So a little earlier than I was expecting, by about a week, First Solent timetables for the X4 and X5 Solent Ranger services have been released. As a bit of caution though, if you go looking on TravelineSW there is a timetable from this weekend looks like it is for the re-opening of East Street in Fareham. So don’t make the same mistake I did, the first time looking at it.
I regret though, I am a little disappointed with the improvements to the timetable that have appeared compared to the little wishlist I had in my head back in March. Let’s not dwell on my fantasy though and look at the detail.
Updated 24 May: Timetables are now on the First Solent website and until the timetables are live, you will have to click on “Forthcoming Timetables”
Three buses an hour to Portsmouth
The X5 is being re-routed away from Gosport and will follow the X4 through to Gunwharf Quays. There are a few minor differences though, with the X4 apparently serving Fareham, East Street (or rather the stop known as Bath Lane) towards Portsmouth, but the X5 doesn’t. Neither service is listed as using the stop coming in to Fareham though.
Unfortunately though, the AI timetable compiler has struck again. There are three buses an hour between Southampton, Fareham and Portsmouth; but there is no consistency from one hour to the next. Each of the X4 and X5 will run roughly every 40 minutes to achieve this.
But no evening service west of Fareham
The X5 will run a few early evening services from Portsmouth to Warsash in the same way that the X4 runs the last services to Locks Heath. My aspiration of some sort of evening service to Southampton does not appear to have materialised though.
An hourly X4 service will run between Fareham and Gunwharf until a final departure from Gunwharf at 2315 Monday to Saturday. With the £2 bus fare cap still in place, I was surprised that there has not been any sort of Southampton service after 1821 (X4) or 1925 (X5), even on a Friday and Saturday night.
The Sunday service will see a daytime hourly service on both the X4 and the X5 with a clock-face departure time from each end of the route, albeit AI intervention on intermediate departure points on the journey.
Fareham to Gosport
Although I had seen some conflicting stories regarding how the replacement for the Gosport leg of the X5 would go; I have mixed feelings about the timetable.
In terms of the route there is no change; the timetable increases to half-hourly with operating hours being broadly similar to now. Again there is no evening service for Lee-on-the-Solent or Stubbington which is a stark contrast to the days of Priory of Gosport running a variety of buses under contract on the 34B and 73 through the area of an evening.
Timetables are now available
The timetables are showing on TravelineSW if you search for the routes, and I expect the announcement to be on the First Solent pages shortly.
Is anyone from Bluestar reading this? Opportunity knocks for Southampton to Fareham I’d say !
I see what you mean. Very marginally an earlier morning bus from Soton to Fareham & slightly later from Fareham to Soton weekdays but the lack of buses from Fareham to Soton after teatime is just….daft? silly?
unattractive to any new passengers?
It’s as if the drivers & buses have to be at home tucked up in bed in the depot before 6pm
Time for an AI moan. I’ve done some calculations for the section between Portsmouth and Portchester and it seems that the sectional running times on the X4 and X5 are completely different, even on adjacent journeys. As an example, you have the ridiculous situation where you have departures from The Hard at 1042, 1102 and 1122 (nominally a 20-minute service) but these journeys arrive at Portchester (following the identical route, remember) at 1104, 1131 and 1145. So from Portchester westwards it’s not a 20-minute service, you’ve got an almost half hour gap followed by less than 15 minutes. Bonkers. Either some of the journeys are going to be consistently late, or consistently early.
Of course, and as I have been extensively corrected on Twitter / X (can’t we go hybrid and calling TwiX ?) the timetable will possibly change again now Stanhope Road has reopened.
Or….. will X4 call in to Comical Road South and the X5 simply turn left at the end of Bishop Crispin Way?
Even back in the 90s, when Provincial ran minibuses on evening Fareham-Southampton, these were tendered and not commercial.
I agree there should be some services but that will only happen if Hampshire CC provide some sort of subsidy. Don’t hold your breath!
I believe the evening Fareham-Portsmouth services are accessing some of Portsmouth CC BSIP pot. Use them while you can!
It would have made more sense to introduce the evening 9s on an hourly basis, and also provide an hourly evening service on X4/5 between Fareham and Southampton. Same number of buses required. I can only assume HCC wouldn’t pay for that but were quite happy to stump up for 2bph on the 9.
Words fail me about HCC’s public transport team!
I wonder if consideration was ever given to running an evening service on the 5 but via Gomer Lane and Privett Road instead of Stokes Bay. Hourly on the 5 and the 9, still giving 2TPH from Bay House School (or whatever the new name is) to Gosport Ferry.