First 12 will be cut to run between Lordshill and the City Centre only.
A new route, the 10 will run a circular route which will include the City Centre, Bitterne and Thornhill - direct competition for that end of Bluestar 18 perhaps?
We'll let you know once more details have been released.
A late addition to services to Marwell Zoo this summer: Stagecoach M3 from Winchester Railway Station is due to start on Saturday. No mention so far on Stagecoach's own website, but Traveline has the route map and timetable and the zoo gives us the following:
This makes Marwell Zoo better connected by bus this summer than it has been for several years, what with First M1 from Eastleigh and First M2 (now running Wednesdays and Sundays) providing direct links from across Southampton.
Lots of bus service changes from 6th September 2015 from most local operators to either look forward too or not to look forward too
ReplyDeleteWith the new service 10 I think that's more likely to mean Bitterne and Townhill rather than Thornhill as with the cutting of the 12 on the east side of the city, this leaves no service between Townhill Park, Midanbury and Bitterne. I think there'll be further investment in the "City Red" routes as these appear to be the routes that First care about the most, and form their core network nowadays.
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree with you,is Thornhill just a misprint-In splitting the 12 in half it would be possible to operate a daytime frequency between City and Bitterne via Northam together with the 9 of every 7/8 minutes over the same route as the present 9-At the moment between the 9 and 12 the frequency is awful, with at most times during the day the two services running together between Brintons Road and Bitterne-However all should be revealed next week, as First have stated on their website that is when they will publish the details of all changes
Deletewe will see but I’m sure they know what they are doing when registering the route
DeleteNot in all cases-Although not registering a route in this instance if you go to their website and look at the diversions in place for the Sky Ride event in Southampton to be held today as I post,you will note many,many errors into which roads buses will be diverting by in the majority of the services listed-It's no wonder their drivers let alone the general public get confused
DeleteMy driver this morning told me the 12 is stopping between Townhill Park and Southampton.
DeleteThe 10 is a seperate route to compete with SBL 18. Looks like First are hoping Solent Blue Line will divert their 16 via Bitterne and leave the stronger Portswood route alone. The question is what will SBL do?
Option 1 a new route in addition to the 16
Option 2 divert the current 16 and leave Townhill via Portswood to First ( They are already the stronger company in Portswood with routes 2 / U1 / U6 in addition to the 16
My driver also said that non cityred routes are being cut to free up buses for this new route 10
We don't know the whole story yet but what would be good is a route to Townhill Park via Woolston to City via Peartree at about a 20 minute frequency-The present 12 is poorly loaded most of the day and with hardly a sole carried evenings-Most passengers travel between Townhill Park and Bitterne and when sometime ago it served Woolston it was quite busy-First decided to sabotage this connection with Woolston sometime ago and I begin to think their planners should be replaced by someone who can provide services to where people wish to travel-Thornhill has enough buses as it is without anymore which would seem to be at the expence of other areas-It looks also Sholing will also be hit again with no bus to Woolston-The current 16 is very handy and I would not like to see it removed as it's much quicker than the 7 which for most of the day has too much running time and the drivers are forever sitting at stops waiting time
DeleteThere will be a bus from Sholing to Woolston, but whether Sholing will have an acceptable service to the city centre is debatable.The level of cuts to the non-City Red routes are enormous.
DeleteIf the rumour mill is accurate a number of areas are going to get some nasty surprises when the details of these changes are revealed.
ReplyDeleteSwaythling has the extremely popular Unilink service,so probably won`t worry too much about no First,if they did pull out totally.
ReplyDeleteI note the changes are now on first Hampshire site From Sunday 6 September 2015, First will be making changes to the running of its Southampton bus network.
ReplyDeleteThe changes are as follows:
Service 1: Southampton City Centre- Lordshill - Adanac Park
- The service will operate every 30 minutes
- No Sunday Service
- No changes to route
Service 2: Southampton City Centre- Shirley-Millbrook
- Service frequency will remain broadly the same as now
- Timetable will be amended in evenings and Sundays to provide improved headway with service 3 between Shirley and City Centre
- No changes to route
Service 3: Thornhill-Woolston-City Centre-Shirley-Lordshill
- Extra bus will be added to the route and frequency will remain every 7/8 minutes
- Timetable amended in evenings and Sundays to provide improved headway with service 2 between Shirley and City Centre
- No changes to route
Service 5: Bassett Green-City Centre-Woolston-Sholing
- Service withdrawn
Service 6/6A: Hamble-Netley-Woolston-City Centre
- Service 6A (Hamble-Netley-City Centre-St Annes School-St Georges School) withdrawn at the start of the new school year
- Slight changes to early morning timetable starting on 30 August 2015
- Frequency will remain half hourly and there will be no changes to route
Service 7: Townhill/Midanbury-Portswood-City Centre
- Timetable will be revised to slightly reduce running time
- Frequency will remain at 8 minutes and there is no change to route.
Service 8: Hedge End-West End-Bitterne-City Centre
- Service will be diverted to operate direct between City Centre and Bitterne via Northam, instead of via Woolston.
- Frequency will remain half hourly
Service 9: Sholing-Bitterne-City Centre
- Service will be diverted between Bitterne and City Centre to operate via Merryoak, Woolston and City College, instead of via Northam.
- Frequency will be reduced to operate every half hour.
- No Sunday service
Service 10: Thornhill-Bitterne-City Centre
- New service will run from Southampton City Centre, Portland Terrace, Northam, Bitterne Shops, Bursledon Road to Thornhill (Eastpoint)
- Service will operate every 7/8 minutes on Monday to Saturday daytimes and every 15 minutes on Sunday daytimes.
Service 11: Weston-Woolston-City Centre
- No changes
Service 12: Townhill/Midanbury-Bitterne-City Centre-Shirley-Millbrook- Lordshill
- Service will operate between City Centre and Lordshill only via Shirley High Street, Millbrook and General Hospital every 30 minutes.
Service 13: Harefield-Bitterne-Woolston-City Centre
- Service will divert via Peartree Avenue and City College on an hourly basis. Route between Bitterne and Harefield will operate outbound via West End Road and return via Bitterne Road East
- No Sunday service
Other Services:
- There will be two additional B2 journeys to Townhill
- No changes to X4/X5, Sunday service A, or Cantell service 158
http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/hampshire/travel_news/news_initiatives/?item=28631&conf=0
The 6 has reverted to single deck operation from double deck, as from now, because of damage by overhanging trees. Gone are the days when operators did the tree cutting themselves . . .
DeleteSavaging the network,just so they can keep up a petty battle with Bluestar,just about sums it up!
ReplyDeleteNot a clue. Still, I expect Aberdeen had decreed, therefore it must happen!
DeleteNever seen such a ridulous service change-No service between Townhill Park and Bitterne is just crazy-Sholing Butts Road and Montague Avenue area hit again-As for a 7/8 minute service to Thornhill over the Bluestar 18 route they must be desperate,as if Thornhill does not have enough buses already-Let's hope at some stage Bluestar register a few routes,one good one would be to serve the General Hospital and certainly Townhill Park to City via Bitterne and Woolston would not go amiss.
ReplyDeleteBus passengers can always have a mass boycott of First`s new route 10.Show First what we think of them and their contempt for their customers.
Deletelooking at that number 10 if it don’t go via hinker then thats a fail there but looking at the wording it looks as if its only going to the top part of thornhill and not the bottom part
ReplyDeleteIt`s following Bluestar 18 route road by road!They have obviously run out of original ideas and are just after a fast buck at Bluestars expense!
DeleteIt would seem Peartree/Harefield will now only get one bus per hour instead of the present two/three-Like the present 5 this would seem the next route for the complete axe-It would seem also the Bishop's Road area of Itchen is also gradualy disappearing off the map by having it's current three per hour reduced too two-The only good thing I have seen so far is a reduction in the running time too the 7 where at present most of the day the drivers sit round at stops en route reading newspapers,eating or drinking a beverage due to lack of customers-I thought the 1 was funded by SCC between Lordshill and Adanac Park but even here the service gets halved and the 30 minue Sunday/Bank holiday service removed altogether-All the changes they have had in the past and the planners still can't get it right as an example 8 via Northam,then via Woolston and now back via Northam-13 via Bishop's Road now back via Peartree, taken off West End Road to operate via Bitterne Road East now back via West End Road(well in one direction)-Suddenly it would seem Northam Bridge route between Bitterne and City has for the moment become very popular again,but for how long for?
ReplyDeleteThis is similar to how desperate First were in the areas they have pulled out of i.e Hereford, Plymouth, Northampton, major parts of Leicester all sizeable towns that had a good network of services until this shower came along.
ReplyDeleteSouthampton is fast going the same way. Services being withdrawn; frequencies slashed; and last chance saloon opportunity to try and grab a few more passengers in the Shirley, Townhill and Thornhill areas where you guess it a professional company like Bluestar has a good footing.
So wait and see if we get an announcement that whats left of Southampton is sold off to Stagecoach??
City Red - Yes for fuming passengers with City RED faces!
What utter tripe. Another bad day at GSC HQ was it? Try some facts:-
DeleteThe City Red routes are not being amended at all, save retiming in the evenings.
The services being withdrawn/reduced are not well used; if SCC decide the new level of service is insufficient for social reasons they can tender for enhancements/replacements. That's the regulatory system the Tories have saddles us with; this is how it is meant to operate.
As for Bluestar being a professional company, don't make me laugh. Do you ever travel on the vehicles out of Totton depot that appear to be held together with gaffer tape, are in about 3 or 4 different liveries and break down for a pastime. Stagecoach are a professional company; Bluestar are definitely not.
Wirst abandoned North Devon and Wigan as well, selling to Stagecoach. I was told a couple of years ago - might be three now - that the other groups gave Wirst about six months, but still they are alive here, if only just. Wheelers? Xelabus? Could they see opportunities here, if Stagecoach don't?
DeleteWell you know the First motto,First transforming travel,For quite a number of people it's transforming it into a distant memory
DeleteCould it just be that Anon 15:51 receives a pay cheque with an 'f' on it?
DeleteEither that,or not on the same planet as the rest of us!
DeleteAs the author of the comment 22nd July 15:51, I can confirm that I have never worked for First nor do I intend to in the future.
DeleteMy opinion as a daily bus user in Southampton is that First provide a better service than Bluestar in Southampton on the routes I regularly use and I won't be sad to stop using the Bluestar 18 which is appallingly unreliable. Just because I hold that opinion does not mean I work for First; Whatever happened to free speech?
I would ask the Bluestar groupie who accused me of working for First to apologise publically on here please and confirm whether he/she works for GSC or whatever they are calling themselves this week.
This is a shocking move by First, have they taken complete leave of their senses? Treating many parts of their network with contempt in order to facilitate a poor attempt at annihilating the 18. This can only be a good move for the city's other operators creating so many opportunities First are just abandoning.
ReplyDeleteI'm not usually a First basher on this forum. Their 2012 network review was one of the better network changes they've done. The Cityreds brand looks good but reading the detail of this change has finally persuaded me that their network planners haven't a clue.
They are there to make a huge return for shareholders first and foremost.The needs of Southamptons bus passengers are rather immaterial!
DeleteLets have a mass passenger boycott of this new no.10 route,when it begins,to show First our feelings about these shocking changes,it`s the only way they`d sit up and take notice.
ReplyDeleteStick with Bluestar 18!At least they don`t keep messing around with their services every five minutes,upsetting masses of passengers!
DeleteIt'll probably change terminus points about 3 times in as many months (if it lasts that long) & put people off by it's change. Passengers need stability & you get that on BS18. Yes, the bus can be late & bunched up but that's traffic flow for you.
ReplyDelete