southampton Citybus had a cross suburb link in their route 4,which was made less and less frequent and removed due to poor usage,so i`d suggest forgetting it as private bus operators are only interested in serving very busy routes,as they are a business.
DeleteAre the 10, 13 and 14 "very busy" though? They're busy enough to be worthwhile running, but not busy in the same way as say the 1, 2, U1 or U2. It might be nice to see more experimentation and risk-taking, isn't that what the private sector is supposed to be all about? (I guess Unilink is run by the university and contracted out to Go Ahead, so not pure private sector I guess). How about experimenting with cross-suburb routes originating from the University to see how they go? The old 4 and 6 have been gone a while now, maybe the demand has come back.
DeleteThere is no reason to experiment, as Bluestar has a monopoly. Competition drives innovation and experiments, not monopolies
DeleteAnon at 14:01.I think you`ll find that the 10 is under contract.The 14 always seems busy and the 13 has its busy spells.
DeleteBluestar customer services today confirmed to me that they will be extending the £2 fare till October.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Bluestar, you just rolled out a worse timetable than Xelabus on service x4 (x=2).
ReplyDeleteI thought we`d be in for an improvement-alas not.
DeleteI think we need to remember that they only exist to make money, not to be a charity. The previous operator gave it up, so to still have a service of any kind, has to be a positive.
DeleteIt is such mentality that runs the country down...
DeleteAre you suggesting that we just scrap making money? No buses at all?
DeleteThey missed the opportunity to run a later service at 19:00 running to Hedge End, then do the loop around and return to Southampton as service 3A from Barleycorn.
ReplyDeleteReally bad planning!
Is there a market for either of your proposals? They obviously think not.
DeleteHow do you know? Do you live in the area? I dont think so. Please respect Hedge End residents. Thanks.
DeleteWhether I live in the area or not, I can see nothing that disrespects anyone. It was a simple question, with my opinion that they obviously don't think your suggestion is viable.
DeleteThe new 23 and 24 Bluestar timetables are a complete joke bet xelabus are laughing at Bluestar
ReplyDeleteIt's obvious the timetables are to benefit the drivers who drive the number 5 route
What do you mean?
DeleteGot me beat with that statement too Reece.
DeleteLooks to me that the 23 and 24 are designed to interwork with each other, not sure about drivers. A shame they can't run the 23 all day (like the former Xelabus route IIRC, it finishes mid-afternoon) but I guess they don't have the vehicles available to run it during the evening peak.
DeleteLast departure to Velmore on the Xelabus timetable is 15:40 wheras the new 23 is 15:30 so not much difference there
Delete"We are delighted to have agreed a contract..".I thought they said before that it`d be run commercially NOT under contract?
ReplyDeleteVery odd that Go Ahead are ditching their smartcard "The Key" at the same time as rail operators are pushing smartcards.
ReplyDeleteProbably because so few were using it, and the costs to administer it were so high.
DeleteStagecoach equally do not promote their Smart product.
DeleteOver in Bournemouth, a couple of changes I would like to see are the reinstatement of route 11 (Poole - Bearwood) with an extension to Kinson and Bournemouth via the 32 route, and a half-hourly service on route 6 between Bearwood and Wimborne to half-hourly by diverting the 6A journeys.
ReplyDeleteI messaged Transpora Bus asking if they will operate the 2 on weekends and they said watch this space.
ReplyDeleteInteresting to see some regular work, it seems, for Empress Road on Totton routes such as the 11 and 12. This working seems to be regular rather than a one-off:
ReplyDeletehttps://bustimes.org/vehicles/blus-sq-1605?date=2023-06-29
Also the 8, this one seems to be regular:
https://bustimes.org/vehicles/blus-sq-1601?date=2023-06-30
From what I've heard, BS4 is run from both Totton and Eastleigh.
DeleteI think it is only a temporary measure, until the extra work starts at Empress Road, with the additional 19s. The 4 is largely operated by Totton, with about 25% from Southampton depot, including all evening service s
DeleteWhat's the extra work at empress road
DeleteThe 4 is definitely both Totton and Southampton/Eastleigh. Looks about 50/50 to me during Mon-Fri, but completely Totton on Saturdays. The workings on the 4 are complex however, I think I'd need to look at bustimes to be sure of the Mon-Fri proportion.
DeleteReece, if you look at the post, it tells you! Significant uplift on 19s.
DeleteOh a frequency increase perhaps to every 10 minutes
DeleteShould have been every 10 mins from the start on Mon to Sat`s.
DeleteThink they did a pretty good job to provide cover from the outset. Now they can see demand, bearing in mind that 17 covers much of the route anyway, they can make the required adjustments, with the help of the former London buses, used for the IOW festival.
DeleteAre the DOEs for Bluestar then, I thought they were going elsewhere in the Go Ahead group, with new vehicles being delivered soon?
ReplyDeleteNo new vehicles until spring next year!
DeleteWe are sticking with optare versas on the 15 then
DeleteYes, until 18 plate 200 mmcs arrive from Bournemouth next spring,when they get new buses.
DeleteBluestar boast they have additional school and college contracts from September but as a driver with them we are 80 drivers short and these new contracts need 11 more drivers. So interesting to see what happens!!
ReplyDeleteAs a driver with them, you should know that your contract of employment strictly prohibits you from commenting on public forums, about their business! Another vacancy upcoming....
DeleteWill be difficult to identify the person commenting though!
DeleteWatch out - Bluestar media police have spoken! 🙁
DeleteYawn another disgruntled former employee no doubt. I have just looked through bustimes.org for 3 days at random last week and can hardly find any missing journeys at all. 80 drivers is therefore a complete utter work of fiction or you have just really bad secind hand info. I actually notice some blueline drivers working at morebus. Not sure how many but at least 5 so lending drivers out implies they are actually overstaffed. In future remember that its difficult to lie when the entire tracking data is in the public domain.
DeleteDo the morebus drivers at Lymington get Bluestar uniform if they driver the BS6?
DeleteMorebus and Bluestar liveries sometimes appear on the opposite brand routes out of Lymington.
In the same way New Forest Tour and Reds branded 1607 appears on Bluestar routes out of Totton.
No wear morebus. Bluestar run it as a franchise to morebus
DeleteNot so much of a franchise, as they are both in the same group. I also heard that Blue Star have 15 drivers helping out at Bournemouth depot. Very few services being cancelled because of driver shortage, but plenty due to traffic delays.
DeleteSomeone don't like bus drivers it seems
ReplyDeleteWhat`s the point in that new West Wight Wanderer ticket?You seem to only have unlimited travel in a limited area on Southern Vectis route 7-if i`ve read the info right.Most people would probably want to include Newport in a trip to the Island,which wouldn`t be included.£30 for a rail trip from Brockenhurst to Lymington and ferry to Yarmouth and limited area travel on Vectis 7,seems to me to be very pricey.
ReplyDeletethink it can be also used on the needles tour route
DeleteBut for only £10 you can have 24 hours to use virtually any bus across the island.
DeleteIt's about as useful as the waterside wanderer on the mainland. Nobody has ever witnessed one being sold!
ReplyDeleteThe X21 is another Xelabus route going to Go-Ahead. The following has been posted on Xelabus' website...
ReplyDelete"Due to the contract coming to a natural end, the service X21 from Southampton to the Southampton Science Park, via Airport Parkway, will be replaced by the UniLink U8 service from Monday 4th September 2023.
The last day of operation for our X21 service will be Friday 1st September 2023. The current timetable will apply until close of business on this day.
For information regarding the U8 service, please contact Unilink on 023 8059 5974.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the customers who have used this service over the past three years and best wishes for the future.
Xelabus team"
And yet another route joins the Bluestar portfolio. The Xelabus X21 will become a Unilink contract numbered U8 from the 4th September
ReplyDeletehttps://xelabus.info/updates/1046
I wonder if there will be a change of route for the new U8? Currently the X21 doesn’t serve the University of Southampton but if it does become a Unilink contract, it would make sense for it to at least serve Highfield campus.
ReplyDeleteI'd expect it to serve the University, yes. On another topic I wonder if Bluestar/Unilink city area weekly tickets will be valid on the U8 through its whole journey?
DeleteI would think so as the airport Is outside of the M27 boundary
DeleteYes all part of the plan to remove local bus services and replace with more coach operation. Another new coach on its way too. Xelabus
ReplyDeleteI am not inside the company, but it is more than likely that Bluestar 21 and 22 will be former X11 and X12 from Xelabus, while the Hoppas might be withdrawn for good.
ReplyDeleteXelabus said they are keeping the hoppa`s and X11,X12,as they fit in with their contract work.
DeleteWith SCC always pleading "no money" & the Hoppas carrying an odd two or three people most of the time that would seem a most logical suggestion.
DeleteThey also had no plans to get rid of the X21 and look what happened.
DeleteIt will be a question of time until the X11 and X12 will end with Bluestar
X11, X12 and Hoppa are fully funded and fit in between school services so easy to see why they want to keep them. X21 is a peak bus service.
DeleteOf course a more useful version of the X11/12 would run during the morning and evening peak. Would prefer to see a service which caters for commuters rather than one which "slots in" at a time vehicles are standing idle.
Delete(in addition to running daytime too - I didn't mean peak-only).
DeleteI think a more useful version particularly for the X11 is one which does not take nearly an hour to get from one end to the other when all other buses from Lordshill take 40 minutes. Best review the routes to make them shorter to make them more useful for peak hour services.
DeleteThe X11 is a service for people who live along the route not really expected people to travel from one end to the other. Roads like St James Road and Bellemoor Rd have a day time shopper service to Shirley. Its a popular service which does only cater for off peak shopping journeys. Similar with the X12 and both routes are organised by SCC not the operator.
DeleteI agree there, would Lordshill - Lordswood Estate - Hill Lane - direct to centre be a sensible route? That was always the "classic" Citybus route, if Bluestar experimented with such a route (ideally half-hourly, and running at least 0700-1900) it might get good usage.
DeleteFor X11 probably go via the hospital, Dale Road, through Upper Shirley then down Hill Lane to pick up a few more passengers rather than Hill Lane direct. Off peak could extend via Shirley for shoppers.
DeleteX12 could go up Bellemoor Road and down Dale Valley Road to the hospital as a terminus as an off peak service.
Did you miss Netley yesterday? It was a great day and so nice to see it returned. Hope it will happen each year now.
ReplyDeleteLovely place with lots of buses, cars and so many trade stands.
Daily Echo reporting that Unilnk are going to launch a U7 in September,between Highfield and Winchester during peak times.
ReplyDeleteNo the U7 will be from School of Art at Winchester and the U8 replaces in part the Xela X21 from Parkway and Highfield as separate routes.
ReplyDeleteFirst bus shutting another depot, Bridgwater, this time
ReplyDeleteAs i understand it, no routes are being lost in Bridgwater - operations being transferred to other depots (Taunton mainly).
DeleteI would like to see More and Bluestar jointly operate a new X31 route linking Bournemouth and Southampton. Running every 2 hours, it could be marketed as a budget alternative to using the train, and would only call at Bournemouth Hospital, Ringwood and Cadnam en route. It should be operated using specially branded Enviro400 buses currently used on the X3 and Bluestar 1
ReplyDeleteUnworkable I am afraid. Been done before as X27 and X2, but fills up with pass holders,which does not cover costs. Far too far between stops and huge stretches of unpopulated forest, meaning no fare paying passengers. There is a perfectly good rail and coach service between the principal points.
DeleteBluestar need to split their Shirley to City buses up on Sunday`s.Every week we have the 17,18 and 19 in convoy ,at 15 and 45 mins past the hour from Shirley.
ReplyDelete17 is 11, 26, 41, 56 mins past the hour. 18 is 01, 16, 31, 46 mins past the hour so looks like those are quite well spaced to provide a 5/10min service. It looks like the 19 is only every 30mins and it presumably timed to coordinate with shifts at the princess anne hospital ?. I assume at some point the frequency will be increased on the 19
DeleteAlready in progress and will soon be live.
DeleteThere seems to be some changes coming up on 3 September for bluestar routes according to traveling looking at more evening buses (such as weekday 17 now 20 minutes to Shirley to 9:30 (was just after 8). A later 11 (just leaving the city before 10pm) so they may have sorted out Sundays as well. So it could sort out the Sunday issue.
DeleteTraveling showing some changes to bluestar from 3 September quick look a later 11 to west totton, more evening buses on 17 and other changes too.
ReplyDeleteChanges taking place from bluestar in September include a later BS7,to Sholing on Sunday`s and an extra BS11 to West Totton at 21:55.
ReplyDelete