2 Millbrook-Thornhill
three Lordshill-Thornhill
6 City Centre-Hamble
7 City Centre-Townhill Park
9 City Centre-Sholing
11 City Centre-Weston
13 City Centre-Harefield
Don't forget that the 1 is withdrawn and that the 10 is being replaced by the extended 2.
Some fares are going up on Bluestar routes 4, 17 and 18 from Sunday 8th October:
City Centre to Millbrook remains at £1.90 single and £2.90 return. There are ways of getting that down however:
- Route 16/18 Dayrider: £3
- Southampton zone Dayrider: £3.70
- Southampton zone 10 Dayriders: £33 on the Key (that's £3.30 per day)
- Route 18 weekly ticket: £6 (that's 86p per day)
- Routes 7/16/17/18 weekly ticket: £10 (that's £1.43 a day)
- Southampton zone weekly ticket: £14 on the Key or the app (that's £2 a day)
- Southampton zone 30 day ticket: £44 (that's £1.47 per day)
- 12 single journeys on the Key for £17.50 (that's £1.46 per journey)
- 24 single journeys on the Key for £33 (that's £1.38 per journey)
- 36 single journeys on the Key for £47 (that's £1.31 per journey)
As a comparison, First charge a minimum of £2 single and £3 return, but there are ways of getting that down too:
- FirstDay Southampton: £3.50
- 5 FirstDays on the app: £15 (that's £3 per day)
- Millbrook/Route 10 FirstWeek: £6 (that's 86p per day)
- FirstWeek Southampton: £10 (that's £1.43 per day)
- FirstMonth Southampton: £39 (that's £1.30 per day)
- 10 single journeys on the app: £15 (that's £1.50 per journey)
Bluestar 18 should run with double deckers all the time,such as its popularity.
ReplyDeleteThe council should run all the buses services in the city by itself, such is the amount of petty squabbling.
ReplyDeleteMrs Thatcher disagreed
DeleteI wish Blue Star would increase the frequency of the 3, it seems to be a very neglected route compared to the 1 and 2
ReplyDeleteAlso worth noting is that the service 2 will run every 20 minutes in the evenings.
ReplyDeleteYes,more empty buses running every 20 mins through the evening!
DeleteWhy would they be empty ?
DeleteSeen them in the evenings with just two people on board and now they are increasing that frequency....
DeleteLastBus so unoriginal in copying 18 route via Kingsway etc. Still no sign of route changes on buses etc despite the fact these changes have been online for over a mth. and they wonder why folk get up in arms at changes? Commercial suicide is what LastBus are doing. Just feel sorry for those who are none the wiser.
ReplyDeleteWho are lastbus ?
DeleteLastbus are what I call so-called Firstbus! A former colleague used to call them WorstBus!
DeleteThen why not call them FirstBus. Some what immature approach otherwise
DeleteBluestar should change their 18 times to run a few minutes before them.
DeleteThat`ll teach`em!
DeleteDoes the 18 even have a timetable? I thought it just ran when it felt like it.............
DeleteIt`s so frequent Mon-Sat daytimes,that you don`t need a timetable!
DeleteUnlike the First 2,Bluestar 18 will operate every 7/8 mins on Sats as well!
DeleteIt does have a timetable; 2 buses come together every 15-20 minutes or so...........
DeleteAs first are about to discover, when you run cross city, you lose the advantage because of congestion points, and buses bunch. Silly move, but as usual, they know best, until they don't!
DeleteTrue cross city makes reliability more difficult but any commercially competent planner understands that to make money the first principal is to provide what the customer wants. Just look back at the Citybus routes introduced in 1995 all cross city with direct links between every district centre. Revenue went up 10%.
DeleteI agree. What a pity that First wrecked that network. I doubt that they will ever get those customers back, as the public seem to think they lack any credibility now and just don't trust them anymore. If only they could see the damage that their constant tinkering does! The only long term hope is that they sell up and let an operator with a plan and an appetite take over. Something like GSC is doing in Swindon is badly needed here.
DeleteYou mean losing money hand over fist like GSC is doing in Swindon. How would that help First in Southampton?
DeleteFWIW I think First are doing the right thing in running cross city. Its taken them far too long to work it out, though!
Of course GSC is losing money in Swindon. They only took over the business a few months ago, and nearly everything needed changing and updating. What they have done, very quickly, is to provide the business with a direction and equipment to ensure long term profitability. It is this kind of vision that First badly need in Southampton, as they appear to lurch from one crisis to the next, constantly changing every few months, leaving customers confused and desperate for something that they can rely on.
DeleteSo what crisis are these - changing ever few months - time and time again both operators change their timetables mainly to
DeleteImprove punctuality. You seem to be out of touch have you seen congestion in soton and up and down the country. Both operators have good new buses, both operators have next stop displays both operators have stop announcements both operators have WiFi both operators take bank card payments both operators operate good frequencies on main corridors. The only real difference is the colour of the bus.
Please keep your comments to a civil nature. I promise that I am far from out of touch, as an avid watcher of both sets of services.
DeleteBlue Star have not changed a route number for many years, only adding new ones where there is a sensible gap in the market, or where they have been asked to provide a service that First have abandoned. Other than that, they make very small reliability changes or seasonal adjustments. First seem to make wholesale changes on a regular basis, abandon whole areas and seem to be an operator who is struggling to know what to do to turn a decent profit. Hence their regular appearances on the changes on the way pages on this blog, and their bewildered customers, who I hear moaning about them every day of the week! Ok, the blues have daily reliability issues, as does any operator, but at least they have a stable network which the travelling public can trust and understand.
As has been reported on here a number of times Bluestar changes are just as frequent and worth casting your mind back to Eastleigh (and Ringwood) for that matter. Changes galore - the words areas abandoned come to mind ? As we know this blog and a number of commentators are very pro Bluestar.
DeleteAbsolute nonsense I am afraid. I am talking about far more recent history. I can't ever remember Blue star running to Ringwood? The Eastleigh incident was also heading for a decade ago. They clearly learned plenty from it and now only change things very rarely and only when there is a real need. Contrast this with First who make wholesale changes on a very regular basis, giving the impression of a broken business model. I suggest you have a look back over the past 3 or 4 years, to see how many changes First have made. I would water that they make at least 5 times as many as the blues. I am not pro any operator, but I do recognise and applaud the stability that Blue star offers their public, compared to First who keep changing routes and times, leaving their customers feeling lost, and giving the impression that they have to do something, before their head office do something else!
DeleteYou are probably not aware but Ringwood is managed by the same business as Bluestar - it’s called go ahead. Have a google and you will find out more. Also if you look at bus operation throughout the country you will see far more changes from city operators than operators who provide mainly inter urban or country services.
Deletebluestar,used to run ,soton,ringwood, Bournemouth fast services jointly with wilts and dorset not so long ago!
DeleteI am sure you are thinking of the old X2 and before that X27 route? They were run by Hants and Dorset surely, long before Blue Star I think?
DeleteBack to the common-sense days when everyone paid a fare to travel and reliable running times made it possible to run a decent bus service!
DeleteYes, they were run by Hants and Dorset, but also by Solent Blue Line (I recall a memorable trip to Bournemouth on an X2 in a Ford Transit!). Blue Star has never existed as a bus company, it was for many years a trading name of Solent Blue Line, and is now a trading name of GSC. It certainly lasted longer than Red Rockets....
DeleteSo the OP is correct. SBL/GSC have cut back in more recent times.
blueline/bluster ran fast/semi fast Southampton/Ringwood/Bournemouth with services x33/34/35 ~before that x1/x2 with some running through to Poole using the duel purpose olypians
DeleteA bit out of area but a good example is go ahead in plymouth cant leave anything alone for 5 mins they make firsts frequent changes in southampton long term. So not everything in the go ahead group is rose tinted
DeleteRoad closures are often the cause of changes such as Blandford this week
DeleteIf you read the Plymouth blog you will see a variety of reasons for the changes
DeleteTrue but Go Ahead in Plymouth are making wholesale changes to services far more frequently even than First in Southampton. Some balance is needed on this blog.
DeleteAnon-6thNov-19:24... clue is in the name.. Southampton Bus Update. Nothing to do with Plymouth.
Delete18 registered as frequent service - at least a 10 min service or better. Although for VOSA operation checking purposes that means there must be 6 buses an hour and no gap of more than 15 min (10 + 5 allowed for late running).
ReplyDeleteImagine if First had taken over the Isle Of Wight buses,they would probably be renamed First Isle of Wight,given the bland First livery,with the five most popular routes called "Island reds",with timetable changes every five mins ,instead of twice a year.I`m so glad Go-Ahead run the island`s buses instead of First.
ReplyDeleteOf course I assume you are also happy to pay through the nose for their fares. Do they sell many returns on the Isle of Wight ? Islands Reds ? Is that like Salisbury Reds ??
DeleteSouthern Vectis is a bit of a goldmine,with full buses and no competition.I`m sure First would be charging a lot for island travel,if they had taken over Vectis.Go-ahead offer stability by only changing the timetable twice a year though.
DeleteBut it’s a rip off. No returns and sky high fares ?
DeleteWould it be any less a rip off under First?I don`t think so.
DeleteIt is called business. It is what the market will stand, and it makes for financial stability.
DeleteAh the free market.....And by definition where there is a demand a bus service will operate and when there is insufficient demand the bus service won’t operate hence why routes get withdrawn
DeleteI’m not aware of anywhere in the country Under deregulation where return tickets are not available except IoW
DeleteThey do do one return. Newport-Cowes on the 1 route. £5.50. Instead of two singles totalling £7.
Delete"I’m not aware of anywhere in the country Under deregulation where return tickets are not available except IoW"
DeleteIn Greater Manchester, most routes don't offer return tickets, with day tickets usually being cheaper than two singles. For longer journeys a day ticket can even be cheaper than one single.
Yes and that day ticket in Manchester is generally cheaper than one Southern Vectis single (£5.50 Newport-Cowes for 5 miles!). As is a day ticket on First Southampton, First Portsmouth and Yellow Buses.
DeletePlease stop trying to defend GSC's fare policy on the Island. They are ripping off customers and indirectly the council. We all know you are a GSC fan and never criticise them; you are just making yourself look stupid by defending the indefensible.
Why has a posting I put on here yesterday not appeared? It was not offensive. It dared to point out that GSC single fares on the Isle of Wight are higher than day tickets in many parts of the country.
DeleteSeems you can't criticise GSC on here without being censored. Pathetic.
£5.50 is the Newport to Cowes return. The single is £3.50 which is quite a normal amount for a journey of that type and distance anywhere.
DeleteI think the most expensive singles on the island are £4.50. You won't find many rural day tickets at anywhere near that price. The urban areas you mention are really not relevant. Quite clearly the Isle of Wight is not an urban network.
Fares on the island have mainly been frozen for a long time while fares in other places have carried on rising and so they are probably less expensive now compared to other areas than they have ever been. You are also only talking about the standard fares but there are some incredibly cheap ticket options on the Key smartcard which seem to be used by a lot of the locals.
So a £4.50 single = £9.00 return ? That’s some fare !
DeleteSurprised no one has posted this here http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/15588608.Yellow_Buses_boss_quits_____days_after_firm_reports_profits_have_halved_in_a_year/?ref=ar
ReplyDeleteMakes you wonder whether this is as a result of Yellow Buses changing their network four times in the last year. Also worth taking a look at this article below:
Deletehttp://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/15617513.WEDNESDAY_BOSS__How_Morebus_brought_bus_travel_back_into_fashion/#comments-anchor
It is a result of the changes made being a complete and unmitigated disaster, as anyone except them could have foreseen. Yet another big network change is now on the way, apparently.
DeleteThe armchair network planner rides again
ReplyDelete