In other news, the route and timetable of Bluestar's Hythe to Ringwood summer-only route have been revealed. It has the provisional route number FBB and will serve Hythe, Beaulieu (including the National Motor Museum), Brockenhurst (including the railway station), Ringwood and Moors Valley Country Park. It will run hourly every Saturday, Sunday and bank holiday from 24th May until 31st October. See the timetable here. Here is the route:
Also from 24th May, all routes serving Lymington get a new timetable due to the closure of the bus station. All buses will now terminate at on-street stops on the town. Here are your links for the new timetables:
More 112 will become The Beach Bus again this year, but not until 26th July.
The timetable for the 6/Forest Bus has been published, follow the link on the Bluestar feature news page.
ReplyDeleteIt's really good to see a basic bus network finally take shape in the New Forest, even if it is mainly seasonal and for tourists. It's just a shame that it has taken so long to achieve.
ReplyDeleteThe only reason it has happened is to Goverment or other funding-Without this nothing would have happened-Pity the funding was not applied in certain other areas in Hampshire, where an all year service would have been of benefit to many on certain routes now withdrawn an example being Hedge End via Park Gate to Fareham
ReplyDeleteThanks Anon @ 0806, I've now added a link to the main post.
ReplyDeleteI note that at 1614 on 10th May 2015 someone advised you that the timetables for Summer service Bluestar 6 and the The New Forest Baby Bus was available on the More or Bluestar website,so it seems that Annon 12 May 2015 doesn't read all the recent postings
ReplyDeleteThe Beach Bus will this year have a new service number that being 99-At a later stage service X7 operated by Salisbury Reds is likely to be marketed under the Bluestar brand-However in no way has this been confirmed officially
ReplyDeleteI dawned on me today that all the flags on the bus stops for this are headed '112 BEACH BUS' - someone is going to busy changing them. Embarrassing especially as the have only been in place for a couple of weeks!
DeleteFirst managers online?Do me a favour!I can work out their reply to any customer comments before they reply,it`so predictable.While on the subject of First,i saw two First No2 buses reach Shirley precient,last Saturday afternoon,both were totally empty!When are First going to stop losing money with this service and actually operate where there is a demand?
ReplyDeleteWhen Bluestar stop doing the same!
DeleteI doubt the cash takings on Bluestar 16 amount to very much in a day, do they.
At least First 2s carry some passengers; about as many as Bluestar 18 over the same roads to be honest. The problem is not the demand over the Millbrook route, but the over supply by both companies.
Meanwhile the three goes from strength to strength; I always thought the 18 was the most lucrative route in Southampton but it clearly isn't.
I just wish common sense would prevail and Bluestar would drop the 16 and First reduce the frequency on the 2 and schedule their 2 midway between the 18s (which might be quite difficult, bearing in mind that the 18s rarely appear to run to any sort of schedule and rarely less than 2 running together in my daily experience!!).
The 2 the 3 the 18 are in a mess most days and are likely to continue to do so-If the bus companies want to operate in a mess as they seem to want too then so be it,it's not for us to tell them how they should run their so called business
DeleteUnlike First`s no.2,which follows exactly the same route as Bluestar 18,between city and Millbrook,Bluestar`s no.16 actually provides residents on ,or near Cobden Ave with a much longed for service ,after First deserted them over ten years ago!
DeleteIndeed the 16 does and long may it last-Many routes in Southampton that were useful have been destroyed by First, such as a direct Bitterne Centre to Portswood link via Bullar Road and Townhill Park to Woolston too mention just two and the fact Harefield has no Sunday service is a disgrace-I note yesterday a manager on line meeting which was a waste of time as the same old standard replies of we are looking into it were given,but you know they have no intention of doing so
DeleteIf it's not profitable why should they operate it.
DeleteAbsolutely right. If it was profitable someone (GSC, Xelas, Wheelers) would be operating it. They are not.
DeleteIf the council decide such a service is socially necessary, they will tender it. They have not.
It shows a lack of understanding of bus operation in the deregulated world to suggest that First destroyed those links. They ceased to exist because not enough folk used them.
Most journeys are do-able by one change in the City Centre or elsewhere.
I accept the point re Sunday service to Harefield, but if Bluestar thought there was any market there, they could divert the 3 that way on a Sunday, or First could divert the 12! The fact neither has done so suggests there is no money to be made. It's therefore down to the council and they seem to have decided it isn't socially necessary either!
I hope that the suggestion of what either company operate at present is profitable is not serious-There is no way that near empty buses running each day on 7/16 9 11 12(on City to Townhill section) can be profitable or if they are I would like to know how-I also fail to see how the council find B1/B3/B4/X14 to be socially necessary with most if not all journeys running empty,and the suggestion that not enough folk used other links when they were there is in most cases total nonsense
DeleteNot necessarily. Just because someone is not profiting from doing something doesn't mean that there are no opportunities there for the taking. It more likely means that existing businesses are not taking the risk to expand due to limited resources or other priorities, and that there are no potential new entrants around who have the resources or have identified an opportunity. Until someone actually tries and fails, there is no definitive proof otherwise.
DeleteSo should first stop running the 2 all together and have no competition on the route. If this happened you watch the fares shoot up. You look at bluestar fares once they are outside the city with no competition the fares rocket up
ReplyDeleteSo do First fares where there is no competition,such as Weston,Sholing,Aldermoor-In any case fares in the more rural areas have always been more expensive even in the days when there was no competition
DeleteThey are higher but not to the same extent as Bluestar. First 's day tickets are much cheaper than Bluestar's and it is cheaper to go to Portsmouth on the X4 than it is to go to Winchester on BS1, despite it being much further. neither is a rural route in any sense of the word.
DeleteBluestar would still have competition between Millbrook and the city centre,in the form of First`s no.12!Wish Bluestar would operate a service direct to the general hospital,then suddenly you`ll find it gets included in First`s cheaper city day ticket price!I appreciate the Bluestar operate the U6 to the general,but it follows a long winded route to the hospital being a uni-link service.
DeleteAnon 15 May@22.57 Try using the X4 at 10pm forinstance,you could`nt ,as First cop out of providing a full evening service,unlike BS1,plus you can charge your phone up on BS1!
DeleteYes true, but the First service X4/X5 is more frequent during the day and their Scanias are frankly more pleasant to travel on than those revolting rattly E400s on the BS1, even though they are much older.
DeleteAs for being able to charge your phone, so what? Half the USB points don't work and whatever happened to forethought and planning?
Shame bluestar can't get their wifi to work though. It's been hopeless from day one. I think you will also find that first has a much newer fleet than bluestar these days too
ReplyDeleteAll modern innovations on buses such as wifi,on board electronic stop information rarely work 100%-Confusing information between operators also is evident at certain stops they share with the electronic on board displays-An example if you board or alight at Bullar Road on Bluestar it shows Bullar Road in each direction,but First show Bullar Road towards City and Cobbett Road towards Bitterne-At Northam near The Prince of Wales public house, First show Princes Street in both directions,whilst Bluestar show Princes Street towards Bitterne but Northam Shops towards City-At present First have no annoucement of the stops en route,but Bluestar do,but this is very hit and miss,with some vehicles where it's working,but some where it doesn't-With all the different types of mobile communication available, it's no wonder it doesn't work on certain buses due more than likely to the systems not being compatable for some small reason or another
ReplyDeleteIndeed, the technology does not work all the time but it's good when it does. I was on a First 3 a few days ago, City Centre to Woolston. It was fine as far as Holy Rood, but then the information stuck. As I was alighting I mentioned this to the driver. Her response? "Oh, not again!"
DeleteI'm sure it shouldn't be, but is the signal disrupted by trees and/or high buildings, as with some mobile phones?
With all this talk of New Forest bus routes, I'm sad to hear that one-time Ringwood - Southampton operator Gardbus has gone into liquidation. Although its been clear they've been struggling and trying to reshape the business for some time it's especially bad news for many villages to the west of the forest who relied on their one remaining major route, the 125 between Christchurch and Ringwood. Gardbus operating this route was seen by many users as the first positive thing to happen after years of decline of Wilts and Dorset's 175/176. Hopefully W&D will step in quickly (or an adventurous Yellow Buses extension on route 24?) to return a service to Bransgore etc. Phone calls to the council were greeted with a "it might be some time, we'll have to put iit out to tender". Which is surprising considering it doubles as a school bus route. Maybe someone else has more information.
ReplyDeleteSad indeed,but no surprise-Most could see the way it was going months ago when they withdrew their so called flagship route between Ringwood and Wimborne and ever since then there have been continual tinkering around with what they had left,plus all sorts of excuses for one thing or another on their facebook-Their is also another operator a bit more close to hand where this could also happen but hopefully won't
DeleteInteresting to read on the Gardbus facebook what they have posted from 1st May 2015 up until they ceased operation yesterday-I note yesterday one commentor who posted that it was no surprise was told to piss off-Still better read it all quick before the facebook page disappears into history
ReplyDeleteToday it's been confirmed by More bus they will be operating the ex Gardbus 125,but it's back to a 3 day operation again
ReplyDeleteTo amplify anon at 1108 the replacement morebus service 125 will operate Monday Wednesday and Friday but only between 0909 and 1435.
ReplyDeleteKen - Traveline (Dorset)