Looking ahead to Friday 1st March, and we have a change of operator on route 31 in Ventnor on the Isle of Wight. It transfers from Mark Tutty trading as Mini Bus Plus to Top Taxi. There is no change to the route or the timetable.
Sunday 3rd March sees changes to the following First routes in and around Fareham. Click the route numbers for timetables:
F2 Fareham-Highlands: Frequency halved from hourly to every 2 hours.
F3 Fareham-Portchester: Cut from six days a week to one. Now runs Wednesdays only.
10 Fareham-Gosport: Early evening service cut. Last journeys now depart before 1530.
11 Fareham-Alverstoke: Cut from 6 return journeys a day Mon-Sats to 4. Last journeys now depart before 1500.
20 Fareham-Wickham: Some weekday morning and early evening journeys cut. Saturday service halved to 4 return journeys instead of 8.
21 Fareham-Stubbington: Cut from 11 weekday journeys to 5/6 and from 5 Saturday journeys to 4.
27 Rowlands Castle-Emsworth: New timetable with some journeys cut.
28/28A Fareham-Whiteley: Early evening services cut. Saturday service slashed to 2/3 journeys.
Monday 4th March sees Southbourne C1 launch in Christchurch. Details of that can be found here.
A bit of a surprise I thought the F3 was axed completly.Still with a Wednesday only operation it might as well have been.Still most have a service on the other HCC tendered routes,until the next change when they get reduced again
ReplyDeleteI am sure, that in the case of the 10 and the 11, there must be a better way. Guaranteed connections and a regular service feeding into the Eclipse would be better than what is in place now, no?
ReplyDeleteNow I am not saying that all the customers will be using the eclipse, but the issue is not the remote areas into the Eclipse but the Eclipse home to the remote areas. I wonder if there would be any traction in:
Brockhurst - via route 10 to the top of Spring Garden Lane - then via the 11 route to the Ferry, Stoke Road and Alverstoke.
A guarantee that (albeit with a 10 minute connection time maybe for delays) a certain E1 or E2 from Fareham would connect at Brockhurst and The White Hart to get into Alverstoke would enable an hourly PVR1 and give some reliability to those that use it.
Most of the commuters to/from Fareham would have a season ticket (maybe even tie it into the Eclipse Week ticket as a promotion) so potentially it could tempt some car users out.
I wonder what the X17 driver does in Petersfield for 2.25hrs, and with the bus? Sounds like a good shift though.
ReplyDeleteAitch he probally goes to have a look at the shops in the Petersfield area
ReplyDeleteLots of GSC changes on VOSA today, incl route & time changes for the BS 2 & 3, whereas the 17 has times amended.
ReplyDeleteIt has been a big success, so just reliability tweaks.
DeleteThe Bluestar 2 change is slightly misleading.
DeleteWith the one expected to go to every ten minutes from October!
DeleteWell what a damp squib the Bluestar announcement at 1900 tonight was.On board announcements on the new City 400's are of nouse as most can't even hear them anyway where they are set at such a low volume.Even screen information is hit and miss working on some and others not.All this investment they tell us they have made,but with sometimes no results anyone would notice.Still they seem to be very pleased with what they think they have achieved.
ReplyDeleteYes.Someone at a high level within Bluestar is not in touch with how the majority of customers who don't comment on websits view their operation.Such a stupid advert that would not encourage most of them to leave their car at home.Should spend more time in putting right operational wise than posting such nonsense.Still later they will hold another gathering and congratulate each other on how well they have done.I notice a standard reply has been given on facebook to all that have dared to comment on the latest posting about an announcement we had all been waiting for on Tuesday
DeleteWell anticlimactic that FB BS news @ 7 was!
ReplyDeleteThis thing about extending the 3 to Eastleigh- is that wise? Only ask as it's already a long route which will become even longer, but will suffer with more delays especially during rush hour. Eg look at how the reliability of the 17 has suffered since it got extended to Weston etc.
Could not agree more about the 7pm announcement. Looks like Ms Honer is after another award for not doing much! If she was doing her job properly, she would have noticed that they have hardly bothered to put up publicity where it would hurt First, regarding the 8 pound weekly, instead trying to justify it along the Shirley corridor only!
DeleteI would have to disagree with the above poster regarding the 3 extension, as it will give plenty of recovery time. Also disagree about 17 reliability, as it is pretty good, except when they cut a service due to staff shortage. Why do they always seem to hit the 17, instead of the more frequent 18? It seems crazy, when they are in direct competition with First, along the whole route.
The 18 most days all day is in a mess without cutting trips to put on the 17.If both companies are so concerned about polution within Southampton they should stop overbusing areas like Weston,Millbrook,Lordshill and Thornhill.Todays so called transport system in many areas has become a joke with not enough passengers to support it all.I'm tired about reading about greener transport when in many areas bus companies because of a ridiculous transport act way back is adding to polution
DeleteIf you think the 17s reliability is good, you must be using it different times and places to me! As for the 18, the timetable is a complete work of fiction and should read buses come in twos every 15-20 mins or so.............
DeleteOh yes, running First 11 every 5 minutes was also an excellent Idea.
DeleteYes. The 18 is in a shocking state and no one at Bluestar seems to want to address the problem.Also agreed the 17 is in a mess at times too-With the 18 even on a Sunday 15 minute frequency buses run together causing a half hour gap at times
ReplyDeleteAnyone know what the changes are on southern Vectis on April 7 to routes 2-9?
ReplyDeleteAs usual more than likely additional journeys for the Summer period and perhaps a few adjustments to accomodate peak hour problems in running times.Nothing major I would think
ReplyDeleteAnonymous @ 1133 - You are wrong! I would say a whole extra bus in the cycle plus extra running time on top is quite a large commitment by Bluestar to try and tackle the ever growing farce that is traffic delays and roadworks in Southampton!
ReplyDeleteNo point in adding extra running time plus the additional cost of an extra bus in the system when it's quite evident it's not working.A costly investment for no return
ReplyDeletePerhaps if lazy idiots were to take their rubbish with them instead of having to clear seats of rubbish and empty cans of drink rolling about across the floor on buses creating a trip hazard then I`m sure more people could be persuaded to use buses.
ReplyDeleteThe lazy sods do it on trains as well even though there`s normally a bin nearby and it winds me up.
DeleteBang! First is reducing prices of Southampton zone to just £8 per week and withdrawing city red 2 special ticket... Well, guys, Bluestar or First, only one will survive...
ReplyDeleteWhat nonsense only one will survive First will more than likely gain quite a few customers back in this move
ReplyDeleteThey have not lost any, due to Blue Star forgetting to tell anyone about their £8 ticket! Now Millbrook will return to Blue Star, as people prefer the newer buses.
DeleteMost people loathe the new buses and preferred the single decks on 18.Even at £8 on the 2 I would prefer to use First rather than the erratic service provided by Bluestar round Millbrook during most of the day.The Bluestar £8 ticket was well advertised on their net plus a detailed leaflet to be found in their enquiry office with details of all their fares.It's a total nonsense to state they didn't inform anyone.Good luck to both operators in what they do.Both operators must get sick and tired of some people forever slagging them off as do the drivers
DeleteWith respect, only people who travel with Blue Star, tend to visit their travel shop. Very few ever look at the web for info. The big trick that Bluestar have missed, is timetable casings on bus stops. Is all very well telling people that one full bus takes 75 cars off the road, or that double door buses are quicker (very debatable!), but what folks really want to know, is who is going to save them money, whilst offering a good service. Also, who will still be around in two years time!
DeleteI completely disagree about the buses being used, and would personally prefer to ride on a lovely smooth double decker, with posh moquette seats and a driver who is not alienated behind perspex. Compare that to the horrid jerky streetlights with foul coloured slippy seats and hideous purple poles! Or maybe the 3s Volvo's, where the drivers are so cold, and the demisters churn out freezing air. There is a gulf of difference between the two operators in Southampton, but I would bet that First will get their £8 weekly message across, much better than Bluestar have!
The £8 ticket started by the blues, was in my opinion, designed solely to break the £6 ticket price (which has now happened) and to dig even deeper at Firsts lack of profitability in Southampton. It was obvious that First would fall into the trap by following suit, although it did take longer than I expected for them to wake up.
ReplyDeleteHow much longer will it be before all those changes happening on the 7th April finally appear on the bus operators’ own websites?
ReplyDeleteWith a month to go yet I'm sure the newmes will be shown well before this which is usual.I note from a recent posting someone seems to think Bluestar only in their Travel Shop get enquiries for their own services.In fact they get a fair share of enquiries for First services in particular X4,X5 besides the others.As a normal travelling customer I have yet to find seats on First buses slippery or the ride jerky.Also most times of the day First services are pretty reliable unlike some Bluestar services that are pretty erratic in operation at times.The only downfall with First at times are the plastic screens seperating customer from driver where sometimes it's hard to communicate.Also onn most First vehicles you can hear the audio stop announcements which on most Bluestar vehicles you can't.
DeleteThe audio announcements on blue Star are very clear, and are not the ridiculous computerized drone that First has. Do you, by any chance, use a hearing aid, Mrs Richards? Then turn it on!
DeleteThey are clear but at very low volume which even those with normal hearing can't hear.First is far superior as you can hear it.Your comments to those hard of hearing are an insult
DeleteI have normal hearing, and can hear it perfectly. It has a far less obtrusive sound than the dreadful First one, which is so obviously computer generated. I think that Bluestar have also done some research around driver wellbeing, as the constant repetitive nature of a loud announcement system, has been shown to create stress on the drivers, who have to listen to it all day. I was told that there was a big spike in absenteeism, shortly after the introduction of the system. This may go a long way to understanding the need to reduce the volume, so that it is a bit less obtrusive and distracting. I agree that the above comment was a bit harsh, in this day and age, but we also need to be understanding that the person probably grew up in the days of Fawlty Towers, which is where the quote originated, and there was almost certainly no intent to cause offence.
DeleteIn your comments I would imagine a lot more will be signing off sick particularly on the 18 where the engine on the City400 turns itself off at every stop.Drivers I'm sure after a day of this must be well stressed out.I know the customer are
DeleteWhy would the engine turning off, and then on again cause passengers or drivers stress? From a drivers perspective, it makes no impact at all and knowing that it cuts pollution and reduces noise, surely has to be a good thing? The buses themselves are smart, smooth and quiet. If only they could disable the awfully slow middle doors and put some more seats in, they would be the perfect vehicle. I know from talking to drivers, that the middle doors are the thing that drives them insane, as well as very few bus stops being suitable for double door operation.
DeleteNice to know we now have insane drivers on the 17/18 because they have to operate middle doors.They must all be well stressed out by the end of each day.The sicness rate must be reaching an all time high
DeleteR.I.P Millbrook weekly ticket you will be missed
ReplyDeleteIt won't be missed at all.It was an absurbe price and most will now be better off including children with a standard £8 weekly.Those upset will only be in Millbrook who have had it good for a long time now and even at £8 will complain which is still dirt cheap for all their routes within Southampton.However if you venture out of Southampton of course it jumps dramaticaly the same as Bluestar once out of Southampton zone it leaps in bounds
DeleteThe Millbrook ticket was once 6 pound a week
DeleteOh dear Reece I think most who view this site would be well aware of this fact However time moves forward as do changes in circumstances
DeleteYes correct there also once could be used anywhere in the Southampton City Zone on the Weekends
DeleteHampshire County Council cuts to service 38 in April mean that they will no longer connect with a through bus from Petersfield on the 37. So once again the county who try to promote bus travel in other areas - eg the Eclipse in Gosport decide to alienate the bus user in other areas! Double standards!! https://www.stagecoachbus.com/regional-service-updates/south/portsmouth-and-havant
ReplyDeleteYes.Councils don't give much thought to consequences in some moves they make.You would not think individual Councillors were elected by the public to represent everyones interest.Still public transport is an easy target to make cuts with not helped with Central Government starving them of cash.Interesting though because of a major guff with brexit ferries they are quite happy to throw taxpayers money away because the present transport secretary made a major blunder Money wasted at taxpayers expense beggars belief
Deletehttps://www.laubus.co.uk/2019/03/alert-how-services-run-over-easter.html
ReplyDeleteDetails on how the services run in the region during Easter period are now available :)
Any idea what the new timetable for the Bluestar 3 will look like?
ReplyDeleteMore buses on Sunday,
Deletelast bus Eastleigh - Southampton at 17:50 (Monday to Saturday)
No change on last bus Southampton - Eastleigh, at 21:10 (Monday to Saturday). It is all I know Reece
Needs diverting through Harefield as the current service on Harefield is a disgrace at weekends especially.
DeleteIt certainly doesn't want diverting via Harefield.Get in touch with First they over the years have created to shocking situation in Harefield
DeleteAnd when you change the driver on the Xelabus X4, things can go wrong...
ReplyDeletewell today I got my bus to get home from my work... still on time, fab. I show my ticket to the driver (a Solent Go on the Bluestar app) and he looks surprised and says “ooh”. On the bus there was around 7 people, and there was the booklet available, which I picked one to myself.
After West End there was only 3 people on the bus : me, the driver and a chatty guy (talking and distracting the driver,and I believe he is an enthusiastic just like me).
The driver was not fully aware of the road conditions due to this irresponsible person. I press the bell to the bus to stop and... surprise, the bus driver misses my stop because of the fecking chatty guy. Then that chatty guy says “ I didn’t hear the bell”
Well if you are here, chatty guy, refrain of distracting any drivers in the future. And for the driver, I know you are here, because you have been funny to me, and you recognised me: shame on you, this is solely your fault for your poor service. If this happens ever again, the traffic commissioner will love to know about the constant delays on Xelabus services... and then you wonder why I am so anti-Xelabus.
I have had a few drivers not opening the middle door on Bluestar but I`m not anti-Bluestar as a result.
DeleteIve had that but whats the point of having 2 door buses also passengers need to learn that you exit from the centre door as ive seen most leave from the front
DeleteMichael-They need training as the double doors thing works perfectly on Uni-link.Perhaps the passengers using Uni-link are far more intelligent than those using BS17 and 18,i think the clue is UNIVERSITY buses.
DeleteIt is annoying when I stand by the centre doors but driver only opens the front door! Then they make you walk to the front, by then the centre doors pop open. Other times both doors open even though no-one is alighting. Other times it's unsafe for them to open as it's too far from the kerb or a railing is in the way...
DeleteThe centre exit buses on Bluestar 17 and 18 are a pain in the neck So far I have seen little or no advantage of them as most people still exit via the front.In terms of loadings the single deck 200MMC was far sufficient on service 18 and most customers preffered them as to the DD City 400 now employed on the service.These DD's have in no way speeded up the service but have in many instances slowed it down even further
DeleteClaudio - why don't you email Xelabus with instances where you say the x4 is late or delayed? They can give a response and look into the issues through their tracker? The incident with the driver being distracted can also be looked at by their CCTV and identify the driver. I had a similar problem with Bluestar and they were able to see who the driver was. Xela have the same situation and can get back to you with a response through tracker? No good just giving a statement buses are late without facts!
DeleteSome people are never happy unless they are getting bus drivers into trouble over minor things.No wonder today bus companies find it hard to recruit staff
DeleteYeah to right agree with you there
DeleteHeard a first driver today telling someone that he got called into the boss, for calling a lady "honey". Apparently the lady had complained about it. No action was taken, but it just goes to show how petty this is getting. It will take at least two generations before that type of thing could be stamped out, not that I think it is any different to calling a bloke fella or mate. It's just a saying that has been going on for years, and I can't see bus drivers being educated out of it anytime soon.
DeleteUnconfirmed, but on Facebook I heard that Yellow Buses are putting up stop flags out towards Highcliffe. Because that went well the last three times...
ReplyDeleteStill don’t understand why they withdrew the 111
DeleteUnder the present management does anyone understand anything they do?
DeleteThe 111 was a tendered service, Dorset County Council cut it!
Deletestop flags in place through to new milton high st
DeleteThe changes are now up on the website. It's an hourly extension to the 1a.
DeleteAlso of note: 6 extended to Wimborne via Merley (6b is for buses terminating at Bearwood)
2h is a peak journey from Christchurch to Castlepoint
1 serves Poole on Sunday for the summer
Plus as expected, the 7 becomes Buster's Beach Bus, and there's a Bank Holiday seaside shuttle from the station to the pier.
I just had a thaught if the triangle was a bus interchange big enough the yellows routes 1a 2 4 5 and 6 could start at the triangle to help ease congestion in the square as they wont need to wait time there but the downside is eather the pier or the square wouldnt be served on return to town but I think the council needs to do something to ease congestion in the square
DeleteThe Triangle once *was* a bigger bus interchange. Unfortunately, being so far out from the town centre and up a fairly steep hill, it wasn't really idea.
DeleteI'd always thought that making the square one way (from Exeter Road towards Westover Road), with a bus-only link road across the square to Avenue Road for buses going towards Poole Hill would be a good idea. But that'll never happen..
Alice H5 March 2019 at 14:36
ReplyDeleteLink, please, to the changes said to be on the Yellow website.
I can't see them.
https://www.yellowbuses.co.uk/summer-changes-7th-april-2019
DeleteHere we are, you’re welcome
Pleased to see the changes at Yellows showing some return to a larger network. I think it's more than what we were all expecting and hopefully a sign that the core network is now profitable enough (at all?) to allow some growth outwards.
ReplyDeleteSome interesting challenges to some more routes, which is somewhat brave/foolhardy considering similar moves over the past 5 years or so have really not worked out. While the 12, sorry Buster's Beach Bus, is a historical route it's also very much an attempt to try and claw some trade away from more's very successful Breezer 50. Yellows have had multiple attacks on the X1/X2 over the years. They're still only getting to half the frequency of more so not sure they'll have much more luck this time.
I do think they really need to look at what routes actually fall under the route 1 banners. A 1 could take you from Two Riversmeet to Poole, or it might take you only as far as Bournemouth, or possibly Westbourne. A 1a will take you from the Square to Somerford, or sometimes New Milton. A 1b will take you from the Triangle, or sometimes Westbourne, to Christchurch, or sometimes Somerford, and sometimes it'll only take you from Christchurch to Somerford. That's three route variations each with multiple route variations itself. And that's before you consider the Night One... They have similar issues on other route numbers but none as bad. I'd imagine for many users it's just too confusing to be bothered to work out, while the M2 just runs from Poole to Southbourne all day every day. I'd say there's actually a pretty strong argument to returning to the 20-24 range of numbers just to provide some clearer differentiation between the variations, although on the other hand the last thing Yellows need after the last couple of years is any further major revision to route numbers.
I am pretty sure all these "enhancements" will be for the summer only. It's a real last gasp attempt, in my opinion, trying out new routes for the summer. If they succeed, we'll see them again next year. If not, well, who knows...
DeleteI would also note that the 12 route, in all its various forms, has not been profitable in about 15 years (to the point where for many years, Yellows had no open-top buses at all...even the convertibles were left with the lid on). Yellows have tried many combinations, so I wonder what will be different this time round?
And I totally agree about the 1s. When the routes were more stable (after the 2005 revamp), it was a lot easier. 1a was Bournemouth to Somerford, 1b was Poole to Somerford via Cranleigh Rd and Somerford Estate, 1c was Poole to Christchurch via Southbourne. The only major change was swapping the Somerford leg from the 1c to 1b. All buses ran the full length of the route except for some early morning and late evening short journeys.
Differentiating 1a, 1b, 1c, etc is fine when they run distinct journeys, but it's confusing when some 1s go to Poole and others don't. The 1b Somerford leg is pretty much a separate route. The fact that they are creating route 6b for 6 journeys that terminate at Bearwood but a 1 might terminate at Poole, Westbourne or Bournemouth Triangle...seems bizarre
If I was incharge of yellows this would be my network just 10 high frequent routes
Delete1 as current 1 from poole to Christchurch
2 as 1a Bournemouth to summerford
3 as 1b Bournemouth to summerford
4 as current no 2 Bournemouth to castlepouint
5 as current no 3 westbourne to rb hostital
6 as route 4 Bournemouth to castlepoint
7 as 4a bournemouth to bearwood
8 as 5 bournemouth to kinson
9 as 5a Bournemouth to kinson
10 as 6 bournemouth to wallisdown/bearwood/wimbourne
Thats the high fequent routes
And id ditch the route branding on buses just keep them yellow so that the buses csn be used anyware on the network
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHeaven help us!
DeleteIf you want to follow me, head to my page. Otherwise, farewell
DeleteWell Yellow Buses have created this stupid route number system by someone there who must be a slight touch barmey.Many of their routes are supported by elderly people who just want a simple numbering system they can relate too.I'm surprised the whole network doesn't have just one number such as 1,1a,1b,1c,1d,1e,1f,1g etc.Never have I seen such stupid route numbering by an operator.Feel sorry for all who use their services in trying to make head or tail of it all
ReplyDeleteDon't give them ideas!
DeleteI switched over to More last year when they took over one of the routes I use regularly (the 20). It's been nice not having to get a a different route at a different time every few months
In reply to Anonymous's comment, the current route numbering is better than the disaster that was the named routes with letter prefixes...now that was terrible
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ReplyDeleteA few timetables for the Yellows changes are up on Traveline. Here's a few things I have noticed:
ReplyDeleteThe 6 extension to Wimborne is actually pretty comprehensive (much more so than the old 4d). Early morning journeys in both directions (first bus from Wimborne gets to Bournemouth before 8am). Last return journey leaves the Square at 6.55.
The Westover Retail Park journeys on the 4's Sunday route are extended to Castlepoint. As a side effect, they are spaced half an hour apart, meaning the 4/4a are now awkwardly at 25, 40 and 55 minutes past.
The 6a gets one of its Mountbatten journeys in the evening cut, the other going to Schooldays only.
The 8, by some miracle, escapes any further cuts.
I'll look forward to seeing some of the other timetables
The Yellow Buses new 6 and 6b routes are very confusing on Traveline as they appear in separate tables, especially as ALL inbound services are labelled as a 6. The 6b number is also used for outbound evening journeys that do not reach Bearwood i.e. Wallisdown.
ReplyDelete6 and 6b should come up merged. If they are not I might have missed a piece of code. I will check and fix for next week. The balance of the changes will be up next week. Ken Traveline.
ReplyDeleteLet's hope in a few weeks time when Bluestar make yet more changes to their 17 service timetable,they get it more or less right.At present most days it runs very erratic from start to finish.Running times on certain sections at present are just not achievable.When reccently extending it to Weston whoever decided on the running time got it badly wrong.It's worse now than the 18 and you can't get much worse than the 18
ReplyDeleteMost of the time 17s run ok, but when they go wrong they go very wrong. Any service that goes by the hospital, with moronic car drivers pushing through and blocking the road, and then running the gauntlet of Shirley, is going to struggle, which the 3 does also. It looks like they are adding running time to the west of the city, and removing it on the east, which is a far more sensible balance. Also sounds as if they are adding lots of running time to the evening services and putting an extra bus into the mix, to save the drivers from having to do rallying! It sounds like they have looked at all the data, and acted accordingly, however don't expect miracles, as they still have to go through the jamming points!
DeleteHow do you know when the new timetables haven`t been released yet?
DeleteThe changes look quite minor with only 3-mins reallocated to the Lordshill half of the route. The evening service looks like the drivers must sit at the Ordnance Survey for over 20mins every trip. This is very wasteful so no surprise they tried to run it with 3 buses to begin with.
DeleteI would however have thought the much more sensible thing to do would be for evening services to miss out Adanac Park and instead execute the old Anticlockwise loop of Brownhill as this would shave 5mins off which is enough to run with 3 buses.
Once again how do you know when the timetables haven`t been released yet???
DeleteWe were shown the timetable weeks back so we could give feedback to the revised running times. I have only done an evening 17 shift a couple of times (thankfully only once in 13 weeks on our rota!) but have never really had an issue.
DeleteYes the times are tight but you can achieve them, Reports of "Rallying" and "Breaking the speed limits" are rubbish the problem is evenings has very little slack for when things do go wrong which orevents you from being able to catch uo time.
Don't get me wrong the new timetable probably is not perfect but surely the important thing is Bluestar are making these gradual improvements?
Especially as they are making an effort to ask us for our opinions and not just rely on some computer which tells them how long we take
So you are basically a driver. I hope bluestar can get this right this time. I believe in them
Deletewrttttty
ReplyDelete