tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-598231524606257637.post4276388837020249331..comments2023-09-22T10:39:48.785+01:00Comments on Southampton Bus Update: Clock ticking for FirstSotonBushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14300971557135804834noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-598231524606257637.post-34749460909734332352018-06-05T19:11:33.885+01:002018-06-05T19:11:33.885+01:00Though First's UK bus operations are one of th...Though First's UK bus operations are one of the few divisions whose finances improved - their main problems seem to be in the US and, to a lesser extent, on some UK rail franchises.<br /><br />Make of that what you will.Rickynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-598231524606257637.post-6820955795043261082018-06-03T10:22:59.369+01:002018-06-03T10:22:59.369+01:00Indeed-Major changes at First group I suspect in t...Indeed-Major changes at First group I suspect in the near future.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-598231524606257637.post-54683617873767109272018-05-31T17:10:23.579+01:002018-05-31T17:10:23.579+01:00Thursday 31 May - News websites confirm First are ...Thursday 31 May - News websites confirm First are in finiancial trouble, down from over £150 Millon profit to over £300 Million loss in a year.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-598231524606257637.post-6191702926267404872018-05-24T10:11:54.587+01:002018-05-24T10:11:54.587+01:00Carvel Lane stop just around the corner ... no big...Carvel Lane stop just around the corner ... no big deal ... obviously someone who has never been to Cowes when it is even moderately busy or relies on Google maps for their "information". The Red Jet terminal exit is cramped and full of passengers with bulky "hand" baggage standing around in a position calculated for the maximum inconvenience to other ex-passengers. Then you have to negotiate the ephemera of street cafes and their patrons. The direct route is up a steep hill, that and its alternatives are narrow, festooned with bollards and restricted visibility crossing points through which car drivers make their way, trying to avoid head-on collisions and idiotic pedestrians without a crumb of common sense or ability to read large road signs displayed in an attempt to enhance their safety. A frustrating experience and quite a challenge if you need a walking-stick to get anywhere.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-598231524606257637.post-6987779968445243782018-05-20T01:22:00.755+01:002018-05-20T01:22:00.755+01:00It may be just around the corner but you cannot se...It may be just around the corner but you cannot see it. People arriving in an unfamiliar place or who are in a hurry will generally not go looking for a bus if it is not immediately in front of them, they will just use a taxi which is.<br /><br />The Red Jet terminal must be the busiest point of entry onto the island for foot passengers and I definitely think buses need to serve it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-598231524606257637.post-5676436815733537532018-05-20T00:47:53.228+01:002018-05-20T00:47:53.228+01:00Totally agree with Anon at 21:12.Totally agree with Anon at 21:12.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-598231524606257637.post-62163959583233054542018-05-19T21:12:28.368+01:002018-05-19T21:12:28.368+01:00The Carvel Lane stop is just around the corner fro...The Carvel Lane stop is just around the corner from the Red Jet terminal so no big deal for passengers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-598231524606257637.post-34870389284567596902018-05-19T17:55:55.672+01:002018-05-19T17:55:55.672+01:00Well fortunately annon 19th May at oo13 you are no...Well fortunately annon 19th May at oo13 you are not in charge of Southern Vectis-The present system seems to work quite well,as it's been in place for many years,although during certain times they have tried other alternatives,which don't seem to work-Stick to bus spotting and not trying bus operators how to run things.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-598231524606257637.post-25937291323444556922018-05-19T14:14:18.913+01:002018-05-19T14:14:18.913+01:00How will they serve passengers getting on/off the ...How will they serve passengers getting on/off the Red Jet though?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-598231524606257637.post-27966798050613270652018-05-19T00:13:50.403+01:002018-05-19T00:13:50.403+01:00If I was in charge of Southern Vectis I would term...If I was in charge of Southern Vectis I would terminate ALL buses in Carvel lane in Cowes and run double deckers,as single deckers aren`t much use in peak season.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-598231524606257637.post-1152833348549410722018-05-09T20:14:13.699+01:002018-05-09T20:14:13.699+01:00Dear Anon at 09:49 on 7 May. We’ve got much better...Dear Anon at 09:49 on 7 May. We’ve got much better things to do than talk badly about First on a bus blog.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-598231524606257637.post-32582172914010428452018-05-09T14:17:55.902+01:002018-05-09T14:17:55.902+01:00Wasent the beeching report alledgedly done by goin...Wasent the beeching report alledgedly done by going to a station at quietest time of the dayAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-598231524606257637.post-63106242847074809232018-05-09T14:14:58.769+01:002018-05-09T14:14:58.769+01:00Free pass holders staff/enct tend to jump on first...Free pass holders staff/enct tend to jump on firstbus that comes along as they have no loyalty as they just want to get to were there going as soon as poss.im lucky to have a staff/spouse pass for 1 of the groups which under local agreements with other operators allows me free travel on gsc or fhad. If im in soton and use a bus i will be 1 to put my statement into pratice. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-598231524606257637.post-13353089971017423652018-05-09T09:05:51.499+01:002018-05-09T09:05:51.499+01:00The operation of first 3 and Bluestar 18 is quite ...The operation of first 3 and Bluestar 18 is quite similar. Both being high frequency along busy roads suffer the same problem most of the day in bunching up.Even without a traffic problem,if one or the other gets busy with passengers boarding and alighting,the following bus tends to catch up.Not a lot I suspect can be done about this.No ideal solution to this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-598231524606257637.post-48589465337677941462018-05-09T04:27:44.046+01:002018-05-09T04:27:44.046+01:00Yrs ago I recall seeing 3 number 3's turn into...Yrs ago I recall seeing 3 number 3's turn into Romsey Rd from Winchester Rd in a row, with a fourth 3 a few car lengths behind! As for the 2's...I call them Desmond's as in Tutu... often see two 2's together! Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-598231524606257637.post-36482756131171883832018-05-08T22:38:52.164+01:002018-05-08T22:38:52.164+01:00Try different spots at various times and days.Try different spots at various times and days.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-598231524606257637.post-13507101798776815152018-05-08T21:23:40.399+01:002018-05-08T21:23:40.399+01:00I have seen quite a lot of 3 buses bunching up too...I have seen quite a lot of 3 buses bunching up too,it will happen when a service runs every 7/8 mins.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-598231524606257637.post-87659821583629352972018-05-07T12:50:15.902+01:002018-05-07T12:50:15.902+01:00TBH I tend to take comments like those of the last...TBH I tend to take comments like those of the last posters with a degree of skepticism. One observation, at one spot, at one time of day is taken to be true for all the service, cold headhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15773703954322550157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-598231524606257637.post-1083328377420876062018-05-07T09:49:11.456+01:002018-05-07T09:49:11.456+01:00As a regular passenger on the 3, the above posts a...As a regular passenger on the 3, the above posts are nonsense. The 3 carries well at most times of the day, though like all routes less so in the evenings. Must be a slow day in the GSC marketing department, again! Maybe they would better employed trying to figure out how to run the 18 reliably, rather than 2 buses together every 15 minutes. The answer is simple; regulate the service like First do the 3!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-598231524606257637.post-50863448571993488712018-05-07T09:41:13.451+01:002018-05-07T09:41:13.451+01:00Please explain. How can a company be so poor that ...Please explain. How can a company be so poor that a half-hourly service is taking passengers from a service every 7-8 minutes?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-598231524606257637.post-42905345578750229422018-05-06T23:44:24.658+01:002018-05-06T23:44:24.658+01:00I think you may mean losing?
It's not just th...I think you may mean losing?<br /><br />It's not just the 17 that is taking them, it's the 7 along Lordshill Way too. Every way they turn, First look under pressure!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-598231524606257637.post-1171119810055110922018-05-05T23:19:41.375+01:002018-05-05T23:19:41.375+01:00First seem to be loosing loads of passengers on th...First seem to be loosing loads of passengers on their route 3 to Bluestar 17,from what I`ve seen lately so probably need to make even more savings.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-598231524606257637.post-30769701815745256722018-05-05T23:17:23.889+01:002018-05-05T23:17:23.889+01:00Blue Star will have plenty of buses from their new...Blue Star will have plenty of buses from their new orders later in the year, plenty of space from their recently extended yard at Eastleigh and I understand that they have a waiting list of over 30 drivers just waiting to come across from First! Plans are rumoured to be well advanced to extend their operations to the east of town. Whenever they are ready to put First to bed, they seem prepared to do so. Why would they consider paying for it or having a competition question hanging over them? As someone else said recently, why else have they let Xela and Wheelers develop?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-598231524606257637.post-70643244686226058412018-05-05T17:48:20.405+01:002018-05-05T17:48:20.405+01:00Thank you both for your kind words!
I too struggl...Thank you both for your kind words!<br /><br />I too struggle to see how Go-Ahead could find the capacity to compete with First on the Woolston corridor. Though they've found ways of coping with an ever-expanding Poole depot - such as taking over part of a nearby park and ride site for bus parking.<br /><br />Re-opening the Fawley outstation might be one option for freeing up space at Totton? Though they'd still need to increase the cleaning, fuelling and mechanical capacity of the depot for the increased allocation.<br /><br />In terms of vehicles, the upcoming arrival of MMCs for the Unilink contract could allow the displacement of the current Enviro 400s on to routes 17 and 18 - freeing up several Enviro 200 MMCs & Citaros which could be retained for use on any new services and allow the older Citaros to be sold on.<br /><br />Even with all of that, there's still the issue of finding people to drive the damn things. Given there's a national and local shortage of available drivers, this could prove very difficult!<br /><br />I've no doubt though that Bluestar could turn an impressive profit from the Woolston corridor if they were to start operating more journeys - even with extensive competition from First.Andi Northhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04707975657137062282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-598231524606257637.post-52509122985056140332018-05-05T10:16:40.552+01:002018-05-05T10:16:40.552+01:00Agreed this is a sensible analysis - I'm unsur...Agreed this is a sensible analysis - I'm unsure how Bluestar could compete in Woolston though, as I believe they are pretty much at full capacity at Totton and Eastleigh, so they would have to open a new depot. I like the suggestion about the purchase of the depot itself, which I have been thinking is a possibilty. Just the depot shouldn't be a problem?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com