So I am back with a post from slightly less gap than last time, with a round up of service changes and news. We are slowly heading towards something more akin to posting like you are used to, so hopefully this will only increase over time.
So let us start with the upcoming and recently announced changes:
Service Changes
Stagecoach South
Andover
- Routes 76, 86 and 676 at Whitchurch been affected by a Lynch Hill closure. Since 21 October only buses heading towards Basingstoke miss the Hillside and Test Road stops. Buses towards Andover call there as normal. Normal stops return in both directions on 28 November.
Basingstoke
- Route 13 (Basingstoke – Alton – Bordon): from 4 November, one weekday journey runs via Anstey Lane and Eggar’s School in Alton, with minor retimings to fit the school day.
East Hampshire (Alton, Bordon, Petersfield, Liphook)
- Route 65 (Alton – Guildford): minor retimings to some weekday morning trips from 1 November, to improve reliability.
First Solent (Portsmouth and Fareham)
- Routes 28 and 28A (Fareham – Whiteley): Hispano Avenue is no longer served from 1 November. I am not sure why…..
Bluestar (Southampton and Eastleigh)
Bluestar has published temporary changes to city centre stops in Southampton from Friday 6 November. This is in relation to road closures for the annual Christmas Market and other associated festivities around the Bargate.
- Routes 1, 2, N1 and N18: start and finish at a temporary events stop at Houndwell Park, via Above Bar. They no longer serve Civic Centre, Marlands, WestQuay or Bargate.
- Routes 16 and 18: run from Above Bar and Vincent’s Walk straight to Solent University. They miss the Bargate WestQuay, ASDA & Marlands, Civic Centre and Park Walk stops.
- Routes 6, 15, 17, 19, 19a and N17: don’t call at Holyrood Church or WestQuay. Route 6 uses Vincent’s Walk instead.
- Route 13: doesn’t call at Albion Place or Houndwell Park.
- Routes 3, 10, 14 and 26: use the WestQuay stop instead of Bargate WestQuay.
morebus (Bournemouth, Poole, Purbeck and the New Forest)
- Purbeck Breezer 50 (Bournemouth – Sandbanks Ferry – Swanage): from 2 November to 19 December the 50 doesn’t run due to the annual maintenance and refit of the Sandbanks Chain Ferry. Two routes replace it:
- 50X: runs from Bournemouth via Westbourne, Canford Cliffs and Poole to Swanage, about every 2 hours from about 0700 to 1935. It connects at Swanage with buses to Studland (Heathland House), which run about hourly on weekdays from 0700 to 2100 and every 2 hours on Sundays.
- 51: runs from Bournemouth to Sandbanks (Ferry Approach) via Canford Cliffs and Shore Road, about every 2 hours. The first bus leaves Bournemouth at about 0800 on weekdays (0855 at weekends), and the last bus back from Sandbanks leaves at 1955.
- Bournemouth University routes: move to the vacation timetable from 13 December, with buses on the U1 about every 10 minutes instead of every 5 to 6 minutes.
Southern Vectis (Isle of Wight)
- Godshill, Monday to Friday from 2 November to 11 December: buses won’t run through the centre of Godshill, so the Primary School, Hollies, Moor Farm Lane, Godshill South, Redhill Lane and Chapel stops aren’t served on weekdays.
- Route 3 runs via Merstone instead.
- Route 2 runs directly between Newport and Shanklin, without serving Merstone.
- Extra route 3 buses run from Newport to Allendale and Jubilee Close at the northern end of Godshill, about hourly from 0550 to 1810. One morning journey carries on to Christ the King College and Carisbrooke College.
- School routes 62, 63 and 73 also avoid Godshill, with minor retimings to some trips.
- N3 night bus: from 2 November the N3 runs on two nights a week again (previously one), with 3 journeys each way between about 0030 and 0300.
First Wessex (Dorset)
- Dorchester Road closure, Weymouth: the diversion on routes 2, 10 and X51 has been revised slightly, and buses no longer call at Mercery Road while it is in place. It still runs until 19 December, then again from 4 January to 19 March 2027.
- Route 12 (Weymouth – Littlesea Holiday Park): the daily service carries on one week longer than first planned, until 8th November.
As always, data is Compiled from the timetables operators publish to the Bus Open Data Service and from bus registration records. Always check with the operator before you travel, especially around roadworks and school holidays.
News
Who Guessed? People from Southampton visit Whiteley!
The newly introduced Bluestar 26 bus route, which launched on August 30 to connect Whiteley Shopping Centre with Southampton city centre via North Whiteley, Botley, and Hedge End, is experiencing strong early passenger growth reports the Daily Echo.
Currently attracting around 500 passengers a day—with approximately 160 daily journeys specifically serving Whiteley and North Whiteley—the service has seen its ridership increase week-on-week during its first full month of operation. Hampshire County Council and Bluestar have both welcomed the figures, which highlight the growing demand for improved public transport in the expanding North Whiteley community.
New U11DD for (Y)utong
Route-One reported that the next-generation Yutong U11DD battery-electric double-decker has officially made its UK debut, sporting a striking new design in the colours of Nottingham City Transport (NCT). This initial vehicle forms part of a 13-strong order of full-height layout buses destined for the operator, with supplier Pelican Bus and Coach confirming that further customer announcements beyond the East Midlands are expected soon.
This might be outside of the Hampshire Bus Update area, but operators are investing in electric buses quite heavily, with Stagecoach South already using Yutong in Aldershot… with more electric buses due for Portsmouth.
TravelSafe?
Hampshire County Council and Portsmouth City Council have funded the introduction of Travel Safe officers in a bid to boost travel confidence. The News are reporting that the newly recruited officers will focus on evenings and weekends to combat anti-social behaviour on Stagecoach, First Bus and the Gosport Ferry.
Once you are off the bus or boat… you are on your own!
Christmas
So it turns out that some of the operators are already uploading their Christmas schedules, or at least the weeks leading up to it.
Headlines so far:
- First Wessex are running a Saturday Service from Christmas Eve with early finishes Christmas Eve and late finishes New Years Eve.
- Stagecoach Andover are running the 76 on Boxing Day (that feels unusual, but it probably isn’t)
- Bournemouth UniBus move to their Vacation timetables on 13th December.
I will be taking a closer look towards the end of November. As soon as fuller indications come out, as always I will be putting them up…. along with the usual AI edited snow scenes that you can never actually get in real life.