I know… it’s too early to put up the Christmas tree, the decorations are still in the loft and the children have yet to realise that in exactly one months time it will already be over.
Yes – it is this years socially distanced Christmas.
As usual, every one of the big operators is doing something different. The added complication of the coronavirus pandemic means that in reality, we would usually expect less shops open, less people travelling and less buses and trains as a result.
Wrong. At the moment, we are looking fairly normal in the transport world and it looks like things are planned to be as stable as usual. This is a look at what First Hampshire & Dorset, across it’s three operations on our patch, is going to be doing.
Sunday 20th December to Wednesday 23rd December
Across all the Solent Region, services are running to their normal timetables. This includes any school holiday variations to services as the schools will be closed for their two week break.
Christmas Eve
Services are running to a Saturday timetable – this means that weekday services will not operate and affects the following:
- 27 (Rowlands Castle) – No Service
- 28/A (Segensworth and Whiteley) – No Service
- F3 (Dore Avenue and Portchester) – No Service
Note: In Bridport, First Buses of Somerset 6 and 6A to Yeovil will run a weekday service.
Evening services across all of the First operators will cease around 8pm.
Christmas Day – Ho, Ho, No Service
Boxing Day – Special Service
There are only a few special services that are running. These services are largely running between 8am and 6pm only:
Portsmouth: Services 1, 2 and 3 are running to half-hourly frequencies. This covers services from Fareham & Paulsgrove into Portsmouth, as well as Fratton and Southsea.
The Star services 7 & 8 are running hourly between Portsmouth, Waterlooville and Wecock Farm / Clanfield.
Gosport: The Eclipse services will both run hourly (ergo every 30 minutes on the BRT Bus Road)
Southampton: City Red are running 20 minute frequencies on service 2 (Millbrook), 3 (Thornhill – City – General Hospital – Lords Hill), 7 (Townhill Park) and 11 (Weston)
Weymouth: Wessex are running half-hourly frequencies on the 1 (Portland), 2 (Littlemoor & Broadwey) and 10 (Upwey & Dorchester)
Now… I am expecting the Weymouth links to change at some point. This is because firstly there is an error in service 2’s timetable, and secondly the URL’s call them Christmas Eve timetables and there is bound to be a clash.
Sunday 27th December & Monday 28th December
Santa Claus is working overtime this year as Christmas Day falls on a Saturday. This means that First Hampshire & Dorset are running two days of Sunday services.
The usual non-Sunday services will not run.
Tuesday 29th to New Years Eve
Solent: Across the Fareham and Hilsea depots, buses are running to a mixed bag of services. The majority of services will be running to a Saturday timetable, although there are some variations to that.
- Services 27 (Rowlands Castle) and 28/A (Whiteley) will run to a normal weekday timetable
- Service F3 (Dore Avenue and Portchester) will run to it’s timetable on Wednesday only
Southampton: All services will be running to a Saturday timetable.
Weymouth & Dorset: Most services will run to a Saturday timetable as well. The exception, probably as it is now largely run by Buses of Somerset, is the 6 and 6A which will run as a weekday timetable.
Across all parts of First, New Years Eve services will once again be closing down around 8pm. This will be the same times as the Christmas Eve closedown.
New Years Day – No Service
Saturday 2nd January
A full and normal Saturday timetable will operate and the normal timetable resumes across all of the First Group depots, including schools services from Monday 4th where appropriate.
…. and finally – a reminder
It is the festive season. It is a different festive season this year for obvious reasons, but whatever you are planning, whichever bubbles you are forming and however much coal Santa brings: