Fares are going up soon across several operators. First Solent go up on Thursday (!) 3rd Feb and Bluestar, Unilink and Southern Vectis all go up from Sunday 6th Feb.
First Solent are also withdrawing some ticket types, such as the 3 monthly and annual tickets. While Go Ahead's subsidiaries are steering everyone towards their mobile apps for the best prices, and away from The Key smartcard, which is now the most expensive way to buy your tickets - even paper tickets bought on the bus with cash are cheaper. Surely only a matter of time now before The Key is withdrawn as mobile apps have really made it obsolete.
New kid on the block Southampton Minilink have announced that they will be running the Marwell Zoo M1 service from Southampton and Eastleigh this year, starting from Saturday 2nd April. Details here, although plans could change as it doesn't appear to have been officially registered yet. We'll keep an eye out.
Don't forget that Marwell can be reached all year round on Sundays from Winchester on Stagecoach 69.
I agree that it's likely they're trying to reduce use of the Key, because I work somewhere with a ticket discount which currently has to be used with the Key. From February we can use the discount for the app instead.
ReplyDeleteThe key has had its day.
DeleteI get the feeling that it is all down to cost. Stagecoach also have been pushing away from Stagecoach Smart onto their App over the last few years, moreso now the App is that much more reliable.
ReplyDeleteIronically, SWR were hyping up their Smartcard system for a while, but now the ads are largely for eTickets.
Without a doubt, the key is expensive to administrate and everyone is trying to steer customers away from it. The problem that they all have is that people like to have something physical for their money, along with a mistrust of mobiles with the awful battery life that most have. No surprise to see fare increases, although they are much less than they probably need to be. It will be interesting to see whether in city fares will increase, as both operators have been nervous to do this, but it will have to come if the imbalance is to be addressed. City fares are way below where they should be, with weekly costs still below where they were in 2004 !
ReplyDeleteWill all due respect when I have been on the 18 I have not seen any key cards in recent times.
DeleteSo you are in agreement then.
DeleteLow usage leads to high admin costs and withdrawal.
Yeah defantly no one uses it now and it might as well be phased out.
DeleteExcellent... just wondering why you were saying it "with all due respect."
DeleteJust tying to prove a point from when I have been on recent bluestar routes
DeleteDouble deckers will soon be on the CityRed 3
ReplyDeleteInteresting Reece. Where did you hear that? Not sure they are needed, and one of the reasons that older people use First through Shirley is because they don't like the lower deck capacity on Bluestar. Could be a bad move I think?
DeleteOn the first fhd group I have seen the photos posted by a driver who confirmed this to me
DeleteThe only person posting on the FHD group that they are for the three is YOU Reece. You said you saw it on the font of all knowledge called Facebook.
DeleteIt is also on the fleetlist on bustimes.
DeleteI'm on about a group on Facebook
Wasn't Minilink supposed to start their 26 service this month?
ReplyDeleteIt was posted back in September when they first started. No more news has been heard about it but they have mentioned about their new 14 service.
Yes the 14 is soon to start and I understand the 26 plans have been cancelled
DeleteCancelled along with the M1 and the 5.
DeleteIt's Southbourne Buses all over again.
The 5 was due to pandemic issues before christmas
DeleteGood morning
DeleteI can confirm that service 5 will return at some point later in 2022. This service was suspended due to high levels of covid-19 in educational settings which has seen an increased level of staff absence since late November 21.
At present we have a full compliment of staff with some being on loan to another local operator covering staff shortages.
Customer services
Southampton mini link
02380 647519
In response to the anon above about the lower deck capacity on the B*17, I do believe they need to do something about it the buses might not be the oldest in the fleet but they were designed for the uni students. Bluestar try and make out that the B*17 is one their flagship routes but yet only the 1 and 18 get new buses.
ReplyDeleteYou are right that they were the previous uni buses. What a good deployment of a free resource though! Bought and paid for, with no conversion costs, just a respray. The 17 is very profitable, and the 1 gets new buses to fend off threats from elsewhere, whilst the 18s are a simple demonstration that the blues wish to show an edge over First.
ReplyDeleteThe use of the dual door ex Uni buses with their pitiful number of accessible seats on the 17 defies all logic. Of all the Bluestar routes in Southampton, only the 17 passes the General Hospital. Most customers going to the hospital are less able in some way.
ReplyDeleteBluestar are clueless. First's Streetlite buses have a greater number of accessible seats per bus than the Bluestar 17 buses so I wait for those to maximise my chances of a step free seat.
I despair of Bluestar's management and I am not the only one. so do a number of their staff!
Bluestar 7 also serves the Hospital.
DeleteFirst are also getting double deckers which are going to be used on their busiest routes and this will likely include the 3.
Your best bet will soon be to get any bus that comes along.
Also UniLink U6 serves the General Hospital
Delete