Brace for cuts

The latest post from the Lancaster District Bus User's Group describes how services are being temporarily cut up there by Stagecoach, possibly to cover Stagecoach's contract to provide special bus services at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. If their theory is true, then Stagecoach would need to be drafting in buses and drivers from all over the country, not just Lancaster. Lo and behold...

Conveniently timed to coincide with the Brummie Games, Stagecoach services in Winchester are slashed for the summer holidays. See all of their new timetables from 24th July here, but the main points that stand out are :

• the 5 to Badger Farm having a daytime frequency of 20 mins every day of the week (currently every 15 mins on weekday daytimes), and 
• the 66 to Romsey reverting to just one route at the Romsey end, with all buses running via Abbotswood and Woodley. Cupernham and the Straight Mile lose their 66 journeys.

A bit of good news: Bluestar are running the South Downs Rambler again this year. It runs on summer Sundays between Winchester and Petersfield.

There's some kind of change on First City Red 8 from 8th September, the details of which are as yet unknown. This autumn however sees a major funding cut from central government. They had stepped in to keep bus companies afloat during the lockdowns, and that scheme has already been extended but is due to end in October. Meanwhile, passenger numbers on most routes are still nowhere near pre-covid levels, so something has to give. Expect cuts to many services this autumn.

Talking of which, the following comment to our last post hints at catastrophic cuts to come at Xelabus, who rely on Hampshire County Council funding to run most of their services:

The above are not yet confirmed, but if true would be particularly bad for Hiltingbury, which would lose its bus link to Eastleigh and be left with just a few buses a day to Winchester. This in an area which in the late 1990s had frequent direct buses to Southampton as well as Eastleigh and Winchester. More as we get it.

Good news for open top bus fans in Portsmouth. First Solent are running new open top route 50 between The Hard and South Parade Pier every day from Saturday 23rd July to Wednesday 31st August. As it's a tourist route however, normal First tickets and elderly/disabled concessionary passes are not valid.

Over in Bournemouth, More recently extended their M1 service to the Royal Bournemouth Hospital. Yellow Buses are responding by virtually withdrawing their competing route 3 from Sunday 24th July, focusing instead on their more direct 3x service which runs via Wessex Way and Richmond Park Road direct to Charminster. The 3 via Castlepoint will only have a couple of journeys remaining at peak times, giving More M1 a virtual monopoly on the northern part of Charminster Road. Yellows will still serve Castlepoint on routes 2, 4 and 6h, as their network map shows:

To end on a bit of good news, our sister blog, Great British Bus Routes, has completely updated their page on More Purbeck Breezer 50 between Bournemouth and Swanage, which had originally been written in 2014. Take a look for some bang up-to-date day out ideas on our region's undisputed most scenic bus route!