Changes this coming weekend

This weekend coming up sees changes to quite a few of our region's bus routes. Here's a quick summary:

Sunday 30th August
The following route will run for the last time this year:

• First M2 Lordshill-Marwell Zoo

New timetables on the following routes:

• First 6 Southampton-Hamble
• Stagecoach 66 Romsey-Winchester

Bank Holiday Monday 31st August
Sunday service on all routes.
The following route will run for the last time this year:

• First M1 Eastleigh-Marwell Zoo

Tuesday 1st September
New timetables on the following routes:

• Bluestar 1 Southampton-Winchester increased frequency
• Bluestar 5 Romsey-Boyatt Wood
• Bluestar 8 Southampton-Calshot
• Bluestar 9 Southampton-Langley/Fawley
• Bluestar 11 Southampton-West Totton
• Bluestar 12 Southampton-Calmore
• Bluestar 18 Millbrook-Thornhill
• First X4 Southampton-Portsmouth
• Salisbury Reds X7/X7R Southampton-Salisbury
• Stagecoach 46 North Baddesley-Winchester
• Stagecoach 69 Winchester-Fareham

See the new timetables on these operator links or at Traveline:

• Bluestar
• First
• Salisbury Reds
• Stagecoach

Thornhill escalates / E1/E2 to go? / Xela replaces Brijan early

First 10 hasn't even started running yet - it launches on Sunday 6th September - but a change is already scheduled for 11th October. Details as we get them.

Wheelers have deregistered the E1/E2 routes between Eastleigh and Winchester as of 11th October. This is a Hampshire County Council subsidised route, so it could be going to another operator or being cut entirely.

Xelabus have taken over Brijan Tours' routes early due to the closure of Brijan. Timetables and route numbers are unchanged for now, but they will change on 7th September. The timetables are now available on Traveline.

Talking of Traveline, timetables and route maps are now available on there for First's changes from 6th September. Here's the map for the 9:

Ignore the extra blue and green lines without any red dots on them in Merry Oak - that's Traveline's computer getting confused.

The 13 also has a route change around Harefield from 6th September:

Starting 7th September, Xelabus X15 replaces Brijan 8B, 15 and Xelabus X56 with a five days a week link between Hamble and Eastleigh:

Bluestar 16 to run via Bitterne

Bluestar have revamped their website and given notice that the 16 will be rerouted via Bitterne and Northam from 28th September:

First 12 currently links Townhill Park with Bitterne and will be withdrawn on this side of the city from 6th September. Bluestar 16 currently runs via Bevois Valley, Portswood and St Denys, which will continue to be served by First 7.

Bluestar to launch new route to Sholing as First cuts

With First cutting route 5 altogether and reducing the far end of Sholing's only other route, the 9, from three an hour to a sort of half-hourly service but with occasional gaps in service of an hour, Bluestar have seen the opportunity...

Full details of Bluestar 7 here. It starts on 6th September, which is a Sunday - Bluestar 7 will serve Sholing on Sundays, unlike First 9. There is no evening service yet, last bus from town will be at 1916 Mon-Sat and 1711 on Sundays, but it's a start. As this is a commercial service, people in Sholing will need to use it or lose it. The 7 also brings Bluestar back to Woolston after the 3 was diverted away from the area in June.

Rumours abound that Bluestar 16, which along with the 18 will be revised from 28th September, is going to restore Townhill Park's link with Bitterne, which is being cut by First with the withdrawal of the eastern half of the 12 from 6th September. Watch this space.

Xelabus have changes to many routes from Monday 7th September, including the takeover of the former Brijan routes. See a full summary here.

Timetables out / Map nostalgia

First have released the new timetables for those routes changing on 6th September. See them here.

Bluestar have published the timetables for their routes that are changing on 1st September, which can be seen here.

With the axing of route 5 and the eastern half of the 12, the First network will look significantly smaller than it does today. This is part of a long term trend though, as a look at this First Southampton network map from September 2009 shows:

The new one hasn't yet been released, but here's the one that's valid up to 5th September:

The next one will have nothing running to Swaythling & Bassett Green and more empty space east of the Itchen.