An October Roundup

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Following all the changes for the start of the school year, there are a few more tweaks that are in the works that will affect services in the Portsmouth area coming up just before the school half-term break.

Portsmouth – 26th October

Stagecoach South are making a few changes for services operating out of the Farlington depot which will affect services on Portsea Island and Havant.

There is a single additional trip on service 19 leaving West Leigh at 0521 towards Portsmouth on weekdays.

There is a route change on service 21 which might benefit quite a few passengers as the current route will change in the Anchorage Park area. The route amendment will run:

• As now past Hilsea railway Station to the Williams Road roundabout
• Airport Service Road & Robinson Way
• Anti-clockwise around Sywell Crescent
• Back to Hilsea Railway Station

I can see the logic in taking services into the industrial estate for the workers – I suspect it will be better used during the rush hours where workers head to and from the factories and businesses, but the changes will run seven days a week and services ending trips in Anchorage Park will still run the full loop of Sywell Crescent.

Services will also be reduced in Havant on service 22 from 26th October and daytime services will now run:

• Every 15 Minutes Monday to Saturday (reduced from every 12 minutes)
• Every 20 Minutes on Sundays (reduced from every 15 minutes)

I wonder whether some passengers now walk to alternative stops nearby for other services (such as the 19 to and from Portsmouth) which probably provides a reasonable alternative.

Southampton – 03rd November

Bluestar are making some changes to their former-UniLink service 28 from Monday 3rd November.

The Chilworth Science Park service 28 will divert from it’s current main road route to service Highfield Campus. It will do a double run along Burgess Road on each trip to the Interchange.

Additional trips will be started, adding to the current timetable running as service 28a offering a trip from Southampton Airport Parkway Railway Station (0828 departure) via Barton Peveril, B&Q House and ASDA to Chilworth Science Park. There will also be return services at 1610 and 1710. The return services will continue from Parkway Station to Highfield Interchange.

Timetables are now available as a PDF from the Bluestar website.

This is presumably a bus working around schools commitments and sensible logic would suggest is in response to requests from users of the Science Park.