First have decided to continue with the promotional price of £9.50 for their FirstWeek Southampton ticket. The equivalent Bluestar/Unilink weekly ticket for the city is £15 from the driver or £14 on The Key or their app, although their network does cover more of the city.
More 112 becomes the Beach Bus again from 24th July, running more often between Hythe and Lymington, with some journeys via Lepe Beach and Beaulieu National Motor Museum. See the new timetable here. The new summer route:
Hampshire County Council cuts loom in September: Stagecoach is withdrawing the 46 and the 36 is revised from the 3rd. This will probably leave North Baddesley and Valley Park with no direct link to Winchester. More as we get it.
With all the stealth cuts by HCC earlier this year where quite a number of services were reduced to only certain days of the week operation,it's no wonder they are now gradually disappearing.A lot more to follow in the future I suspect
ReplyDeleteWhat services were cut earlier this year?
DeleteYes most were made during 2015
DeleteIndeed, Anonymous at 09:23 on 22 June. It's little wonder that more folk are getting the car out instead of waiting for a longer period before the next bus is due. I have long had the idea - with trains as well - that if the service is there when people want to use it, and at a sensible price, then they will use it. More and more cuts mean fewer and fewer services and fewer people using them, so more cuts.
ReplyDeletePure speculation but could the 36 be diverted to cover parts of the 46 route? It already runs Hursley-Winchester two days a week, and it would be easy to divert it via at least Hiltingbury by running up Hook Road and the B3043.
ReplyDeleteHard to imagine that just a few years ago Valley Park had a good service to Eastleigh and Chandler's Ford area as well as Winchester,but looks now there will be no service to get anywhere apart from some sort of carshare maybe
ReplyDeleteI wonder just how much untapped demand there is in Valley Park for a decent service? It seems to be one of those awkwardly placed and laid out estates that is not only not on a direct route to anywhere, but also requires some double-running or looping to adequately serve. Could it be served by a single route that would be attractive enough? Ironically the OS map shows a tiny woodland in the middle of Valley Park called "Small Profits", which probably sums up the situation rather well!
ReplyDeleteHaha :-) Although it would be even better if it was called "Large Losses"!
DeleteAs Venturer says below the 46 is being re-tendered and should continue in some form, but may be reduced.
I expect the September 36 change is to remove the school journeys which apparently Stagecoach have lost to another operator.
Valley Park used to have a really good service - at various times since the 1990s t not only had the 46 to Southampton City Centre, The General and to Winchester (all hourly, Monday to Saturday) it has also had regular (up to half hourly) links to both Eastleigh and Southampton. Unfortunately, I suspect that it's location is a lot of the problem - people have chosen to live there because of it's proximity to good roads in many directions, so there is no one flow of people in any given direction.
ReplyDeleteThe 46 is part of HCC's Winchester tenders, which are being renewed from 4th September, so the 46 will continue in some form, albeit maybe not operated by Stagecoach. Eastleigh, Romsey and Waterside supported services are also currently out to tender, so there will almost certainly be changes to those too in the autumn.
Stagecoach 46.
ReplyDeleteIn the second half of 2014 the number of
people using the 46 started to increase
rapidly. Then it was cut back in January 2015.
The number of passengers has been increasing
again over the last few months. So now it is to
be either axed or cut back badly again.
You know it makes sense.
Stagecoach 46.
ReplyDeleteNot only is the 46 to go, but it looks as though the PS1 is going as well.
I have always wondered how the Bus network in Winchester keeps going while the bus network in and around Eastleigh is cut back ?
ReplyDelete