First changes: Focus on Harefield & Peartree

Each day, we're looking at an area of the city that will be affected by First's route and timetable changes from 30th June. Today, we look at the current 2A route between Hightown and the City Centre.

As the above map shows, the 2A is the only route serving Harefield. First 3 currently extends there in the evenings, but that extension is being cut. From 30th June, the 2A on this side of the city becomes the 13. It will run as far as Central Station instead of all the way to Lordshill. It will also be rerouted to serve Ocean Village rather than Central Bridge - the red box on this doctored route map:

Here's a summary of how the times are changing:

*F = runs as far as Fairfax Court. *H = runs as far as Harefield only. Last bus times are for the last bus through to Hightown (earlier) and the last to Harefield (later).

No more evening buses to Thornhill on this route. Also cut is the Sunday service - completely. This will leave Harefield cut off on Sundays, unless people are able to walk down to Thornhill Park Road for Bluestar 3 or Velvet A or to Townhill Way for the 8/8A. Brijan 7, which runs along West End Road, doesn't run on Sundays either.

Between Bitterne and Woolston, the 13 will run as per the current 2A via Peartree:

The lack of Sunday buses on First 13 will be a gift to Bluestar 3, which will become Peartree's only 7-days-a-week bus service.

See the full timetable for the new 13 here.

Next up: Shirley Warren

First changes: Focus on Townhill Park & Merry Oak

On 30th June there are many changes to First's routes in Southampton. Today we look at the current 2 in the east of the city.

It provides the main link between Townhill Park and Bitterne...

...continuing via Merry Oak to Woolston and then over Itchen Bridge to town...

... and beyond to Central Station, Shirley, Millbrook and Lordshill.

From 30th June, the 2 on this side of the city becomes the 12, providing a through link to the General Hospital:

The above map that I've doctored isn't entirely accurate as the 12 will be running via Ocean Village rather then Central Bridge.

Here's how the timetable is changing between town and Townhill Park:

The main difference is that Sunday evening buses are cut from this route. This mainly affects Merry Oak as the rest of the route has alternative routes that do still run on Sunday evenings.

See the full new 12 timetable here.

Next up: Harefield and Peartree.

First changes: Focus on Millbrook / Night bus changes tomorrow

Bluestar's night buses have new timetables from tomorrow night and a new route through the City Centre.

Back to our series on First's changes starting 30th June. Today, Millbrook.

Here, First have been competing against Bluestar 18 for several years using a variety of strategies. The latest, since April 2012, has been the X2 providing a direct link to the City Centre, by-passing Shirley. That is now being withdrawn.

First's traditional route through the area is currently the 2/2A, which runs to town via Shirley and continues beyond Millbrook to Lordshill. The 2A will continue, renumbered as the 12:

The 2 however is getting an entirely new route. That of Bluestar 18, on this side of the city at least:

Bluestar 18 currently runs every 7/8 minutes Mon-Sat daytimes and continues beyond town to Bitterne and Thornhill. First 2 on exactly the same route between Millbrook and town, will run every 6 minutes.

Here the summary of how First's service levels between town and Millbrook are changing:

Millbrook is also served by First 10 on its section between Totton and the General Hospital. It's being cut on Saturdays. The 12 will provide an alternative to the General. Passengers wanting to get to Totton on Saturdays will have to use Bluestar and change at Central Station.

One way people in Millbrook will decide between the two companies is on fares. Here is Bluestar's offering for the Southampton City zone:

The second and third lines show the discounts if you use The Key smartcard or buy using Bluestar's mobile app.

First's comparable tickets for their Southampton zone are £17 a week, £56 a month, £140 for 3 months and £430 for a year. But they also offer a FirstWeek Millbrook ticket at £8.50, valid on routes between the city centre and Shirley and/or Millbrook only. (Part of their website advertises this ticket as being just £8 - click on "Tickets" and then "Millbrook" on the left - First really need to maintain their website better). If you're after a ticket valid for more than 3 months or want to travel to other parts of the city too, then Bluestar have the edge on value.

But where First could potentially win in Millbrook is on reliability. Bluestar 18 is often affected by heavy traffic on the other side of the city, but First 2 will only run between town and Millbrook meaning that, in theory at least, it should be less prone to traffic delays.

Here are your links for the new First timetables from 30th June: 2, 10, 12.

Next up: Townhill Park and Merry Oak

First changes: Focus on Aldermoor Road / 300 & W1 timetables

Stop press: Here's a preview of the timetable for Velvet 300 to Ringwood from 22nd July:

Another preview: Wheelers W1 to Romsey from 1st July:

Not the most direct route. Here's the full stop listing:

Traveline's map shows how indirect the route is at the Romsey end:

Back to our series on First's upcoming changes now.

First are changing many routes on 30th June. We're focusing on a different area each day to see how it will be affected. Today we look at the current 2A route from Lordshill to town, via Aldermoor Road, General Hospital and Millbrook.

On this side of the city, it will be renumbered 12. It will still run through to the East of the city, but there it will run to the current 2 route to Townhill Park. Here's how new 12 will look:

Here's the summary of how the timetable is changing between Lordshill and town:

Thank goodness we see an end to the current situation where there are evening buses on the 2A which run to the 2 route, i.e. not via Aldermoor Road. The 12 will run via General Hospital and Aldermoor Road every evening. Great for anyone in Millbrook who works at or needs to visit someone at the General.

See the full new timetable for the 12 here and details of all changes to First routes from 30th June here.

Next up: Millbrook

First changes: Focus on Adanac Park

Adanac Park, home to the Ordnance Survey, is currently served by First 1/1A. Roughly half of buses on these routes continue beyond Lordshill to Adanac Park.

From 30th June, the 1A will no longer exist and all buses on this route will be numbered 1. They will also only run as far as the city centre. If you want to continue to Weston, you'll need to change to the new 11. The 1's route will however remain unchanged on this side of the city.

The timetable will however change. Full details here. Here's a quick summary:

The main effect for commuters is that the last bus from Adanac Park on weekdays will leave 25 minutes earlier than it currently does.

Next up: Aldermoor Road

First changes: Focus on Maybush & Coxford

The main route from Lordshill to town via Maybush and Coxford is currently First 1/1A. From 30th June, the 1A will disappear and all buses on this route will be numbered 1. Here's how it and the other routes currently run in this part of the city:

Of the other routes that pass through, First 2 will no longer run through Coxford, leaving Rownhams Road unserved, instead becoming a duplicate of Bluestar 18 between town and Millbrook. The 2A on this side of the city will be renumbered 12. Back to the main route though, First 1.

It's route isn't changing here, but its times are. Here's how:

Frequencies stay the same, but the first bus to town will be later on most days and the last bus from town will be earlier every day, will still no evening service. An evening service will be provided on new First 12 via Millbrook and of course on Bluestar 4 direct via Shirley.

Follow these links for the new timetables from 30th June:
First 1
First 12

Next up: Adanac Park.

First changes: Focus on Weston

With so many changes coming up (again) to First's routes in Southampton, let's look at each corridor in turn and analyse what is changing. First up: Weston. It's currently served by routes 1 and 1A:

Both currently run beyond the city centre to Central Station, Shirley and Lordshill. That link is being cut. From 30th June, Weston will be served by route 11, which will only run as far as town. There are improvements for Weston though: more buses on Mon-Sat evenings and a doubling of the frequency on Sunday daytimes, great for anyone who works, shops or wants to go for a day out on a Sunday. The last bus back from town will also be later than now every day of the week. It will also be rerouted to serve Ocean Village (as per route 4 on the map above) rather than Central Bridge. First ought to be shouting from the rooftops about this improvement. Here's the summary:

Jurds Lake Way loses its direct buses to town. All 11s will run via Weston Grove Road as per the current 1. But in place of the old 1A, Jurds Lake Way gets a new shuttle route, the R1, which will run every 20 minutes Mon-Sat daytimes (off-peak only) between Woolston and the end of Weston Lane. Jurds Lake Way has never seen a more frequent service (since the axing of the 17A at least), but you'll need to change to get any further than Woolston and it still won't run in the rush hours, in the evenings or on Sundays. The period from April to December 2012 when Jurds Lake Way was left with no bus service will have pushed many people to rely on the car or move away. The limited hours (just as limited as now) will surely limit the appeal of this service. I predict it will last no longer than 6 months.

Follow these links for the new timetables on the 11 and R1.

Next up... Maybush.

Don't forget, today sees new timetables on Bluestar 8 and 9.

First publish new timetables

You can find them here.

We'll analyse them before they come into effect on 30th June. Major changes that haven't been previously mentioned are as follows:

Lordshill North left with no bus service apart from Stagecoach 46.

8A withdrawn between town and General Hospital and replaced by a rerouted 10 which will run on weekdays only.