While we can still call them stagecoach, we will. While the background chaos of a merger with National Express continues, Stagecoach South at Chichester have been making some changes to services across the area ready for the new year. This is largely in light of the continuing coronavirus pandemic making drivers isolate, but also because more generally there are drivers leaving – as with the rest of the bus industry – and both the DVLA and the lack of applicants causing delays to replacing them.
Thanks as always go to a number of contributors who tipped me off about the changes. I have had four different emails telling me about them, as well as more service cuts to come later in January.
Basingstoke
There are changes to the weekday timetable for a number of services across the core town routes.
From Tuesday 4th January:
- Service 1 for Brighton Hill will run Every 12 Minutes during the peak, Every 15 Minutes off-peak
- Service 2 for the Hospital, Tadley and Baughurst will reduce to Every 15 Minutes
- Cross-town Service 6 between Winklebury – the Town – East Popley will reduce to Every 15 Minutes
- Service 7 gets a new timetable, although a broadly similar frequency of services
Two different and independent sources have stated that the cuts in Basingstoke are not over yet. There are plans for reductions to other town services which are being worked on and expected towards the end of the month.
Winchester
Changes for the King’s City were a little later than the others, and so these changes are taking place a week later on Monday 10th January 2022.
- Service 3 (Harestock) will be reduced from every 15 minutes to every 20 minutes on weekdays
- Service 5 (Badger Farm) will be reduced from every 12 minutes to every 15 minutes on weekdays
- The Spring (Springvale) will be reduced to every 30 minutes in the rush hour, matching the daytime frequency.
Service 66 will have a more substantial change as well.
It will run hourly all day Monday to Saturday. The route will only run via Jermyns Lane and Abbotswood with the exception of a small number of rush hour trips via Crampmoor.
The Winchester Park & Ride is already back to the reduced timetable that was running back in October and November. This change happened after close of service on Christmas Eve.
Portsmouth
There are a number of changes in the Chichester area from Sunday 2nd January, but these will also have an effect in the Portsmouth area on Coastliner service 700.
From New Years Sunday; service 700 will reduce from Every 20 Minutes to Every 30 Minutes.
Are Stagecoach in Trouble?
I do not mean that literally, of course, but along with other bus operators I have to question just where we are on the slippery slope of service provision vs passenger desire.
All the time high-frequency services get cut in the towns, people will vote with their car keys and start driving everywhere again. This will lead to a reduction in paid fares in terms of single, return and season tickets and then the knock on effect is that bus services will become increasingly unviable.
I am not suggesting though, that any of our local depots are going to shut down any time soon. I do worry that the reasonably good service that we have received in the past, regardless of the operator or the colour of the bus, is slowly being eroded in the same way that bars and restaurants found the number of staff returning off furlough dwindle.