First are amended their Southampton route 13 from Monday, having given the new normal of a few days service. They are promoting the changes as giving earlier and later buses, but it is not going to be for everyone’s liking!
| Service 13 Southampton- Bitterne – Harefield | 12 July to 15 August | from 17 August onwards |
| First Bus from Harefield | 0743 Monday to Saturday | 0645 Monday to Friday 0745 Saturday |
| Last Bus from Southampton | 1620 Monday to Saturday | 2020 Monday to Friday 1920 Saturday |
| Frequency | Half Hourly (except 1350 and 1550) | Hourly |
Now on the cusp of it, there might not have been a need for a half-hourly service, which would probably mean that in the long run the residents of Harefield are not too badly done out of a service.
There might be some disgruntlement that the morning buses arrive in Southampton at 0811 or 0911, meaning people will have to get up earlier, but at least there is now a bus home after the traditional 5pm close of business – and for a few hours after that too.
The frequency of the bus service updates across the Solent is still haphazard, but we are expect a significant raft of changes to come into effect over the bank holiday weekend. We will try to keep up with the Solent bus updates as well as those inland for Winchester and North Hampshire as soon as we catch sight of them.
Schools are going to be re-opening around 7th September, Xelabus has already announced their service changes for Eastleigh and Barton Peveril Colleges. We expect the service uplifts to happen by then!