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.