Monday 21 October 2013

Boyatt Wood & Hiltingbury get direct links to Southampton

Wheelers have revealed the full details of their new routes launching 18th November via Traveline. Here are the details:

W2 will provide a direct link between Southampton and Hiltingbury via Central Station, Hill Lane, Bassett and Valley Park. Rather than direct competition for Bluestar 1, this restores some direct links that were lost years ago. It will only run hourly weekday daytimes between the peaks for now, but hopefully it will expand in the future. Here is the route map, timetable and stop listing:


EDIT: the W2 timetable originally published here and on Traveline was incorrect. This is the correct one:



W3 will provide a link from Eastleigh Bus Station to Boyatt Wood then via Fleming Park to Parkway Station, down Wide Lane, along Wessex Lane then through Portswood and Bevois Valley to the City Centre. Again it'll initially only be hourly between the peaks on weekdays. Here are the route maps, timetable and stop lists:


This timetable starts from 18th November 2013:



W4 is a once-per-weekday link between Winchester and Salisbury, just outside our coverage patch.

W5 will provide one journey a day between Romsey and Stockbridge, designed for people from Stockbridge and Kings Sombourne to visit Romsey for a couple of hours. Here are the route map and timetable:

 This timetable starts on 18th November:

To see a full stop listing for the W5, visit Traveline, search for the W5, open the pdf timetable and scroll to the last page. Stop listings for all bus routes not just in our region, but across the South and the Midlands can be found in the same way.

Rather than unnecessary duplication, these routes open genuinely new links, particularly between central Southampton and Boyatt Wood, Valley Park and Hiltingbury. Those three in particular are served during the same hours by Xelabus services to Eastleigh. Wheelers could be making a good gamble that people in those areas are more likely to choose the bus if it goes right into the city rather than only to Eastleigh. Time will tell whether they are successful enough to extend their operating hours. We wish them the best of luck.

In other news, First have cut the price of a Family FirstDay Hampshire to £10 for the duration of the half term holiday. It's normally £13.50 but will be at the lower price until 2nd November. To get the best value out of it, take the sprogs on the X4 for a day out with our dear neighbours in Portsmouth, who don't rub it in our faces at all that they have a gleaming tower on the waterfront and we don't.

32 comments:

  1. What good news Wheeler;s brings to the residents of Hiltingbury,Valley Park and Upper Shirley areas, as well as those in Boyatt Wood. Just enough journeys to provide a decent shoppers service over the routes covered.Let;s hope it's a success.

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  2. I wonder why the W3 is going via Wessex Lane Halls? I wonder if they know that everyone there gets free Unilink/Bluestar travel...

    Still, it might occasionally be useful for me. Good to know it's there, and best of luck to them with this and their other routes!

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  3. I echo the above. Its a pity our larger operators are not as inventive.

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  4. The major operators are no longer inventive, as they now spend all there time competing with each other over so called lucrative routes, to the detriment of the travelling public,who in many areas lose out because of this nonsense.

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    1. Well, in recent times, this seems to be First and their desperate attempts to try and find additional money making routes. Bluestar have to respond soon, as the new 2 route really looks like its making inroads to the 18, whilst Bluestars 16 is still doing little to head off Firsts 7 route. Its such a shame that First have become so desperate for revenue, as there is never anything new from them these days.

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  5. Complete respect to Wheelers here. As already stated, their routes are innovative and ambitious, unlike the routes that the network planners behind the two major bus companies in the area have in place. I think Wheelers are taking exactly the right approach. It's all too easy to simply duplicate existing routes in the hopes of snatching a few customers from another operator, and it's genuinely refreshing to see that a positive effort has been made to actually provide something of value to customers in areas which the big operators don't deem worthy of their time or resources.

    It speaks volumes when companies like First and Bluestar, who have shedloads of capital behind them, won't invest in innovation, whereas the smaller companies like Wheelers will happily give new ideas a go, even though the consequences of failure are much more severe. I'd imagine that if First or Bluestar tried one of these routes themselves and it didn't pay off, their profits would hardly feel a dent, yet the closest they come to taking risks is duplicating each others already established routes. A decent public service I think not. As I say, speaks volumes.

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  6. All Firstbus have done in Southampton over the last number of years is too have by gradual and constant timetable changes cut people off by withdrawing useful routes. Instances are Weston to Bitterne and over this route cutting off the North East Road area of Sholing, Bitterne to Portswood cutting off the direct route via Bullar Road, Portswood to Shirley via Swaythling, plus the disgraceful situation where a mainly council estate that being Harefield now has no Sunday bus service. They have decipated the Upper Shirley and Hill areas of the City which by good fortune Velvet now have to themselves thanks to a Southampton City Council contract, albeit a limited service,but the right amount of journeys for shopping, and now thanks to Wheelers will soon have a decent shoppers service the length of Hill Lane with opertunities too even shop at Asda in Chandler's Ford. The routing of the new Wheelers W2 and W3 is splendid, and they seem to care about what people want, unlike the major operators who have lost the plot, and I wish them great success at these two ventures,plus the other ventures with their new W4 and W5.

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  7. Well at least the big operators are too busy fighting each other to worry about these bold moves from the little guys. Unfortunately it's all down to dereg and privatisation. As a wise boss said to me 40 years ago, it goes round in cycles - the country will sometime realise that nationalised industries had a lot to be praised and big greedy companies are not the best way to run some industries.

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    1. Let's hope your not relying on a private pension in your tired old days as those "greedy" companies fund your pension pot!
      God help us all if buses ever end up being run by the city council again. I wouldn't trust the current lot to run a bath let alone a bus network.

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    2. By far my best pension is the old National Bus Company one (now under Standard Life) paid at age 62, followed by the former council owned Citybus one paid out at 60. Since privatisation pensions have seriously declined.

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    3. Yes since privatisation in certain industries pensions have most certainly declined, and in some industries so has the service they provide. PAC

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    4. You've somehow missed the point of the post at 07:21 on 25.10.13, doh!
      The point was private pensions gain value by playing the stock market. The pensions rely on dividends paid by plc's, to pay dividends you need profits or "greed" as described by the previous poster.
      Amazing how many pensioners berate private companies for not providing a social service (i.e. running something unprofitable because THEY want it) yet aren't prepared to sacrifice their pension to pay for it.
      As a wise old man once said 'you can have anything you want in the world but someone somewhere has to pay for it if you are not prepared to pay yourself'.
      Don't think we would all be better off back under state ownership, if businesses don't make a profit (and state owned bus companies would still be a business, just with the government as sole shareholder) then that loss would need to be made up somehow and that usually means higher taxes or not funding something else like schools, libraries, highways maintenance or social services.

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    5. I think you will find most pension funds invest mostly in bonds which are essentially loans which they receive interest on - and the biggest bond issuer is the government - not exactly a big profitable company.
      The thing about nationalised companies is they can still make profits which can be reinvested or paid to the government to pay for schools etc rather than making the rich richer !

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    6. Suggest you do some research, pension funds invest in a variety of financial products to generate a return including bonds and the stock market. Pension funds are the largest single group of investors on the stock market and wouldn't survive on investing in bonds alone.

      "The thing about nationalised companies is they can still make profits which can be reinvested or paid to the government to pay for schools etc rather than making the rich richer !"

      Hmmm, two flaws in your argument.
      Firstly businesses in public ownership don't have a good track record in being profitable. Mainly because the desire to provide a social service rather than an economical and profitable service takes over, for instance state owned industries tended to become inefficient as they always had the safety net of government to rely upon rather than make hard nosed business decisions to stay afloat in a commercial world.
      Secondly, the idea of shareholders dividends solely making the rich richer is a myth, I'm a shareholder in my employer and my previous employer but I'm not rich. The dividend I receive is the closest thing to a bonus I'll get for all my hard work throughout the year. The dividends are also paying for those pensions of private and employer pension schemes, does that mean all pensioners not relying on the state pension are "rich"? The tax payed on the profits pays for schools, hospitals, etc. No profits = less tax revenues = less money for the government to spend on healthcare, education and social services.

      I was given a set of documents from the old Southampton Corporation. In public ownership it rarely made a profit, intact in the 1970's and 1980's it usually made a loss. A considerable loss most years which was picked up by the tax payer. And the loss was made after the council had already paid for concessionary travel, etc.

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    7. Share ownership has made me better off but my wages are drastically less than under the nationalised companies and the hours on the road are longer. Workers who do own shares are worse off while a small minority are substantially richer. Southampton Corporation was certainly not efficiently run but it wasn't required to be self sufficient - that was poor political control, but the buses were very reliable.

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    8. Whoops should have read that before posting. Meant to say: Workers who do NOT own shares are worse off while a small minority, the new owners and large shareholders, are substantially richer. How many former managers have retired as millionaires ?

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    9. A few dozen managers of a previous generation have retired as millionaires being in the right place at the right time at privatisation. A similar number will be retiring with nothing having gambled and lost their investments in business that later folded or were worth substantially less than what they paid. How many managers of the current generation will be retiring as millionaires? Not many if any, the industry has moved on, the opportunities to get rich quick has gone. There are quite a number of independents out there who's owners want to sell to retire but no one wants to buy.

      Don't think it's just managers who got rich quick at privatisation, quite a number were sold to employee buyouts and there are a good number of drivers and engineers enjoying a wealthy retirement as a consequence.

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  8. Traveline is now showing on it's site the revised timetable for Firstbus service 3 in Southampton as from 24th November 2013. PAC

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  9. Amazing how short memories some people have in slating the big two operators in our city for not showing any innovation.

    Do you not remember a little over 18 months ago First introduced the X2? Extended the 8/8A into Hedge End at a higher frequency giving parts of the village a new bus link to Southampton? Introduced the X4 giving back a much called for direct link to Portsmouth? Ok so the X2 didn't work out but the other two have stood the test of time.

    As for Bluestar what about the 16? Or going further back the Solent Shuttle? New Forest Tour? Again one didn't last but through no fault of theirs for trying.

    Sorry but I'll eat my hat if all the Wheelers routes are still in their current form or even still with us in 18 months time.

    Give the big boys credit, innovation isn't solely the preserve of the little guys and innovation a little too often can be detrimental to credibility as Xelabus are finding out with their constant tinkering with routes.

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  10. Interesting the above comments. The service 8/8a extension would more and likely not exist if it were not for being financialy supported by Hampshire County Council,the x4 is basicaly an amalgimation of two previous routes,the 16 is only there to compete with Firstbus 7 and is a wasteful use of resources by Bluestar,just as the revised Firstbus service 2 is a wasteful use of resources competing with Bluestar service 18. So apart from the New Forest tour which this year expanded even further, and has been in part being supported by the New Forest and Hampshire County Council not much innovation from
    either Firstbus or Bluestar.unless Councils in many instances finance
    the operation. In either Firstbus or Bluestar established operations it must be said that major improvements have been made in the types of vehicles used over the past few years, and frequencies held or improved
    particularly on Sundays and Bank Holidays.This does not apply in all cases such as Bluestar service 6 having a reduction in frequency due to council cutbacks, which was a pity because the 30 minute service particularly in the Summer I believe was required. Going back to Wheelers, yes they are taking a chance, and more than likely will in the future have to make changes, but at least there having ago without waiting for some financial handout from the Councls. PAC

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    1. If Wheelers make a success of it what's the betting that the big operators will try to squash them !

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    2. Well by luck at present the two major operators, that being Bluestar and Firstbus, are so busy trying to squash each other, Wheelers or any other of the small operators might be lucky and avoid either of them them trying to squash Him or any one else. PAC

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  11. I think you'll find the 8/8a extension into Hedge End in April 2012 was done commercially. The council only pay for the bit at Maunsell Way and that funding is diminishing as the service becomes more commercially viable. The X4 was not an amalgamation of routes, the extension east from Fareham was entirely new providing an all day service commercially which replaced a couple of infrequent X57 journeys. The Bluestar 16 provided new links to an area previously unserved.

    Bluestar 6 carries fresh air most of the day and is predominantly used by the unremunerative concessions and Brock college students, both groups travel at vastly discounted rates.

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  12. In My experience of most bus routes nowadays most services carry in the main unremunerative concession holders and it's fortunate that they do otherwise most services would be near empty. Their seems to be in this society a complete hatred of anyone who holds a concessionary pass of any kind. The Government created this situation not the concessionary pass holder. Most pass holders would only be too happy to pay some charge levied at them. As to the X4 it might have too the east replaced infrequent X57 journeys commercially but is hardly new or innovitive and is still the basicaly the old 80 Southampton to Fareham with the Portsmouth extension slapped onto the end of it. This route if you use it has the same problem most of the day that Bluestar service 6 has in carrying mainly concession holders. As for service 16 the only thing new was reconnecting Cobden Avenue with Witts Hill and serving the whole length of Wakefield Road.
    With the recent change after a short period of operation Wakefield Road has now lost its link,although for the moment the Cobden Avenue stretch still remains. PAC

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    1. Where do you get the idea that society hates concessionary travellers?!

      I'm afraid if you cannot recognise the X4 and 16 as being in part innovative and an example of operators listening to what customers want then you have a very blinkered view. You're reasoning seems to centre on only part of the route serving something different or new, well find an example of a bus route from any operator large or small which isn't already duplicating in part what another route or operator already does? No operator can win with a view like that.

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    2. If as you say the 16 is an example of operators listning to to what their customers want, why after a short period of operation would they re-route the service between City Centre and Portswood where most passengers were quite happy with the routing it took, and additionaly remove it from Wakefield Road. It's obvious the move has been made to further put a dent in Firstbus service 7 and has very little to do with what people want. It's also quite obvious that any route entering or leaving Southampton by any operator will duplicate some other route. The fact that X4 as you have stated connects Southampton again with Portsmouth is fine with Me, although I would not travel the length of it from Southampton as the train is much more preferable, although I'm sure it benefits many people where there is no rail station close by. As to the statement about concessionary travellers you have already more or less given the impression that you don't like them, when remarking about Bluestar service 6 in the fact they and Brockenhurst College students have vastly discounted rates. Apart from the Oap's etc, I wonder what the college students would think of that statement? PAC

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    3. Stating concessions and students travel at discounted rates is a matter of fact, to suggest that means I or the operators involved must hate them is irrational drivel.
      P.s. I'm an individual not an operator.

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  13. No doubt GSC is watching Wheelers' activities with interest and will commence another bus war when 'they get too big for their boots' - small operators must realise they've no right to trade, innovate and it's just big firms like GSC and First who have the right to be here....

    Sad observation but one that the big PLCs make and indeed their behaviour points to the view.

    But at least Wheelers' routes will remain in place longer than xelabus' services. If xela was doing these services, they'd have been changed twice, withdrawn, reintroduced after 4 months, changed three times and then withdrawn, all within one year's operation.

    I shall leave you all to work out which small operator is doing it properly and professionally and which one is playing with buses and timetables.... and which operator will survive in the long term.

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  14. Yes, how fortunate for us all it's not Xelabus PAC

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  15. Yet again slating Xelabus!! You really are morons.... and this is a very unbalanced forum - I hear they won't respond any more because of the disgraceful attitude of users.

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  16. Hmmm.

    Anyone who has dealings with them knows only too well about their attitude to doing 'business'. Funny how everyone I speak to says the same thing,and frankly nearly all detest them. In time,they will have annoyed all their customers. So who is the moron ?

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  17. How can you say that when they are winning more and more business? I work for them as a driver and we had a meeting with the management who said there are plans for 5 new double deckers and 2 new single deckers next year plus an order book for all summer 2014 bookings for special events and new college contracts from September? So cant see how the company I work for has annoyed people?? You speak to the mirror obviously!!

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