Bluestar reveals their “Step In”

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With a little more notice than they had in Bournemouth, Go South Coast have today announced their service levels for replacement routes across the First Southampton / City Red network. While the city of Southampton might feel they are now going to be smothered in Blue from 19th February 2023, some parts will miss out on an enhanced service.

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First though and most importantly, if you are working for City Red right now, I do sincerely hope that you either have a Bluestar contract ready to go, or another role to move on to. I have been there before, wondering what the coming months will bring, and I know how it feels to have impending unemployment coming at you. I was lucky and in the right place at the right time and I hope you all are too.

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For the new Bluestar routes though, the announcement on the Bluestar website shows us that actually the First Southampton routes that are retained will not change much. The more important timetables are not yet available, which given we still have two months lead time is not unusual. The table below – if it works – will show the City Red details in Red and the Bluestar details in Blue, with City Red frequencies per weekday daytime and Bluestar frequencies as per their published expectations.

Route Number	Route served	Frequency
City Red 9 Bluestar 10	City – Woolston – Peartree – Bitterne – Sholing No Change	Hourly Hourly
City Red 13 Bluestar 13	City – Woolston – Merry Oak – Bitterne – Harefield No Change	Hourly Every 30 Minutes
City Red 8 Bluestar 14	Aldermoor – Hospital – City – Bitterne – Chartwell Green – Hedge End Will run City to Hedge End section only	Every 30 Minutes Every 30 Minutes
City Red 6 Bluestar 15	City – Woolson – Netley – Hamble No Change	Every 30 Minutes Every 30 Minutes
City Red 3 Bluestar 19	Cross-City: Thornhill – City – General Hospital – Lordshill Will run via Maybush Corner instead of Warren Avenue	Every 10 Minutes Every 20 Minutes
City Red 7 Bluestar 20	City – Portswood – St Denys -Midanbury – Townhill No change	Every 15 Minutes Every 15 Minutes

In the grand scheme of things, very little will change in the routes that Bluestar are taking on, and I am sure that if Southampton City Council feel they have missed something out then they will tender it to the highest bidder.

Now

I do keep hearing rumours about imminent changes to another operator in the area, also resulting in the withdrawal of services. If that happens, then maybe there will be some subsequent changes to full another gap. I would find it unlikely, but it is possible.

Certainly the lack of a replacement for the City Red 2 is not surprising because of the abundance of alternatives. Likewise providing a diversion on the City Red 3 route via Maybush Corner will potentially alleviate any disruption any blockage in Warren Avenue causes and the large number of buses currently using it.

The devil however, will be in the timetables that Bluestar will move to the First Southampton network. Which may attach to the news item in due course.