S1 to be cut completely?

First have registered that the S1 will cease running from 13th October. Not sure of the reasons why, but as it's a tendered route, Southampton City Council might have something to do with it. It's also unclear whether it will continue with another operator, be replaced by another route or will leave people in Lordswood, Regents Park and Bedford Place stranded. We'll let you know as soon as we do.

Look out for diversions in Swaythling this Wednesday and Thursday affecting Bluestar 2, Unilink U1 and U6 and First 5 (yet no mention of this from First). Plus diversions to Bluestar E2 in Otterbourne from Wednesday until next Monday.

Changes on the way / War in Townhill Park escalates / Bluestar 3 withers further

We have a few changes coming up over the next few weeks. Here's a quick summary:

From 1st September, there are some minor changes to Stagecoach 32, 33, 66 and 69. It looks like these are mainly to journeys serving schools and colleges. Click the route numbers above for the new timetables. Also, the summer season ends and with it Velvet M. More 112 reverts back to its usual almost useless timetable.

On 2nd September, Wheelers W1 gets its first amendment, but it's for the better.

• New additional short journeys are added between Romsey and Woodley
• The 0700 weekday journey from Romsey is retimed to depart at 0650
• The 1740 Mon-Sat journey from Romsey to Halterworth is extended all the way to Southampton
• There's a new 0738 weekday journey from Southampton to Romsey
• Most journeys from Southampton will now leave at 40 past the hour (previously xx38)
• The 1740 from Southampton, which currently only runs as far as North Baddesley, is extended all the way to Romsey

See the full new timetable here. Plus, Wheelers are happy for potential customers to know how much their fares are before they travel! This really should not be a rare thing in the bus industry, but sadly it is, so well done to Wheelers, Velvet and Unilink for setting the standard. See the W1's fares here.

On the same day, there are minor changes to Bluestar 1 and 5 (details here) and Salisbury Reds 34. Click the route numbers to see the new timetables.

9th September sees changes to all of Xelabus's routes in Eastleigh, including the X7, which is the only one for which the new timetable is currently available.

15th September is the last day of the New Forest Tour for this year. Plus there are changes to More X1.

22nd September sees several changes to some of Bluestar and Unilink's routes. Details here. Here's a summary. Click on the route numbers for the new timetables and route info, where available:

• 1: Minor changes
• 3: All journeys will run via Turnpike Way. Evening journeys withdrawn and Sunday service cut to just 4 journeys.
• E1/E2: Minor changes. Some journeys will run through to Romsey as the 5.
• 5: Minor changes. Some journeys will run through to Winchester as the E1/E2.
• 16: Frequency increased and route changed to more directly take on First 7. Bevois Valley will be served instead of Stag Gates and buses will run round the Midanbury/Townhill Park loop used by First. Retaliation for First 2's attacks on Bluestar 18 in Millbrook?
• 18: Minor changes.
• U1: Some journeys will terminate at the Wide Lane/Mansbridge Road roundabout during university term times, enabling a higher frequency between there and the city centre.
• U2: Minor route changes in Bassett Green and the city centre.
• U6: Minor changes.

Xelabus X7 changes from today

Xelabus X7 has a couple of timetable changes from today.

• The 0745 from Eastleigh to Chandlers Ford will now also run on Saturdays.
• The 0915 and 1615 services from Eastleigh to Chandlers Ford are withdrawn.
• The 0940 M-S,1540 weekday and 1640 M-S services from Chandlers Ford to Eastleigh are withdrawn.
• The 1810 service from Chandlers Ford to Eastleigh will now also run on Saturdays.

Here's the full new X7 timetable:

See the full timetables for all of Xelabus's Eastleigh routes here.

Please watch out for diversions to Bluestar 8 in Totton and Bluestar 3 in Botley. Also diversions coming up soon in Totton (again), Bishopstoke and Hounsdown.

Beach Bus / First family offer

More areas of our region are easier to get to as of this Saturday, when More 112 rebrands as the Beach Bus and runs daily until 1st September. The route is revised to serve Lepe Beach, Exbury Gardens and Beaulieu National Motor Museum, as well as providing a more frequent than usual link between Hythe and Lymington. Day tickets for the 112 only are available for £5. Or for £8, you can use a Bluestar Network Dayrider on the 112 and connect from/to routes 8 or 9 at Hythe and/or the 6 at Lymington. Full details here and here.

Beaulieu National Motor Museum - served by More 112, the Beach Bus

First have a special offer over the summer. Their FirstDay Hampshire Family ticket is cut in price to £10 until 7th September. It's valid for a whole day on all their buses in Hampshire for up to 5 people (maximum 2 adults). Ideal for a day out in Portsmouth on the X4.

A cycling event (whose sponsor hasn't paid me so won't get a mention here) will close several roads in the city centre on Sunday. Bluestar have given vague details about their diversions - good luck to you if you can make head or tail of them. Give them credit though as no other bus operator has even mentioned the event on their website.

I was in Stratford-upon-Avon the other day, which is apt as Shakespeare Road in Boyatt Wood is closing for 4 weeks from today, meaning diversions for Bluestar E1/E2 via Woodside Avenue, Leigh Road and Romsey Road. Xelabus X2 and X4 will also need to divert, but not necessarily the same way.

Marwell daily & Ringwood returns!

Don't forget that from Monday, you can get to and from Ringwood by bus again with the launch of Velvet 300. Timetable here.

Plus with the school holidays starting, Velvet M between Eastleigh and Marwell Zoo is now running every day until 1st September! Use Solent Travelcard if you need to use another company's buses, such as Bluestar 2 from Southampton, to get to Eastleigh.

Millbrook melee / New Forest Tour resumes

From this coming weekend, First will run their route 2 to the exact same route as Bluestar 18 between town and Millbrook and they'll be running more often.

Bluestar 18 is every 7/8 mins Mon-Sat daytimes. They're not taking the attack lying down though...

Click the graphics for more details from each camp. Not just boasting about the buggy spaces, Bluestar have cut their fares. Slightly. A Southampton Dayrider is normally £3.50, but one will be available for the 18 only at £3. A FirstDay City is £3.20, although despite the name, it doesn't quite cover the whole city, just the pink zone of this map.

Bluestar are offering a special weekly ticket just for the 18 too, priced at £11. A Bluestar Southampton weekly ticket is already £11 if you buy it on The Key or on their mobile app, but rises to £13 if you want to buy a paper ticket (other than on route 18). FirstWeek Millbrook at £8.50 is First's answer to that, only valid between Millbrook and town. FirstWeek Southampton will set you back £17 but also includes Hedge End, which is excluded from Bluestar's Southampton zone tickets.

I can't not point out a typing error on Bluestar's rushed web page announcing the new deal for Millbrook:

The red box is mine of course. They might well need to appoint a Bluetsar to oversee this battle. Sweets? That's fighting dirty surely! How on Earth can First compete with that? If there's an obesity epidemic in Millbrook, you know who to blame :-)

Outside the city, the New Forest Tour from Bluestar and More gets going again this weekend with more routes than before. The fares are premium but include travel to and from the Forest on Bluestar 6 and More 112, although you might be hard pressed to find buses running at sensible times to make a day trip of it from Hythe on the 112. Probably best to get Bluestar 8 or 9 to Totton and change there to the 6 instead.

First changes: Focus on Shirley

In the final post analysing the changes to First services from 30th June, we look at Shirley:

This corridor is currently served by First 1, 1A, 2, 2A and 3. This will change to routes 1, 2, 3 and 12. Competition is provided by Bluestar 4 and 18, which provide a combined 10 buses an hour Mon-Sat daytimes.

Here's how First's times will change:

A far better service over all. Look at the jump in daytime frequencies, down to First attacking Bluestar 18 head on with new route 2 running every 6 minutes. This situation may not be sustainable, so make the most of it while you can. Woolston has more First buses per hour, but less competition, making Shirley the undisputed busiest bus corridor in Southampton. Here are the main stops:

Live timetabled departure boards: SA, SB, SD, SE, SF, SG, SH, SI, SJ.
From town, all of First's Shirley routes use stop AF on Above Bar Street, outside the Marlands.

Here are the links for all of First's changes from 30th June and the new timetables for routes 1, 2, 3 and 12.

Throughout this series, most of the maps used have been cropped from Southampton City Council's public transport map 2013, with others taken from First's own route maps, Bluestar's website and Traveline. First should be commended on having the new timetables available well in advance, which has made this analysis possible. All of the changes described take effect next Sunday 30th June.

First changes: Focus on Portswood

There are big changes to First routes from 30th June. Today, a closer look at Portswood.

First have the 5 and the 7 between town and Portswood. The 5 currently runs via Bedford Place, but will be rerouted back to London Road and The Avenue, then on to Lodge Road as now. The 7 runs via Bevois Valley. Competition is provided by Unilink U6 via Bevois Valley, Bluestar 2 and 16 via Lodge Road, Unilink U1 via Winn Road and Bluestar P1, which is about to be replaced from 30th June by Wheelers W1 via Westwood Road.

Here is how First's times are changing to Portswood:

Generally Portswood is slightly better off, especially on Sundays, when the 7 will be running every 15 minutes.

Here are the main bus stops in Portswood:

Use these links for live timetabled departure times: PA, PB, PC, PD, PE, PF, PG, PH, PI, PJ, PK.
From town, the 5 and 7 both use stops CE (Pound Tree Rd), AD (Above Bar St/Marlands) and HC (Cenotaph).

Here are the links for the 5 and 7 from 30th June. Full details of First's changes here.

Next: Shirley