We have some timetable and route changes happening from this Sunday:
- First 2: Only minor timing changes. New timetable here.
- First 7: Minor timing changes. New earlier first journeys into town departing from Townhill Park at 0452 weekdays and 0647 Sundays. New timetable here.
- First 10: Withdrawn. This route will run for the last time on Friday 3rd January. It is partially replaced by changes to Velvet S1.
- First 11: Mon-Sat daytime frequency increased to every 7/8 mins. The last bus from town on Sundays will be at 2245 (currently 2340). New earlier first journey from Weston at 0536 on Saturdays (currently 0615). New timetable here.
- First 12: Route amended to serve Peartree Mon-Sats and Merry Oak only on Sundays. New earlier first weekday journey from Lordshill at 0456. Last Mon-Sat journey from town to Townhill Park will be at 2010 (currently 2301). Last Mon-Sat journey from town to Lordshill will be at 2259 (currently 2320). New timetable here.
- First 13: Now serves Merry Oak instead of Peartree. No longer serves Thornhill. Rerouted to run via Thornhill Park Road instead of West End Road. Will serve the South side of Central Station instead of the North side. Still no Sunday service. New timetable here.
- Velvet S1: New route to partially replace First 10 and to serve Lordshill North. Extended timetable to cover rush hours. Peak journeys serve Central Station instead of Polygon and skip Shirley. RSH Hospital will no longer be served. New timetable and route maps here.
- Salisbury Reds X7: Rerouted in Salisbury due to closure of the bus station. Now uses stop D on Endless Street. New timetable here.
- Salisbury Reds 34: Rerouted in Salisbury due to closure of the bus station. Now uses one of the stops on Endless Street. Timetable remains the same.
All of the new timetables can also be found on Traveline.
There's also a fare rise on First, mainly affecting Fareham and Portsmouth, but for us it does mean that the FirstDay Hampshire rises by 20p to £5.90.
Plus from Monday next week, First three is diverted in Sholing and Stagecoach 69 is diverted between Fair Oak and Winchester, both due to water works. Brijan 8 will also not be serving Colden Common or Allbrook for the duration of the works (until the end of February) and will instead run direct between Eastleigh and Fair Oak. Bluestar E1 will be Colden Common's only bus route to be unaffected by the road works.
It would also appear that Firstbus service 13 and 12 when operating via Merryoak have a slight route change on all jorneys in the Bishops Road area,in that they no longer serve Knighton Road. I have seen no mention of this in their publicity about the changes that start on 4th January 2014. I note also the new timetable book is over 20 pages less than the last one,with amongst other things missing are index to service destinations,city centre map of stops,lack of any fare information. I also wish that both Firstbus and Bluestar could get the correct name shown fot the terminus at Townhill Park in it being Pinefield Road and not Pinefield Drive.(correct on the 7 wrong on 12 and 16).
ReplyDeleteI think your description of the new service Firstbus13 above is in error. PAC
ReplyDeleteTo SouthamptonBusUpdate: Please could you remove on service 13 - "Rerouted via Thornhill Park Road instead of Townhill Way" and replace by Now starts from Harefield and rerouted via Bitterne Road East. PAC
DeleteWhat a mess the maps for Southampton Firstbus 12 and 13 new timetables are, as shown on Traveline. I don't know what anyone who views the Itchen area would make of the 12, and the 13 is even worse. PAC
ReplyDeleteCan see a lot of passenger confusion ,over the changes to the 12 and 13,in the Peartree and Merry oak area!!
ReplyDeleteSomewhat surprised that no operator has taken up the Totton - Shirley - General Hosp section of the 10 route ! Wheelers where are you ! I guess it won't go to tender cos the council has no cash to pay for it.
ReplyDeleteOr it could be the case that Shirley to hospital is covered enough, and city council do not want to fund a route which starts outside of their area
DeleteWell today Firstbus service 10 has made its last journey. I wonder in Southampton as 2014 progresses which route will be the next casualty? PAC
DeleteTo PAC - why are you so anti First, it's quite remarkable. Some more positive comments from PAC in regard to all operators would be make this blog far more interesting.
DeleteMy money is on the 5. From experience more people catch the 9 in Sholing to go to City and between City and Swaythling the Bluestar 2 seems to be a lot more successful
DeleteTo Anonymous 4th January 2014 13:58
DeleteI don't know why you think I'm anti-First. My comment about which service will go next in 2014 is a general comment about any operator within Southampton.Also if you look back at past blogs I have made comments on, you will find positive comments on some subjects, whoever the operator might have been. If I feel that any operator is not up to scratch I make a comment that is my own view, to which I would not expect all to agree with, and likewise if I think they have done something positive I will also make a comment,to which again I would not expect all to agree with.You will also note that in the case of the now withdrawn Firstbus route 10,if you look back over the past few weeks I have made no comment on, whereas others I note have, which they are entitled too. I'm sad to see it go,but as all operators now have to make a profit or go out of business,and clearly the 10 was in poor shape First have had to withdraw it. I don't know how many changes will be made in Southampton in 2014, but I'm sure there will be by most of the operators at some stage. With lack of funds available from councils up and down the country, I can see a Beeching style axe in most places throughout the land. PAC
I think the problem is that Totton is HCC not SCC. SCC have sorted out their half of the 10 via the Velvet S1 tender, and Millbrook is already served by the 12 which also goes to the hospital. HCC are sitting on their hands, but after the butchering of tendered services elsewhere in Hampshire (apart from the sacred cows the CANGO services) why am I not surprised.
ReplyDeleteI do think that having the 12 running a different route on Sundays from the rest of the week needs some sort of differentiation though (why not call it the 12A for pity's sake)
I have asked Firstbus about this not being 12A on Sundays and Bank Holidays,so I suggest you do also,and see if you get the same silly reply I received.
DeleteConsidering the 12 will not serve Peartree or Lordshill on Sundays it really does need a different number as it could cause confusion to passengers. Why not just call it 12A or even 10 to plug the gap in the service numbers.
DeleteStupid thinking at First like usual
I too have asked Firstbus as to why it's not 12A. There reply was as the Sunday route was not much different to the Weekday and Saturday service and in past experience when they had applied a different prefix to a variation,it confused the passenger,so they would let the bus go by. However it won't be the only service in Southampton that has a variation and does not have a seperate number,as Velvet's S1 is similar between City Centre and Upper Shirley PAC
DeletePicked up today in West Quay Shopping Centre Southampton, a copy of the new Hampshire County Council timetable for the New Forest area,commencing date 5th January 2014. It now covers a wider area of the New Forest than the previous one,and therefor much more useful. Nice to have all operators, how ever large or small, all in one book. PAC
ReplyDelete