Full details of what we know about Christmas and New Year service amendments across the region can be found here.
The main noteworthy points are that:
- Stagecoach will provide a full Sunday service on both Boxing Day and New Year's Day.
- First will have no buses running on New Year's Day
- First Wessex X54 (Poole-Weymouth) is suspended between Christmas and New Year.
- Activ8: On some days, Stagecoach will run their journeys on this shared route, but Salisbury Reds won't be running theirs
The operators whose Christmas plans we still await are:
- First Bath, for the sake of the 265 Salisbury-Bath service
- Wheeler's, but we can assume that they won't run on any of the bank holidays
- Mervyn's, ditto
First Southampton Route 12 to be withdrawn in January along with the City to Thornhill side of route 2.
ReplyDeleteWhere have you got this information from? There's nothing indicated in PSV Notice & Proceedings which I find odd. Unless of course you are privy to inside information from the First route planners?
DeleteDo you have a source for this? No such change has been officially announced and I'd be very surprised if any such move were to occur so soon after the October changes. If you can't state a credible source, I'll delete the comment so that people don't mistakenly think their route is going to be withdrawn.
DeleteI would be very surprised by the thornhill end of the 2 going, so soon after the renumbering and route extension. But I too have heard from a credible source that the 12 is going.
DeleteWasn't City to Thornhill on the 2 introduced only a few weeks ago? When are First pulling out of the Southampton area, because they seem - and NO, I am not a fan of the other firm - to be increasingly desperate to attract custom, but don't, and therefore come under increasing pressuure from Aberdeen.
ReplyDeleteSell the operation back to the staff, or anyone else brave or rich enough to take it on, and let local management take the initiative. Under Moir, there was an atmosphere of Aberdeen says, therefore it shall happen. I had the impression that, under Giles, things were better in that regard. Clearly not!
The City-Thornhill end was only renumbered a few weeks ago, no route change, it was originally introduced a few years ago as the City Red 10.
DeleteJack, it has certainly not been around for years.
DeleteOn another note, very surprising that no one here is raving about the UK bus awards. One of our local operators did very well apparently, and it wasn't First!
I didn’t say it’d been around for years, I said it was introduced a few years ago. September 2015 to be exact, which being over 2 years ago, I believe I can correctly describe it as “a few years ago”....
DeleteFirst staff report the company has announced to them that the 12, the Thornhill half of the 2 and the yellow schoolbus unit will all finish in January. I guess registrations will appear early next week.
ReplyDeleteI can't just see the 12 finishing, that would leave the whole of Oakley Road/Cumbrian Way and Coxford/Maybush area without any buses.
ReplyDeleteCould it be that as the 8 and 12 interwork it is becoming one route being given the number 8? Just my two-pence worth, I could be totally wrong but can't see it going without replacement, I understood first lost Aldermoor Road when Bluestar introduced the quicker and more frequent 17.
The 2 (east side) on the other hand, I'm not too surprised about.
Seems like First have finally realised that running service 2 cross-city makes it less reliable due to traffic in Shirley and Bitterne. I think they will reintroduce the 10 to Thornhill, back to how it was before the end of October.
DeleteCaught a packed double decker Bluestar 18 from town tonight at 19.20 towards Shirley,The fact a double decker was packed and it left a few minutes after a First 2,which travels exactly the same route,should give you a huge clue that bus passengers prefer Bluestar.Before all the bright sparks suggest everyone had passes,this was not the case as many paid cash.
DeleteThis is an intriguing developing story, if true. I simply cannot believe that First would be admitting defeat so soon, having only just joined the 2 and 10 together. The Millbrook end seems to do quite well, although the frequency is far too great to be truly profitable, whereas the Thornhill end has always looked like a loser. No big surprise if the 12 goes however, as it's not a red so it's dead, as the saying goes! If both go the dominance through Shirley would return completely to Blue Star, which would be a remarkable turn around, as it has to be the busiest corridor in the City. Maybe Aberdeen have finally had enough? It would leave First looking red faced, and incredibly weak in Southampton. If this were to happen, surely their management team would have to go?
DeleteQuite something the x54 has been downgraded, had it's weekend services withdrawn entirely, and now is suspended for an entire week for no real reason, just after First have taken over the train service it mirrors! Probably not a coincidence.
ReplyDeleteAlso while "more" are running later on New Years Eve/Day Yellow Buses are stopping earlier on a night when more people will likely want to travel. I do fully support allowing staff time off (hence am not so keen on GSCs 25/12 service) but I would have thought there'd probably be enough who'd choose to work New Years Eve.
Yellow Buses are stopping far too early. Last buses before 1700 in some cases! The sort of thing that gives public transport a bad name.
DeleteGSC 25/12 services all run by volunteers.
It would be so much simpler if all bus operators ran their normal service on the weekdays between Christmas and New Year,rather than the mess it is,with some services operating normally,others running a Saturday service etc.
ReplyDeleteFirst are withdrawing their Yellow School Bus operation from 9 February.
ReplyDeleteHaven't heard about any yellow school buses being operated by First. Are you referring to the Brockenhurst college services operated by Yellow Buses?
DeleteThe school bus section at First Southampton is being closed on 9 February. The 2 and 12 route is finishing on 21 January.
DeletePH0006159/398 Cancelled
ReplyDeleteFIRST HAMPSHIRE AND DORSET LIMITED
Route: Southampton City Centre to Lords Hill Centre via Shirley, Millbrook
Service number: 12
Service type: Normal Stopping
Effective date: 21 Jan 2018
There's got to be some sort of replacement for this, even if it's just a case of diverting city red 2 via Oakley Road and Cumbrian Way.
Delete