Mini Link – ing from Southampton

Reading Time: 5 minutes

The service has been bedding in for a few weeks now, the reports from the more enthusiastic members of the bus community are that numbers are up, service is popular and that is a good reason for me. Today then, I sampled the Southampton Mini Link service 5 from Southampton to Ringwood.

This is one of the newest operators in the area. Simon Gard, of GardBus and Southbourne Buses fame, has started up a new operation from his office in Eastleigh and has had an up and down time of his latest venture. Southampton Mini Link is a company that I hope becomes successful, despite my reservations about the ways that the company has come about. I am concerned enough that I simply must get a trip in on the new Ringwood service in case it does end in the near future.

So I got into Southampton in good time to catch the 11:15. I must admit that I had forgotten where Pound Tree Road was, heading instead to Hanover Buildings. A teenage enthusiast error.

A few Xelabus vehicles came and went from the Pound Tree Road stop and it got to 11:10 before I was wondering if this was a last minute cancellation. It was then that I spied a different kind of Unibus pottering around the corner.

The joy of having quite a beasty sounding vehicle for our trip to the Forest.

Still a Cash Only Operation

Somewhere along the line, I was under the impression that Southampton Mini Link were now accepting contactless payments and I was confident to see a contactless handheld device on the bus when I got on.

“Cash only” was the reply when I tried to use it though and “It’s not a First Bus, we got it from Bath.” Quickly followed.

Indeed there was plenty of First Bus evident. The First logo on the front panelling as the bus approaches, the on floor advert advertising the First Bus App and online ticket purchasing, the advertising for Unibus.

The service though, resolutely not First Bus. The question is though, as the WiFi has been disconnected, do the CCTV cameras still work?

Customer Experience and Numbers

For the whole journey on the 11:15, I was the only cash paying customer on board. Everyone else had an older person’s bus pass.

One Concessionary Pass holder joined me at Pound Tree Road and travelled to the end of Calmore Road. A trip that would previously have needed a Brockenhurst College bus or the not every day T3 or T4 Cadnam shuttles from Bluestar.

We did not make another stop until Totton Centre where four more joined us. So that would suggest that among the Concession Pass community, word is getting around that this new bus service is running.

One got off at Dobbies Garden Centre in Cadnam, again a stop only otherwise covered a few days a week by a blue bus on the T3. A second in Poulner (well eventually, the driver forgot to stop) and the two final companions joining me all the way to the Meeting House Lane terminus.

Is the bus feeling its age?

This old girl certainly felt like it struggled with the terrain. A number of times the bus driver pulled over through Totton and Cadnam to let cars pass, and this ALX400 struggled to climb up the A31.

I presume that it is still geared for stop start work on the Unibus service of old. Once it got on to the flatter parts of the A31 through the beauty of the New Forest, it felt happier.

Passing a morebus on the 125 reminded me that indeed Southampton Mini Link provides the missing connection between two GoAhead Group companies. It’s a good thing that Southampton Mini Link did not acquire a second hand GoAhead bus for the route as that would be even more confusing!

Off-tangent – I miss going to Ringwood!

It is such a lovely quaint little town. Getting off the bus in Meeting House Lane reminds me of a little market town (indeed there is still a Wednesday market) and walking though the Meeting House Shopping Centre is like a step back in time, just with modern names above the doors.

A quick pint for lunch in The Crown Tap, the lady behind the bar did not realise that the new Ringwood to Southampton bus service had even started running. We reminisced a little bit about the old X1 and X2, that she would use to get to school, and how over the years the service just did not remain profitable.

If you are looking for a gentle walk through a market town, I enjoy it here and you might too. But this is not a blog about where to visit for a pint and a pie! If a pie and pint IS your fair, then try the Steak and Marstons Ale Pie at The Original White Hart.

Returning to Southampton – the 16:15

I spent the afternoon in Ringwood, predominantly as the trip going straight back was lightly loaded and the gap that could have been the 14:15 taken up by a schools run on the former GardBus, then Southbourne Buses, then Dekkabus, then Southampton Mini Link trading as Dekkabus, then Southampton Mini Link.… 38 (or S38) for Ringwood School.

[I think that is how it went, anyway]

Anyway. I wandered down to Poulner’s White Hart pub for a pint before catching the bus. Mellor YX59 AAV provided the return transport and on board were the two passengers this morning who went to Ringwood and the lady who almost did not get off at Poulner on the way in.

The driver was not a happy chappy. Apparently the doors would not open before, and this time after picking us up the same was reluctant to close. A bit of swearing and a phone call to hear that the nearest ‘fitter’ was 90 minutes away, we were finally underway.

“Never a dull day with these bangers.” At least the new fangled handheld ticket machine was able to read the same QR baroda it had printed earlier in the day!

Our driver today was not happy driving a manual Mellor down the road as it was ragged onto the A31. Actually, on a performance basis, it performed far more spritely than the ALX400 earlier in the day.

Side Note: until we passed it today, I had no idea what Goodies was – despite regularly seeing it in timetables.

The couple that did Totton to Ringwood earlier in the day did indeed get to go home and the door managed to both open and close. I almost got off too, Totton Railway Station not being far away, and an almost certainty that I had missed my original planned train home. I wonder if the other passenger with me, crossing her fingers as the doors closed, was a sign.

So….

I think in the grand scheme of things… I had better not leave a review on Google. I will have a pint before the train to calm my nerves though.