On their website, they describe how their 7 will be extended to run cross-city, replacing First 12 from Sunday 21st January 2018. Initially it will use the exact same route that the 12 currently uses, but from February (date still to be confirmed) it will be routed away from Aldermoor Road, already served by Bluestar 17, to serve Lords Hill Way, giving passengers there an alternative to First Three.
Bluestar 7 started on 6th September 2015 as a direct replacement for First 5, which had just been withdrawn between Sholing and the City Centre. It's run without a subsidy from the council either, showing that it can be successful as a commercial route if done properly.
We'll let you know as soon as the timetable is published.
Awesome news. Let's hope that Bluestar can make a better job of it than First did.
ReplyDeleteAbsolute legends, for getting the punch in so quick, titling the post in such a way, and then hitting 'em when they're down and waging war with the Three.
ReplyDeleteExcellent news. I must admit I've normally used First due to their historically more frequently services in Shirley, but I've just ordered my Key card for Bluestar. 4 more journeys to use on my First TouchCard, then Hello Bluestar.
ReplyDeleteAs previous posters have said, this looks like a touch of genius thinking. Not only do they, yet again, curry favour with those whom First have abandoned, and the City council, but they now appear to be the dominant force through the Shirley corridor with 4 services, and they kick First while they are down, by pinching even more of the custom from the 3. They have reacted with the speed of light too! You really have to take your hat off to these guys, they are going in for the kill.
ReplyDeleteYou might think this but the Go Ahead share price is down by more than 25% over the last year, whereas the First Group share price is up more than 5%. It's clear who the analysts in the City think has the right strategy for increasing profit and it ain't Go Ahead.
DeleteRunning a business is about profit not turnover. I doubt Go Ahead have made any profit on the services they have taken over from First in Southampton, and I dread to think how much they have lost on the 16 over the years.
This is true, but I suspect that the relative changes to share price have more to do with Go-Ahead's disastrous involvement in Southern Railway, while First's ability to win big rail business seems to have improved of late. I don't think the City analysts pay much attention to a local bus skirmish.
DeleteAnd it's worth noting that in other parts of the country the roles are very much reversed, with Go Ahead retreating in East Anglia (for example) and being vilified in the process in a very similar way to First in Southampton.
I always felt like Go-Ahead were a mere sugar daddy for Go South Coast, and the whole thing was much more decentralised than First Bus.
DeleteAgree with Aidan - they seem to be a very separate body to Go Ahead, one thing I notice is their preference (??) of ADL vehicles over the Wrightbus vehicles which are standard across other parts of their operation.
DeleteWell done to BS for stepping into the breach when frankly WorstBus couldn't be arsed! Moves like this are perhaps 1 reason the GSC won operator of the yr?
ReplyDeleteOnly issue with route could be traffic eg Itchen Bridge closed, & knock-on effects etc.
Only said about the traffic cos a colleague who uses the 7 now is forever moaning about how late it is! I've never used this 7 route myself.
DeleteDidn't First yrs ago split the 17/17A in half yonks ago due to this reason re traffic problems incl Itchen Bridge jumpers?
The 7 is not very reliable; it is tightly timed. If GSC want to make a success of the extension they will need to build in recovery time at Lordshill and Sholing, otherwise it will resemble the 18 only much less frequent.
DeleteThe 7 has been badly hit by roadworks recently but ordinarily the timings seem OK.
DeleteCorrect me if I'm wrong but from Jan, First will only have 1 bus that goes to L'hill,& Hosp. Only 1 via Millbrook, only 2 buses via Shirley. Only 1 via Bitterne. But First will have 5 routes via Woolston?! (3,6,9,11,13)
ReplyDeleteWho'd have thought this would happen?
Then from Jan BS will have 3 routes via L'hill, (2 of them via Hosp), 1 via Millbrook, 4 via Shirley, 3 via Bitterne & Woolston x 1 route. It's like a total reversal & I'm sure no-one would have envisaged this yrs ago?
DeleteAnd if you include the Unilink buses even more buses to the General!
ReplyDeleteAnon at 5 Dec 14.11 comments that, if Unilink buses are included, that means even more buses to the General.
DeleteYes, folks, this is correct but some Southampton residents still have the idea that the Unilink services are run as a private hire. They WERE, when Citybus/First ran them, but public since 2001.
Always been available to the public.
DeleteThe new CityRed 7 timetable on the first website dosen't seem to be displaying the Saturday and Sunday timetables.
ReplyDeleteBecause there is no change to them.
DeleteFirstbus today on twitter=facepalm! someone asked if & when the 12 is being stopped? They say I'll look into this 4 u b4 saying "We have not been made aware of the 12 service being stopped." HUH?!
ReplyDeleteThen she replies by saying others on bus discussing it & how blueline will take it over, seems a wait & see.
Then all of a sudden they recall info & inform her of withdrawn 12! Seems no-one sings from the same hymn sheets esp on their twitter page! Words fail me at their incompetency!
Do First monitor their Twitter pages in the individual area - i.e Southampton's is monitored from Southampton, Portsmouth's from Portsmouth etc, or are they all controlled from Norwich?!
Deletehttp://www.firstgroupplc.com/contact-us/socialmedia.aspx
DeleteYes but if you respond from Norwich!
ReplyDeleteThis convo was on the First So'ton Twitter, not the generic FirstBus acct actually.
DeleteFirst are so inconsistent. Changes are taking place in Weymouth and Berkshire on the same date as Southampton. Weymouth folk have been left in the dark on the January cuts.
ReplyDeleteIn Weymouth - 5 (Weymouth-Crossways-Dorchester) and X52 (Lyme Regis-Exeter) axed altogether. 10 (Poundbury-Dorchester-Weymouth) reduced from 5 bph to 4 bph.
ReplyDeleteIn Slough - 2 (Dedworth-Slough), 5 (Cippenham-Slough), 10/11 (Heathrow-Datchet-Slough) and 15 (Eton Wick-Slough) all axed. Cuts in frequency to 3 (Slough-Uxbridge) and 6 (Slough-The Frethe) also. The 702 (Bracknell-Slough-London) has been withdrawn and will be taken over by Reading Buses.
The whole region is a basket case at the moment. I also understand that Simon Newport, who was General Manager at Weymouth, has left to join Yellow Buses.
FirstBus So'ton Twitter name is FirstShampton & how ironic- Sham! PSV? No Public Service, only Vehicles they provide! How ironic my pass runs out on the 20th Jan! After that they can have it back.
ReplyDeleteUnless u live in Woolston there's now no point in having a First pass now that they've decimated their routes.
From Jan 21st,if you want to travel to Northam ,or Bitterne Manor,then Bluestar 18 will be your only bus of choice from about 7pm on Sundays and about 8.30pm weekdays.
ReplyDeleteExcept for the last Bluestar 3 at 21:10 on weekdays.
Deleteon Sundays it's actually about 6 as the last 8 Leaves the City Centre at 1800 and last 16 at 1651.
Deletethe last 16 is at 1735, not that it makes much difference
DeleteThe last 8 from Bitterne on Sundays is just after 7pm,hence from about 7pm .
Deletefrom my nest trip to southampton in the new year i will no longer be using first i will be using bluestar for my future visits to southampton so goodbye first and hello bluestar i hope bluestar expand with more services to woolston in the future but i will still use first in fareham and portsmouth but not southampton
ReplyDeleteWell done Mr.Todd!!
DeleteThe 7s timetable is now available on Traveline for both January and February. There are some improvements for Sholing residents with slightly later buses Mondays to Saturdays, and an additional bus in each direction on Sundays. also to be noted that on Sundays the service will only operate between Sholing and Aldermoor.
ReplyDeleteThere appears to be a weird dog-leg in the outbound (eastbound) route 7 at Shirley as the map on Traveline shows it turning left out of Park Street then making a u-turn to serve the bus stop outside Shirley Precinct.
DeleteIt will turn left before park st stop and run via Carlisle Road and Newman St to serve Shirley Precinct on its way to city centre.
DeleteAlso, to OP, there are 2 extra buses in each direction on sundays.
Deletehttp://www.buscms.com/BlueStar2015/uploadedfiles/pdfs/bluestar7/preview_web-tt_route_7_1217_PRESS.pdf
ReplyDeleteUpdated: http://www.buscms.com/BlueStar2015/uploadedfiles/preview_web-tt_route_7_1217_PRESS1.pdf
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