- PH1121126/302 - GO SOUTH COAST LTD T/A BLUESTAR, 2-8 PARKSTONE ROAD, POOLE, BH15 2PR
- Registration Accepted
- Starting Point: Southampton City Centre
- Finish Point: Maybush, Boniface Crescent
- Via: Shirley, Lordshill
- Service Number: Bluestar 17
- Service Type: Normal Stopping
- Effective Date: 25-OCT-2015
- Other Details: Daily service
More details as we get it...
Just hope BS run it around the General Hospital to totally screw up First's "three"
ReplyDeleteHope it does include the General hospital.It would be rather silly not to serve it!
ReplyDeleteBoniface Crescent is in Lordshill ,NOT Maybush!DOH!
ReplyDeleteBoniface Crescent is not in Lordshill it's tecnically Maybush,so the registration is correct
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of this week the First publicity department came along and replaced all the stickers on the flags along the Bitterne corridor in that they removed service 9 and 12 and replaced with 8 and a red 10 sticker ready for next week-Today the City Council have come along and replaced all the flags along the corridor with their own style of numbers-All the work done earlier this week by First has now been undone-Many stops have been replaced with incorrect service numbers on them,or rather not the wrong number,but put on the wrong stop-I just wonder when the operators and council will work together to get it right-Might I add most stops are correct with numbers even to showing the revised 16 as from late September 2015,but many arn't and are misleading. to the public, mainly out of City
ReplyDeleteGiven the lead times in getting flags from the makers, I suspect they may have been ordered before the changes were registered. It might be nice, though, if there was some liaison between the parties involved, so that new flags are correct as they appear on the posts.
ReplyDeleteIf they were ordered before the changes were registered how is it the service numbers are correct?
ReplyDeleteSorry, I misread the original. I must go to Specsavers!
DeleteOn enquiry I have been informed by Bluestar this morning that as from 6th September 2015 all services travelling towards Bitterne will use the bus stop in Bitterne Road West by the Flower Shop and the stop in the Gyratory Road will no longer be served-As from the 6th September 2015 the only services to use the stop in the Gyratory Road will be xelabus X10 and X11-Should be quite fun when you get 3 or 4 buses together trying to use the Flower Shop stop and thus blocking the road junction, and even better for waiting passengers who will now have no protection in inclement weather.
ReplyDeleteSomeone could always move one of the two bus shelters,in the gyratory to the new stop!
DeleteIndeed they could however the site is rather restricted for space to put one there
DeleteI see Bluestar are fighting back,by reducing their one week no.18 pass to just £5 from Monday!
ReplyDeleteYes very good value whilst it lasts and all the way Millbrook to Thornhill-Jdon't know what the single and return fares will be on First but over present common sections of route most are cheaper on Bluestar
DeleteThis route 17 sounds like it will be more of a copy of Firsts 1 and Inthink it will also terminate at Adanac Park instead of Boniface Crescent.
ReplyDeleteAs stated it would be better to serve the Hospital, perhaps via Dale Road and Termona Road instead of Warren Ave, and Aldermoor Road instead of Lordshill Way.
But it won't be like that
If not a copy of Firsts 1, it will be a copy of Firsts 3.
Just to drag the bus war out for longer
It wont terminate at Adanac Park and it's liable to serve the General Hospital so usual reliable sources inform me-However even these normal reliable sources do not at present have the exact route
DeleteUnilink routes to the General used to go via Dale Road and Tremona Road. Do they still?
DeleteThey do indeed service U6 and U9
DeleteI`m thinking it will be more like the old Citybus 17 route,hence numbering it BS17,rather than BS14 or BS15.
DeleteIt is going via the hospital and terminating at Boniface Cres, which will be near enough to Adanac Park to tempt plenty away from Firsts number one route, but there seems no doubt that it is a direct attack on the 3, which is Firsts obvious cash cow. Coupled with the five pound weekly on the 18, and the new buses on order for the same route, the revised 16 route, and the new Blue star 7, be in no doubt that this is the long overdue but very well thought out response to Firsts incursion onto the 18 route. This is going to be a very painful battle for First, and one which the blues clearly are not willing to lose. Think back to when First had to withdraw from the waterside battle. I see the same outcome here, as Go ahead group never allow other operators to outwit them. They know that First have tried everything in a desperate attempt to make money in Southampton, which has actually pushed them even closer to the edge of oblivion. This seems to be Blue stars way of giving First a final push over the edge! Having said that, I am sure they would rather compete against a weakened First group, instead of one of the more aggressive operators, should First move out completely!
ReplyDeleteHow do you know for sure ,that it`s going via the general?or are you just guessing?
ReplyDeleteI would not wish to answer how I know for sure, but know for sure I certainly do!
DeleteWell unless you are somewhere in the heart of Bluestar I can't see how you do know,because even those at Bluestar lower down the ladder,who are the first to know at present certainly don't.
DeleteConfirmed BS17 is going to the general hospital
DeleteWhere did you see confirmation of this?
DeleteI'm BS driver got posters up.... That good enough?!?
DeleteAnother shrewd move from Bluestar. Filling in some of the gaps that First have left open must surely show that there is commercial viability in them, otherwise they wouldn't bother. Also shrewd in that should the City Red 10 fail and First decide to retreat and subsequently reinstate routes and higher frequencies in the future, they won't be greeted with open arms as Bluestar will have a lot of the trade.
ReplyDeleteI think the clearest evidence of the current status of these two companies can be seen in the ways in which they are attacking each other. Bluestar are making changes and investments that enhance their current network and simultaneously attack First, without sacrificing their own services; whereas First are tearing apart their network to focus on one major attack that offers nothing innovative or appealing to the market. If First really were doing successfully in Southampton, then they'd leave their network alone and simply introduce the new 10 in addition to it. Still, it keeps the network planner in a job I suppose. Maybe that's why all these changes happen?
I also hear that First will soon be launching a new competition for the City Red 10, and the prize will be a free week ticket. It's going to be called "Spot the Passenger".
The move by Bluestar will no doubt see First increase their city day ticket area.
DeleteAre Bluestar changing the no.18 still at the end of Sept?They have announced changes to BS16,but nothing about the 18!
ReplyDeleteIt's only a minor timetable change, they've put times on the timetable but forgot to register them
DeleteWhen you look at the new network map in Southampton in the First timetable book,it's rather like looking into space with all the galaxies surrounding a huge black hole in the centre.How times are changing
ReplyDeleteAlthough i was told by Bluestar last week that their services towards Bitterne would no longer use the Gyratory Road by Bullar road and instead stop on the Bitterne Road West by the Flower Shop,they are still using the Gyratory Road-However in Bitterne towards Thornhill as well as using the stop at the Top of Lances Hill their 3 and 18 also now use as from today the one opposite Sainsbury's in West End Road.
ReplyDeleteLove the fact that the Bluestar 18 weekly ticket is now only £5!I can go from Bitterne to Shirley,without having to change buses either.It`a win win situation!
ReplyDeleteBit of a coincidence that First introduce some very unpopular major changes and change their facebook page,so that people can`t post on their wall at the same time?
ReplyDeletePassengers can still complain about the services - it's just they need to go somewhere slightly different.
DeleteI think these changes to their social media accounts are more connected to splitting up the two areas on the First bus website than trying to make it more difficult for passengers to complain.
First get so many complaints they just don't have the staff to cope with it-The fact you won't be able to post anymore will not be a miss, because most postings were from people asking idiotic questions that should be posted on an enthusiast site, and are not, or were not related to the problems people have in getting from A to B.It's no wonder First have changed it, and it will be a pleasure not seeing these idiotic postings anymore.
DeleteI notice solent blue line are out to keep passengers on the 18. They have had a very friendly young man at Bitterne all day chatting up all the passengers!
ReplyDeletePlus some very nice ladies travelling on the 7 giving out goodies
Good to see a company engaging with the public
I think I met the same guy on my way to work this morning I could not believe how cheerful he was especially at 8am on a Monday morning
DeleteI counted a lot of Bluestar supervisors across Southampton but could not see a single First supervisor which says it all really
I used to catch the 13 but I now walk down to Bitterne Shops to catch an 18
That’s more than Xelabus are doing with the X6 and X7.
DeleteAccording to Xelabus’s own website and this website the X6 and X7 no longer runs in Hiltingbury on Saturdays.
But according to all the bus stops around Hiltingbury, both buses will be running around here this Saturday as usual.
You know it makes sense !!
Good Morning
DeleteA large programme of bus stop changes have been implemented and starting with Brijan services which are now complete. The X1, X2, X3 are near completion and the X6/X7 will be completed by tomorrow night.
We also have a lot of bus stop numbering to do and carrying out a major cleaning of cases and flags.
Don't worry its all being done.
Customer Services
Xelabus Limited
Yes indeed there was a lot to put right this timetable change and well done in doing it-Thank You all
DeleteYes I used the 7 today at about 1135 from Sholing to City which had a good load on it-Strange that First has been telling everyone that the old 5 hardly carried anyone-Also upon enquiry the lady driver on it said She had been on the service all morning and had on every trip carried good loads-Most of the passengers boarding were commenting on the fact it was so pleasant to have a cheerful and helpful driver who actualy spoke to them, instead of when it was the 5 the driver was normaly quite rude and hardly ever spoke to anyone or if they did it was usual to be some sort of grunt.
ReplyDeletePassed an X-bus the other day near Fisher's Pond and the destination box aperture was so small it made the route number 8 look like a 3 as it was cut it half. Very misleading for passengers,and not sure that is entirely legal either.Think it was an old step entrance Dart too !
ReplyDeleteWell the old step entrance Dart wont be about for much longer,that's if this week it still is, so your problem with the destination blind will disappear-Why do people post such petty comments
ReplyDeleteBluestar 17 timetable is now available on the Bluestar website!!
ReplyDeleteShould be popular as I'm told the Bluestar Travel Shop gets more enquiries about a service to the General Hospital than any other destination within Southampton-Good timetable too and daily a bonus for those in Brownhill Road and with late running buses even on Sundays although late evenings most terminate at Lordshill. Will look foreward to more services being introduced perhaps hopefully in the Merryoak area as First have almost but deserted this area.
DeleteTraffic Commisioners guidance to operators...also petty then?
ReplyDeleteActual observation on the ground of what is happening is
invaluable. Monitoring should follow a standard organisation wide
format that is easily understood. The monitor should record the service number, the time the bus arrives at and departs from the stop and from
that information the time of variance from the
registered timetable, indicating compliance or otherwise. The monitor should also note compliance with destination
board requirements and any other items
of note such as any driver conduct issues.
Theres lots of stupid regulation which if all was adhered too the bus would never leave the depot-Theres not enough people at any level to administer it all and most of it is thought up by people who should get a life and do something useful with their time.I get fed up with people quoting this and that and causing misery too others in life,most of whom are far short of being perfect themselves
ReplyDeleteWow!
DeleteHaving clear destination displays on show on the front of buses is hardly "stupid regulation".
Neither is running on time!
How many times do you note any operator without a bus which has a clear destination,it's rare but it does happen.Perhaps under todays difficult traffic conditions and other related problems you may like to explain to us all how every single bus can run to time and no regulation on paper will make all the buses run on time unless you know different
Delete