It has been a few days, and thanks to Clive and the FHDB Facebook group I have been aware that First Solent and Wessex have both released the details for their Christmas bus services in 2023. It does appear that Portsmouth City Council are funding some recently introduced changes to the timetable, so let’s take a look:
Services will run as normal up until Saturday 23rd December across all the depots on our patch.
Sunday 24th December
On Christmas Eve, there is a planned Sunday service across the First Solent and First Wessex operating areas.
For Hoeford and Hilsea depots, there will be a planned wind down of services in the early evening with an early run in on most late night routes at around 8pm, similar times to last year. This run-in affects services E1 and E2 in Gosport, and services 1, 2, 3, Star7 and Star8 in Portsmouth. Full details are on the First Solent information page.
For Weymouth depot a similar early run in will affect services 1 to Portland, 2 to Littlemoor and 10 to and from Dorchester.
Christmas Day
The only services that are operating on Christmas Day are a small network of services in Portsmouth which I would assume are again funded by Portsmouth City Council.
There were some complaints that First Solent in 2022 only run services on the Star 8 service between Portsmouth and Waterlooville, rather than continuing to Horndean and Cowplain. This is unfortunately the same again, and so I am sure there will be some complaints on social media coming from that.
All services will run hourly between approximately 8am and 6pm.
- The Star 7 will start and finish at Gunwharf instead of Winston Churchill Avenue running via Queen Street
- The Star 8 will only run between Gunwharf and Waterlooville
Boxing Day
No services are operating within First Wessex
Special timetables will run on the First Solent core services:
- Services E1 & E2 in Gosport
- Services 1 & 3 on the Fareham – Gunwharf – Southsea – Gunwharf “figure of 6”
- Service 2 between Gunwharf – Southsea – Copner – Paulsgrove
- The Star 7 and Star 8 services (presumably full route to Cowplain?)
Wednesday 27th to Friday 29th December
Both First Solent and First Wessex will run to their Saturday timetables on all days with a few alterations:
- First Wessex services 3, 6 and X54 will run to a weekday timetable
- First Solent services 20, 21 and 28/28a will run to a weekday timetable
- First Solent service F2 will not operate
This is the first year that I remember, and I was reminded this in the comments on the Stagecoach article last week, that First Wessex have run their X54 on the “Saturday service weekdays” between Christmas and New Year…. It is not all amazing news though as we have:
Saturday 30th December
As you would expect – no it is not a special service – First are running a Saturday service on most routes. With the following exceptions…. You know it’s coming…. :
- First Wessex service 6 and X54 will not operate
- First Solent service F2 will not operate
Sunday 31st December
On New Years Eve the Sunday timetable and the same early finish of late evening services will take place as on Christmas Eve. ( First Solent here / First Wessex here )
Now – call me what you will and accuse me of not letting bus drivers see their families, but I am surprised that Portsmouth City Council have not funded night buses across the same network as their usual Friday / Saturday services. New Years Eve is a big night out for many and having those buses to get people home? Maybe it is because the university students are still all at home getting stuff on mum and dads cold turkey?
New Years Day
There are no services on First Wessex.
There is a special service on New Years Day on First Solent, across the same group of routes that have one on Christmas Day.
Tuesday 2nd January 2024
Normal services resume across the First Solent and First Wessex networks on Tuesday. You may find some routes will run to a school holiday timetable where school buses are not required at schools that are having an inset (or teacher training) day.
First Wessex 6 and X54 do not normally run on Saturdays, so why should they during the holidays. In fact the 6 is replaced by the CB3 on Saturdays, which should run – they don’t compete.
The X54 is the sole service for many communities; many companies already make exceptions for similar.
Indeed even First Solent run a weekday service for some that would otherwise not run.
Having a Mon-Fri only bus service is bad enough (in Wool, Dorset) without having to go 10 days with no service at all. We have to remind First every year to make an exception for the X54.
I have to say that as someone who has to work boxing day and who’s place of work is to the west of fareham on the X4/X5 route which receives a dreadful standard of service at the best of times, it comes as no surprise to see its been ignored yet again. When will first learn that not everyone who needs a bus on boxing day lives in just gosport or portsmouth and that we need them between fareham and Southampton aswell. It’s now going to cost me a bomb to get to and from work on that day. The service on this pair of routes was supposed to receive the same respect and standards as the eclipse operation but has received far from it since the pandemic. All that seems to matter to first is the eclipse and service 3 in fareham and nothing else. Get your act together in fareham, gosport and into Southampton, first solent or step aside and let a company take over who can give us a service quality the solent region deserves and has lacked for decades now. Sorry rant over but I had to get that off my chest as I don’t drive and feel like I get penalised by first solent for that.
The X4/X5 is ridiculous top say the least with the initial bus on a weekday not leaving Soton until around 8am! I went to get it one day & it was late by 10 mins at Woolston & got to Park Gate about 20 min late! And the every 42 min timetable frequency is lunacy!
Please Bluestar if you are reading this do something!
The Solent Rangers are not timetabled to be a service getting people out of Southampton, but getting people in.
Even when First had their Southampton operation, they never used the opportunity to have duty boards based at that end of the route.
I can only assume the early Southampton-bound services were simply not profitable enough to continue; I am sure there were 0700 arrivals in the days of the 72 and 80.
What on earth is that 3-axle red vehicle and why is it going to Porttmouth?
It was an AI generated image that I felt was better than most of the stuff I had on file.