A bus war is brewing in Ringwood of all places. It's all about the local town routes, the incumbent versions of which are More's Ringo 1 and 2:
As you can see, they are a part-time between-the-peaks service running roughly between 0900 and 1530 Mon-Sats. For most of their operating hours, buses leave Meeting House Lane (Ringwood's interchange) at 25 and 55 minutes past each hour, with one journey each hour on each of these two clockwise circular routes:
Ringo 1
Ringo 2 until 27th May
As they are operated by More, daily and season tickets can also be used to connect at Meeting House Lane to and from More's other services in the town, the X3 to Salisbury or Bournemouth, the X6 to Poole or Bournemouth and the 38 to Ferndown as well as the three-days-a-week 125 to Christchurch.
So far so good. Enter Southbourne Buses from 24th April, with their S1 and S2 routes, looking remarkably similar to Ringo:
S1
S2
Some very minor differences, mainly that Lidl is served. How about the timetable?:
until 4th June
Slightly longer operating times, with buses on the road between 0820 and 1732, but look at the departure times from Meeting House Lane during the day - 20 and 50 past the hour, a strategic 5 minutes in front of More's Ringo. One guesses that most of this route's passengers will have pensioners' freebee passes and therefore no loyalty to either company, so they will simply get on whichever bus arrives first.
More aren't taking this lying down, with a new timetable from 28th May,
Ringo 2 will now also serve Lidl, but more important are the departure times from Meeting House Lane: 15 and 45 past each hour during the day, now 5 minutes in front of Southbourne Buses.
Cue a new timetable from Southbourne, due to start on 5th June:
... now to depart at 12 and 42 past each hour, 3 minutes in front of Ringo.
How long are both parties going to keep this game of leapfrog up? Will the passengers get fed up of constant arbitrary timetable changes? Will anyone ever see fit to provide a bus after 1715 on this route?
While Southbourne are to be commended for extending the operating hours on weekdays, they don't provide a Saturday service, while More do. Farepaying passengers will tend to prefer More because of the connections that can be made with integrated ticketing to other More routes. Southbourne is therefore reliant on pensioners and the ever-dwindling amounts that councils will pay bus operators for carrying them. I'll be very surprised if the S1/S2 are still going at Christmas.
What is the point of serving Lidl on a one-way circular route? presumably you can stay on the bus at Meeting House Lane without paying an additional fare - but then you will be on a different route - so for example you could not get back to Well's Garage.
ReplyDeleteThank you for highlighting some of the points regarding our bus services in the Ringwood area. Services s1/2 are operated on a commercial basis and we constantly review our operations to see if any changes can be made to improve the service we offer our customers.
ReplyDeleteWe are looking into the viability of providing a Saturday service on this route in the near future subject to demand.
With regards to the S1 not serving the Wells Garage stop on the following S2 journey, using historic data that we have available most journeys to this stop are made from Meeting House Lane as passengers dislike crossing the busy a338 to access Hurst Rd on other operators service, although most inbound journeys are made on other operators routes which offer a faster journey time to Meeting House Lane.
Popular stops on our new route include Cornmantle Court (s2) Lidl and Kings field (s1) not previously served by buses.
We are also allocating regular drivers to the services.
Customer services
Southbourne Buses
Southbourne is really Simon Gard, who traded as Gardbus and failed not that long ago. I'm not sure that there is enough patronage, well used as Ringos are, to pay two operators, and would hate to see Mr Gard's actions result in the loss of any Ringwood town circular service.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous5 May 2017 at 10:35 reads like the output from a large firm's publicity unit; all that we-ing! Good imagination or maybe self delusion??
ReplyDeleteBit like a certain Eastleigh independent. Lots of departments all run by the one person. But it sounds good to the unknowing customer.
DeleteI wish Southbourne buses success , but I do wonder if they may be more successful down the road at Burton/Christchurch where are massive service gaps on 24/125. ref Facebook page-A Bus for Burton
ReplyDeleteBus companies should re-introduce letters in the route no`s,like the 1/1a for Southern Vectis,as this causes confusion,as the bus uses different routes between Newport and West Cowes,so introducing one of the routes as 1a would save confusion.Another Vectis route to confuse is route 7,which runs a different route on alternate journeys for most of the route.
ReplyDeleteWhy?
DeleteMost people are going to the major towns on the route so if someone wanted Totland or Freshwater the answer would be 7 and not 7, 7A, 7B, 7C as in the past. For those that are only on one leg the route the destination will show the places served
Uni-link in Southampton use lettering to denote where their buses are going ,so I don`t see a problem with Vectis doing the same,it`s not difficult to implement surely.
DeleteThe reason for that is because there are a large amount of foreign students and it is easier to read a short 3 digit code than a long foreign word for the destination. Of course though as I found out, they just don't bother reading anything at all and just get on a bus and wait until they realise they're on the wrong bus, which usually is when they get to the NOCS, when they wanted the General Hospital..
DeleteYes, and also for easy reference at Highfield Interchange where buses traveling in opposite directions on each route use the same stop
DeleteIt will end in tears.
ReplyDeleteOur s1/s2 services are becoming increasingly popular both with cash fares and concessionary travel. Improvements expected from September include a Saturday service and earlier buses on Monday To Fridays.
ReplyDeleteTimetables are also now available to download for service s12 summer only between Bournemouth Pier and Hengistbury Head
Customer services
Southbourne Buses
I hope the owner puts a stop to a disturbing matter I've heard of. Story is that a lady was walking along when a bus pulled beside her ans driver invited her to hop on. She said she hadn't her bus pass. Doesn't matter was the driver's reply.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that driver putting Mr Gard in danger for fraud?
No, it is not fraud unless the driver recorded the passenger as having a pass and then charges the council for her journey. If the driver gave a free ride, and did not record the passenger at all, it would invalidate any insurance claim however....
DeleteLet's accept you are right, but even then surely such action could be seen as suspicious to a qualified observer. I believe the driver records trips manually too, so there's no obvious clear trail when a card is used.
DeleteLet's accept your view one more. Then is not the driver depriving the owner of revenue due to him?
Whatever the merits or not of Mr Gard's re-entry, Ido not want him caught out over an employee's misbehaviour
Sounds like good customer service to me. Something the big companies spout about but cant put into practice. At Unilink staff were encouraged to look after the customers until Go Ahead took over and sent their team of revenue inspectors to report instances of rule breaking even when these were genuine acts of assistance to customers.
DeleteTo clear up an issue recently raised on this site. Recently we had a customer who had forgotten there disabled English National Concessionary Bus Pass. The customer had no alternative means of payment at the time of wanting to travel, travel was allowed on this journey as it is our policy not to leave disabled or elderly customers stranded. The management were informed and a record made of the incident immediatley. We reguarly carry out random revenue protection checks on our services to ensure our drivers are maintaining compliance with the English National Concessionary fares scheme and cash revenue ticket sales.
ReplyDeleteCustomer services
Southbourne Buses
@Anonymous24 May 2017 at 11:20
DeleteYour example is not the one in my earlier post. The one I wrote about was not standing at a stop or flagging the bus down while running. She was just walking along the road.
The above demonstrates a shocking lack of understanding of English! Where were you educated? Surely not on these shores?
DeleteAnonymous25 May 2017 at 11:50
ReplyDeleteWhat have we here; a professor of English?
I have suggestions for you.
1. Do not wrap up an ad hominem attack against someone's comment in pejorative remarks about grammar and language.
2. Ease off! This is a blog. Let posters express themselves as best they can.
I have no problem with the posters comments, but I would expect someone posting as the proprietor of a bus operator to have basic knowledge of learning correct spelling at least.
DeleteAnonymous 25 May 2017 at 0918.
ReplyDeleteThis is the only incident that we can find on record of this nature and can assume this is the one you are referring to. As you state in a previous post you hear of this if this is a genuine allegation that you are making then please pass your details to the relevant authorities and we will cooperate fully with any investigation. I doubt you will as one can assume that you are either an employee or director of a rival bus company trying to cause damage to my business and in the process putting the jobs of the staff we employ at risk. Please take this as notice to cease and decist with your canpaign against our business we will take legal action if this continues both against the individual responsible
Customer services
Southbourne buses
I posted what I had been told as a board friend, who has no wish for Mr Gard/Southbourne buses to be in trouble over an employee's error.
DeleteI am not of a rival company, and have no intention od any sort of escalation. Had I had malice in mind, I would have gone through official channels without posting here.
What a strange response. Clearly the owner of Southbourne Buses already knows who the anonymous commentator is, by suggesting they will take them to court.
DeleteClearly Mr Gard ... sorry I meant customer service bod ... needs to take a hard look at customer service; accusing concerns as being posted by a rival company director or bus company.
(PS - I am not in the employ or have a financial interest in the bus industry.)
One wonders how many passengers will travel to LIDL as both operators currently operate in a clockwise loop. With frozen food it will be deteriating by the time the passenger gets home.
ReplyDeleteFor the benefit of those who are not local LIDL's are located about a mile South East of the town centre and bus terminus at the Furlong.
Perhaps the operators could consider one of their alternative routes going in an anti -clockwise direction?
Firstly Poulner and Hightown are over bussed with two operators. so we shall assume that situation ends sometime. Both route variants would end up with bi- hourly services on the separated sections. How well that'd go down!
ReplyDeleteYou do have to remember this blog is in effect the go south coast fan club and therefore a high proportion of comments will reflect this.
ReplyDeleteSo peoples having opinions makes them members of a fan club? How ridiculous! Users, yes, but that's all!
DeleteRingos have moved from Stand D, which was shared with Southbourne S1/2, More 38. More X6 Poole and Yellow B4 Bournemouth via Verwood and Ferndown. Around xx:10 to xx:20 that stand could be horrendously overcrowded, to all that at the entrance to the row of stands was where crew changes were accomplished. It all was getting catch as catch can, where a bus could find a home.
ReplyDeleteHow the change will cause the local spat to play out, who knows!
We like to think we can offer something better than the competition a regular driver allocated to our routes and a modern easy access bus, in addition to serving parts of Ringwood that have never previously had a bus service. Despite other operators timetable changes passenger numbers are still on the increase . We expect this to continue in the future and look to operate some s2 journeys on
ReplyDeleteWednesdays in the summer school holidays with our open top bus.
Customer services
Southbourne buses
Mr Gard actually is company director of
ReplyDeleteSOUTHBOURNE ON SEA MOTOR BUS COMPANY LIMITED
Incorporated on 24 May 2016 ( from Companies House records) , yet he appears to have registered services under his own name.
The sense of this is unclear to me. Why operate with full liability for debts, when limited liability as a company is readily available?