While you were busy gorging on the last scraps of Christmas Turkey, Nut Roast or polishing off the last of the eggnog; we moved to Tiers 3 and 4 across most of the region. I hear that Santa was busy across the whole UK, however due to a signalling issue, the Rudolph Express train 1X01 encountered a few delays.
This does not mean there are no buses though, and while you are ordered to stay at home, you can still get on a bus around town.
First Hampshire & Dorset
As usual, FirstGroup are running many of their high-frequency timetables to a special service across Hampshire and Dorset.
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)
Christmas Services in Portsmouth, Gosport and Fareham
Christmas Services in Southampton
Christmas Services in Weymouth
Stagecoach South
Stagecoach South are running a Sunday service across all of its routes for Boxing Day.
The only exceptions to this:
- Portsmouth Hoverbus will not run Boxing Day. This is because there are no flights on the Hovercraft running.
- Guildford Park & Ride (slightly out of region, we know) will not run Boxing Day.
Bluestar, more, Salisbury
The GoAhead group are running a bit of a mixed bag for Boxing Day this year:
- Bluestar: will run a Sunday service on all it’s usual Sunday routes. The only exception to that is the Bluestar 6 to Lymington, which will not operate and is technically a sub-contracted service to morebus.
- more: will run some services to a Sunday timetable. The normally Sunday services which will not run are:
Route 11 (Poole to Alderney and Kinson),
Route X1 (Bournemouth to Christchurch, New Milton and Lymington)
Route X6 (Bournemouth to Ringwood, Verwood and Ferndown)
All UNIBUS routes for Bournemouth University
more m1 & m2 will start slightly later than a normal Sunday; 05:39 from Southbourne, 05:55 from Castlepoint and 06:00 from Poole - Southern Vectis: will run a full Sunday service on it’s usual Sunday routes.
- Stagecoach & Salisbury Reds joint service activ8 to and from Andover will run a Sunday service
- Damory / Excelsior Coaches: will not operate any services.
Yellow Buses
A special Boxing Day service will operate. Yellow Buses will be running from approximately 06:00 where buses run to Bournemouth Hospital and from 08:30 where they do not. All services will finish by 18:30, regardless of the areas they serve.
- Services 1/ 1a / 1b
- Poole to Bournemouth hourly
- Bournemouth to Christchurch every 15 minutes (combined)
- Service 2 – Hourly to Boscombe, Hospital and Castlepoint
- Service 3 – Half Hourly to Castlepoint and Hospital
- Service 4 – Hourly to Westover and Castlepoint
- Service 5 / 5a – Half Hourly combined to Ensbury Park and Kinson
- Service 6 – Hourly to University and Bearwood
Yellow Buses have published all their Boxing Day services on a printable PDF download.