0800 E2 replaced by E1 as of today

Hampshire County Council has rushed through a last-minute timetable change to the E1 and E2, operated by Bluestar. The 0800 departures in each direction Mon-Sats, which is currently an E2 running via Otterbourne is from today (whatever happened to notifying the public beforehand?) an E1 running via Colden Common and Twyford. The full new timetable is here.

This change will mainly affect anyone in Otterbourne who needs to get to Eastleigh in the morning rush hour. The 0800 now cancelled E2 from Winchester passed through Otterbourne at 0824 and arrived in Eastleigh at 0840, no doubt ideal for many workers:

Commuters to Winchester still have the 1, but there's no replacement to Eastleigh. So what options do those affected have? According to Traveline, they can either catch Bluestar 1 to Chandlers Ford and connect (with a 22 minute wait) to Velvet C1, giving a journey time of about 50 minutes and with no integrated ticketing other than the £7 Solent Travelcard;

OR they can get the Bluestar 1 towards Winchester and change at St Cross (also with a 22 minute wait) to the E1 that replaces the cancelled E2 journey. That gives you a journey time of an hour, but you can still use Bluestar tickets throughout:

Considering the cancelled E2 did the trip in 16 minutes, the alternatives are not going to tempt anyone out of their cars. Anyone affected should complain to Hampshire County Council, who still haven't bothered to advise of the change on their appalling website. Otterbourne is represented on the Council by Liberal Democrat Charlotte Bailey, whose e-mail address is charlotte.bailey@hants.gov.uk

With the latest cuts biting hard, many people are blaming the bus operators, particularly Bluestar (see their Facebook page). It's worth clarifying that we have two tiers of bus services in this country (excluding London and Northern Ireland). The first are commercial services, run by the bus companies for a profit. The operators choose the routes, times and fares. The second type are contracted by the local authority (in our case either Southampton City Council or Hampshire County Council) to fill a gap in the commercial network, where they deem it necessary. The council pays the bus operator a subsidy to run the service and it's the council that sets the route and times. What happens with fares on contracted services is unclear and most probably varies from contract to contract.

In other news, Stagecoach are first off the block in telling us what kind of service they'll be operating over Christmas and New Year. As we get details from all the bus companies, I'll incorporate their plans into our green 'forthcoming changes' tab on the right, so that you can see them all at a glance.

Stagecoach also have some special offers on their Dayrider Gold and Megarider Gold tickets over the festive period. See their website for full details.

46 gets new timetable already / Bitterne diversions

It's only had its current timetable for a couple of weeks, but Stagecoach 46 is getting a new one from Tuesday 3rd January. There are only a few minor timing changes. New timetable here.

There are a couple of diversions in Bitterne. First 9A is running to the 9 route due to the closure of Chessel Avenue at its junction with Peartree Avenue. The proper 9A route resumes on Friday. First 8 is diverted due to the closure of Spring Road, also at its junction with Peartree Avenue, tomorrow and Wednesday between 0930 and 1600. During those times it will run via the diversion shown here:

X7 Sunday scandal! X12 flops! 80 to end Wrights Hill snub!

Xelabus X12/X13 runs for the last time tomorrow. No mention of this on Xelabus's website, so I hope they've made an effort to let any regular customers know. The whole route is covered by Bluestar 2 so no-one will be left isolated. I take no pleasure from the fact that the prediction in my post of 18th April (that the X12 wouldn't last 6 months) has been proven correct.

Now to our top story: Wilts & Dorset X7 no longer runs on Sundays, contrary to what we previously reported. The last Sunday service between Southampton and Salisbury was the now withdrawn X71 on 16th October. When the timetable first changed, W&D misleadingly published this Sunday service timetable on their website (screengrab from 17th October):

No prizes for guessing which bit of that I added myself. The organisation of public transport in this country is truly in a sorry state when a bus operator and a state-backed public transport information portal (Traveline) can both publish timetables for a non-existent service! So, what if you need to get between Southampton and Salisbury on a Sunday? The trains still run. If you're allergic to them, your only remaining option (according to Traveline) is to take a National Express coach to Ringwood and change there to W&D X3, with a total journey time of 2 hours. If you need to get to any intermediate points (well, anywhere between Testwood and Salisbury anyway) on the X7 route on a Sunday, you can't.

First 80 will have a few route changes from 4th December. As well as the one in Locks Heath a couple of posts ago, it will be rerouted to serve Wrights Hill (instead of by-passing it on Portsmouth Road as the 72 will continue to do) and in the city centre, it will use Castle Way in both directions instead of Queensway.

Diversions in Otterbourne and Netley

The main road through Otterbourne is closed every weekday 0900 and 1630 up to and including next Monday. Bluestar 1 is diverting via the M3 between the Nuffield Hospital and Winchester during those times. An hourly shuttle bus is running from the bit of Otterbourne that will still be open to Winchester. Full details here. Route E2 also runs through Otterbourne and will also need to divert, but Bluestar have neglected to say where that's being sent instead.

This Sunday there will be diversions to First 16 in Netley due to the Remembrance Day parade.

Disappearing Xela routes / First 80 route change

Xelabus X12 and X13 are being withdrawn after the last bus on Friday 11th November. There's so far been no official announcement from Xelabus, but the cut is confirmed by the Department for Transport bus service registrations and the Traveline journey planner. The question is did Xelabus jump or were they pushed? Bluestar had registered extra journeys on the 2, which runs to the same route, at exactly the same times as the X12/X13, but have since revoked the extra journeys, presumably safe in the knowledge that Xelabus had decided to throw in the towel rather then get involved in a bus war. We could have been about to witness a scaled-down version of what happened a few years ago when Velvet tried to compete with Bluestar 2 and were met with extra buses from Bluestar, with which they could not compete.

Talking of Xelabus, the timetables for their free buses to the Asda stores in Chandlers Ford and Totton have disappeared from their website, suggesting that they no longer run. We don't tend to monitor the free routes as information is hard to find and can change very quickly, often without notice. Xelabus still run free buses to some larger Tesco branches. To see if there's one near you, check their website.

There will be changes to First 80 after all from Sunday 4th December. During Mon-Sat daytimes, one of the two buses an hour is renumbered 80A and will take a slightly different route between Locks Heath and Titchfield. The 80 will continue to serve Abshot Road and Warsash road, while the 80A will run direct via Hunts Pond Road, as rather crudely shown here:

Times are unchanged.

Overview of all changes this weekend

This weekend is the last of three weekends in which there are major changes to our region's bus services. Here's a full list of what's happening this weekend:

Stagecoach 32/33 Romsey circular

From Monday, services will start later and finish earlier than before (operating approx. 0930-1630, previously 0835-1720). Reduced from 3 to 2 buses an hour, but sections of route stay with 3 buses an hour due to integrated timetable with route 66. New timetable.

Stagecoach 46 General Hospital-Winchester

From Monday, the route cut back to only run between General Hospital and Winchester. Saturday service completely withdrawn. Weekday service towards Winchester cut from 7 to 5 journeys a day, with some timings changed by an hour. Service towards General Hospital is less changed. Chilworth Village and Nursling cut off from public transport completely. New timetable.

Stagecoach 66 Romsey-Winchester

From Monday there are minor timing changes. The late evening journeys on Friday and Saturday evenings are withdrawn without replacement. New timetable.

Stagecoach 69 Winchester-Fareham

No buses this Sunday as the Sunday service is withdrawn, making Bishops Waltham a bus-free zone on Sundays and cutting Marwell Zoo off from public transport entirely. From Monday there are some timing changes Mon-Sats. New timetable.

There are big changes also to Winchester's local routes, including heavy cuts to evening services. Winchester's just outside our patch, so I won't go in to details, but if you want to find out more click here.

There has been some interesting feedback on Bluestar and W&D's Facebook pages regarding other recent changes. Here's a selection:

First cut is the deepest: December change details

First have already revealed the new timetables of those routes that are changing in December. My earlier assumption that it may have been extra xmas shoppers' services was wrong. Here's what's really happening as of Sunday 4th December:

1 City Centre-Weston

The last bus of the day from town at 2317 Mon-Sats currently extends to Hamble. It will continue to do this on Fridays and Saturdays only. Sunday to Thursday it will terminate at Weston.

3 City Centre-Townhill Park

Some weekday early morning journeys are retimed.

4 City Centre-Totton

Extended to Totton College on Mon-Sats. Most times are changed. Sundays unaffected.

5 City Centre-Lordshill North

Major cuts. The 5 will only continue to run between the city centre and Aldermoor (Woodman). The weekday daytime off-peak frequency is being cut from half-hourly to hourly. To make it worse, the first bus of the day will be later and the last bus earlier than they currently are. Bakers Drove will now be unserved by First. A couple of morning 21s that currently start from Lordshill will start back from Buchanan Road, but this is still a huge net reduction in buses serving Lordshill North - weekday daytime frequency is down from 3 to 1 bus an hour.

7 City Centre-Bassett Green

The Saturday daytime frequency is being cut from every 20 to every 30 minutes.

11 City Centre-Sholing

The weekday daytime frequency is cut from every 10 to every 12 mins. The Saturday daytime frequency is slashed from every 12 to every 15 mins.

16 Southampton-Hamble

Some evening services are cut. The last bus from town Mon-Wed will be at 2032. The buses at 2132 and 2232 will only run Thurs-Sat and the extended 1 at 2317 will only run through to Hamble on Fridays and Saturdays. The Sunday evening service is slashed, with the last bus leaving town at 1930.

21 RSH Hospital-Lordshill North

With the partial chopping of the 5, Lordshill North is at the mercy of the 21, so those morning journeys that don't currently start from Lordshill North, will do in future. This is a huge drop in overall service to Lordshill North, not helped by the fact that the 21 takes 53 minutes to get to town, compared with just 36 mins on the 5.

No new timetable has been published for the 80, so there might not be any significant changes to that route. We'll keep an eye out anyway.

Overview of all changes this weekend

One weekend of big changes is out of the way, two are still to go. Here is a comprehensive list of all changes to our region's bus services that take effect this weekend:

Bluestar E1/E2 Eastleigh-Winchester

New timetable from Monday with drastic cuts. The combined Mon-Sat daytime frequency is halved to hourly. The E1 will now also run via Stanmore and County Hospital. Some additional journeys will be provided between Eastleigh and Boyatt Wood providing a half-hourly service on that section of route at limited times only (towards Eastleigh in the morning and from Eastleigh in the early afternoon). The Sunday Velvet E2 service has already been withdrawn and the evening Velvet E8 only now runs on Thursday to Saturday evenings.

Bluestar E3 Eastleigh-Winchester

Withdrawn after the last bus on Saturday. Badger Farm loses its direct link to Eastleigh.

Bluestar F Eastleigh-Bishops Waltham

Withdrawn after the last bus on Saturday with no replacement. Most of the route is duplicated by other services. Stoke Common will be cut off from public transport.

Bluestar H1/H2 Hythe circular

New timetable from Monday. These already infrequent services will start later and end earlier than they currently do. The Saturday service is completely withdrawn.

Bluestar H3 Hythe-Calshot

New timetable from Monday. Heather Road in Blackfield is being cut off. The weekday service will be reduced and the Saturday service will be cut entirely.

Bluestar P1 City Centre-Glen Eyre

New service from Monday, partially replacing the withdrawn 14. The first journey from town will be an hour later than it currently is on the 14. Journeys to town are unchanged apart from the fact that they no longer serve Bitterne, Chartwell Green, Mansbridge or Swaythling. Timetable

W&D X1/X2 Lymington-Bournemouth

New timetable from Sunday with minor changes.

W&D X7 Southampton-Salisbury

New timetable from Sunday with some early morning and evening services cut. The Sunday X71 is replaced by the X7 running to the same route as during the week, isolating Cadnam.

Bluestar 1 Southampton-Winchester

New timetable from Sunday with only minor changes.

Bluestar 5 Eastleigh-Romsey

New service from Monday replacing W&D 65 and 34. One early morning and one evening journey are cut. Timetable

Bluestar 6 Southampton-Lymington

New timetable from Sunday. This route will still run every half an hour (Mon-Sat daytimes) between the city centre and Rushington (Cocklydown Lane) only. One bus an hour will continue beyond there to Lymington. The two-hourly Sunday service is unchanged.

Bluestar 8 Southampton-Hythe

New timetable from Sunday with the total loss of Sunday services, leaving Marchwood without Sunday buses for the first time in decades. Route change in Hythe, with some journeys running in a loop from Applemore via Hythe town centre and the hospital instead of serving the hospital twice per return journey.

Bluestar 9 Southampton-Waterside

New timetable from Sunday. Evening services will no longer serve Marchwood, instead running direct via the by-pass. Heather Road in Blackfield is cut off, with its former services going to Langley instead. Curiously, the N9 night bus on Friday and Saturday nights will still serve Marchwood.

Bluestar 10/11 Southampton-Cadnam

New timetable from Monday. The half-hourly frequency is maintained between the city centre and West Totton. One bus an hour will then continue to Cadnam, via either the 10 or 11 route, meaning each section of this part of the route will only have a 2-hour frequency.

Bluestar 12 Southampton-Calmore

New timetable with cuts to some Sunday evening services.

Bluestar 14 City Centre-Bitterne

This service is withdrawn after the last bus on Saturday. Its replacement, the P1, starts on Monday running between the city centre and Glen Eyre only.

Bluestar 18 Millbrook-Hightown

New timetable from Sunday & route change in the city centre, serving New Road instead of Kingsway towards Millbrook. The headline 7/8 minute frequency will now start half an hour earlier, meaning more morning rush hour buses.

W&D 30 Romsey-Halterworth

Withdrawn after the last bus on Saturday. It is replaced by a revised route 35, which has a new timetable from Monday.

W&D 34 Romsey-Salisbury

New timetable from Monday. Service significantly reduced. This Saturday is the last time the 34 extends to Eastleigh on Saturdays, that section being replaced by Bluestar 5.

W&D 35 Romsey-Braishfield

New timetable from Monday. Route change to partially replace the axed route 30.

W&D 36 Romsey-Lockerley

New timetable from Monday. No longer runs through to Salisbury. The non-schools journeys that aren't being withdrawn will only run on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

W&D 65 Eastleigh-Romsey

Withdrawn after the last bus on Friday. The 34 will provide its last buses between Romsey and Eastleigh on Saturday. From Monday, both are replaced by Bluestar 5.

W&D 112 Hythe-Lymington

New timetable from Monday. Non-schools journeys will only run on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Most journeys will only run between Lymington and Beaulieu, with only one return journey to Hythe on the days of operation. It is no longer possible to use the bus from Hythe to visit the National Motor Museum.

W&D 118 Lymington-Ringwood

New timetable from Wednesday. Remains at one journey a week in each direction. The journey from Lymington now departs Wednesdays at 0953. Rerouted to run via Sopley and the Avon Valley instead of Burley.

W&D 119 Lymington-New Milton

New timetable from Monday. The frequency is cut from half-hourly to hourly, but the route is extended beyond Pennington to New Milton.

There are more changes next weekend too. We'll publish a detailed summary of them next Thursday.