The new timetables for Brijan Tours' routes from 4th January have been released. See them via these links: 7, 8, 15, 17.
On the same day, there are new timetables on More X1, X2 and 119 and Stagecoach 46.
5th January sees new timetables on Bluestar 5, 6 & 11, plus on Xelabus X1, X2, X3, X4 and X7 with the X6 launching. Wheelers also take over routes E1/E2, H1/H2 and T3/T4.
From 12th January, there are new timetables on Velvet S1 and S2, with the A becoming part of the S1.
Most of these are due to cuts being imposed by Hampshire County Council.
I note that Traveline have still not corrected the omission of an X6/X7 Sunday service
ReplyDeleteAll these cuts are devastating. We've had nothing but cuts after cuts to our South Hampshire bus network over the last few years. Surely they can't cut any further, there'll be nothing left! This must end.
ReplyDeleteI think for a lot of us the end is very close with this round of cuts.
DeleteThe last round of cuts left a lot of people with real problems, but at the same time it did remove dead wood from some of the routes.
This time round I have a strong feeling that this is the equivalent of " a bridge too far ".
Bad move by Velvet to cut the A down to hourly and make it part of S1!
ReplyDeleteAgree!Buses should be viewed the same as trains and only allowed to change twice a year.Fed up with bus passengers being viewed as second class citizens.
DeleteWell more bad news I'm afraid as First have some more changes from the 18th January 2015,some of which are their own and others as a result of HCC cuts
DeleteBus users are looked down on ,partly due to comments made by Margaret Thatcher,who said that any bloke in his fourties still using buses,was a failure!
ReplyDeleteCheck your history, that quote is wrongly attributed to Maggie.
DeleteInteresting to note that the revised S1 in the City Centre will run from Brintons Road/Six Dials via Kingsway,St. Mary's Place,Houndwell Place and Palmerston Road to Pound Tree Road in each direction-PAC
ReplyDeleteI cannot find the new timetable for S2 on Traveline. The new timetable for S1 is there, but it is labelled 12.1.2015 -31.1.2015. What happens in February? Also, the heading continues to show the route as RSH - Southampton - Shirley - Lords Hill which should have been changed when the current timetable was introduced.
ReplyDeleteI have just visited the Traveline site and both the new S1 and S2 timetables are showing or you can view via the link above provided by Southampton Bus Update-PAC
DeleteThe S2 link above goes to the current timetable, not the revised January timetable. Both old and new S2 timetables are now on the Traveline website, but they are identical. It is only when you study the full list of stops that any difference shows up. From the City Centre, instead of travelling right up Bedford Place, the new route seems to divert via Henstead Road, Devonshire Road, Handel Road, Newcombe Road, Wilton Avenue and then via Carlton Road and as present route to Shirley. There is no extra journey time for this diversion.
DeleteThe link above does show the correct timetable from January 2015-If you view the Velvet site it will state that the timetable for the S2 will remain exactly the same as present except the route from Bedford Place will have a slight variation which when looked at in detail will run as the present S1 off peak from Bedford Place to Archers Road/Hill Lane-The section of present S2 route under the new routing between Archers Road/Hill Lane then along Archers Road and then along Bedford Place to its junction with Henstead Road will no longer have a bus service anymore-PAC
DeleteSince my post at 2332 18/12/14 I have just looked again at the Traveline map for the revised route of S2 and now note that Archers Road will still be served between Carlton Road and Hill Lane-The re-routing as I read it originally was to be between Bedford Place and Hill Lane/Archers Road the same as the present S1 off peak-The route it will now follow is a combination of the present S1 and S2-There is no way the driver will be able to keep to a timetable with just 6 minutes given between Bedford Place and Foy's Corner and those who use the bus along Archers Road won't be too pleased at having to travel all this way around to get to/from the City Centre-In addition I note that from 12th January 2015 the B4 Bitterne to Tesco Bursledon will run additionally on Tuesdays and Thursdays which is a welcome addition thanks to SCC-PAC
DeleteJust got a copy of the new Xelabus book with details of changes from 5th January. Really nice and easy to read. Nice touch having dispensers at bus stand for passengers to take as they board their bus. Clear notices too about the changes.
ReplyDeleteWe hear a lot of criticism about Xelabus,but I have always found their bus stop publicity to be excelent and of a size that's readable
ReplyDeleteIndeed, when they ran through the Itchen Valley they installed plastic dispensers with timetable leaflets. Mind you using a bus with "Itchen College" down the side without a working front blind wasn't particularly helpful.
DeleteHowever very few people go to a bus stop in the vague hope that there may be a bus in the near future that just happens to go where they want to, and this is where websites (and other arms length publicity) comes in. Unfortunately this also seems to the area which Xelabus struggle with, though one should note that there have been improvements since the acquisition of ex Velvet staff.
Well that's quite an initiative putting dispensers at bus stops particularly in rural areas don't you think? I have to say I think Xelabus publicity knocks spots of others. Afterall they are the only company at Eastleigh Bus Station where you can get an operators timetables?
DeleteI note today on the HCC site you can now view the Andover area timetable as from 4th January 2015-I note that the Andover to Salisbury service 87 to be operated by Wheeler's seems to have a slightly better service than what had been shown previously as service 14-The book also shows Wheeler's 16 service which up to know I have found very difficult to view any information relating to it-PAC
ReplyDeleteYou will note that if you view the new timetable for January 2015 for First 28/28A since the first one they showed on their website they have now put a revised one up, which makes the afternoon service worse-As if the cut wasn't bad enough in the area with the withdrawal of the 26, to make the 28/28A worse is sheer bad planning by HCC together with First-I thought they were suppose to have all the passenger figures at hand in making changes, but it seems not, if they can keep changing and chopping around-Very poor for those who use the 28/28A and the staff at ONS-PAC
ReplyDeleteI understand this change was made to improve the timings of the evening service for ONS workers, and to provide better timings for schoolchildren using the 1635 bus from Fareham (to link with the Oaklands service maybe).
DeleteDon't blame First - they are just doing what HCC tell them! The fact that HCC couldn't organise anything in a brewery isn't First's fault!
Improvement for other passengers that are not ONS & school kids somehow forgotten!
DeleteThe decission to withdraw service 26 by HCC must be one of the worse made by them in recent years-I note on their site it is to be replaced by a stupid Taxi share which will operate as two seperate services
DeleteI have noted today on the bus stops in Harestock area that the new stagecoach route 3 timetable shows journeys at 20:00 & 21:00 which were supposed to be withdrawn
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting !! According to one of the Stagecoch drivers I spoke to last thursday there will no longer be any buses running around the Winchester local area after 7.00pm.
DeleteAccording to Stagecoach's own summary, last buses on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays will be at 1925 (route 1), 1940 (route3) and 1930 (route 5), but with some late evening buses still running on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
DeleteHere is the one posted up in town for the 3 showing the 19:40 then the three services on ThFSa funded by the City Council. This would account for the 20:00, as for the 21:00, I have no idea, it certainly doesn't take 1hr 20min to get to Harestock!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.dropbox.com/s/injv1f9gsfu591q/2014-12-22%2017.54.14.jpg?dl=0
This is an interesting response from Stagecoach to the campaigners in Fleet (where large areas of the town are going from half hourly bus service to no buses whatsoever thanks to HCC's wisdom).
ReplyDeleteKey points:
Fleet demographically and geographically not good bus operating territory (OK).
Services in Fleet have always relied on council support, ever since deregulation (OK).
So HCC have now removed ALL bus subsidy for ALL services in the entire town (not OK).
""Thank you for taking the time to contact me with the petition to retain bus services in Fleet and Church Crookham.
Also thank you once again for communicating details about the change to others in the locality.
The reply you have already received from Peter Shelley summarises the main reasons why bus services in Fleet have had to change.
We are faced with a difficult situation in Fleet, where the County Council have been supporting bus services since deregulation of the industry in 1986. Since then, demands have changed and more and more of the population in the Hart district chose to use the car as their preferred method of transport. The new car park at the Rail Station really sums up one of the biggest demands in the area, where locals choose to drive to their nearest station and commute to London. In addition to this we have a population which is growing older, often in their homes, which means they're reliant upon public transport at some point. So as a bus operator we have a very restricted market - serving primarily the older generation, plus school children in a dispersed rural community. We do have a small number of commuters too, who have either chosen to travel using public transport or have no other means. Travel needs in this area are to reach many different places, such as Reading, Aldershot, Basingstoke, Farnborough, Guildford, Farnham etc. for school, leisure, health and work. We simply don't have enough people travelling in any one direction from any one place to justify running a better bus service.
Route 72 has been designed to cater for the most popular destinations, including a 'loop' in Fleet and Church Crookham to serve as much of the area as possible, without getting stuck in the winding estate roads. The new route links Fleet to Reading and Farnborough. However, even taking into account all the current passengers who travel to these destinations, and the hope this new route may attract new passengers, we are worried the finances may not stack up.
(Part 2 below)
Part 2 (continued from above)
ReplyDeleteKnowing how the town has been gradually spreading into new developments, I appreciate the needs of the residents to reach employment, education, health and leisure facilities. The developments have brought with them their own challenges, as not a single one has really been considered for public transport. Narrow, curvy roads punctuated with speed cushions mean negotiating them with buses is very near impossible. There has been no considered approach to road building in any new estate to assist public transport. Similarly schools are developed in a piece meal manner, scattered across the region, making it difficult to find nearby places. Further to this, we have not seen any logical application of monies generated by new developments to provide and 'kick start' new bus services.
I cannot promise any improvements to the bus service provision in Fleet and Church Crookham following these changes for the reasons I mention above. We cannot provide a sustainable service which will cater for the many needs of the community. All I can assure you is that we will be reviewing all of our infrequent routes to schools and colleges in the area for September 2015. We have several buses serving Farnborough schools and colleges, Aldershot schools and Reading schools. The temporary situation with routes 77 and 415 really is temporary and we will look to provide a logical and sustainable service for September 2015. We could not do this sooner, as there are hundreds of people already using these buses every day.
Thank you once again for your continued communication, if there are any further questions please do ask. I am more than happy to help."