Lots of little changes are coming up in the coming months which we are quickly going to report on today. I regret that many of the bus rally organisers have really been collaborating this year and yet again I am not able to make a bus rally. So if you are in Netley’s Royal Victoria Country Park for the Xelabus replacement to the Alton Rally; I hope it stays dry for you!
Me, I have been writing this in Notting Hill and Holland Park on Sunday.
Science Park changes
The Xelabus Bus Rally in Netley actually brings me quite nicely to the first changes that are taking place on the weekend of Sunday 3rd September.
Xelabus has announced, contrary to the previous comments made to their enthusiast groups, that the X21 is coming to the end of it’s contract after service on Friday 1st September and will be replaced by service U8 under the Go South Coast UniLink brand. Updated: UniLink now also have announced same.
The service runs from Southampton City Centre to Southampton Airport Parkway Station, Chandlers Ford ASDA and then the Southampton Science Park.
The current service is a reduction on previous offerings. If I remember correctly there was the “commuter” service in in the mornings, then a shuttle to Airport Parkway Station at lunchtime (or it might have been most of the day) and then the return working at the end of the day. This eventually whittled away to two trips to the Science Park in the morning and two return trips in the evening. The timings allow for a single bus to run the two trips.
There is no indication of what will run on the U8 in terms of timetable or vehicles yet, but the current X21 does not serve the Highfield Campus of the University. Xelabus have used a silver liveried Enviro 200 MMC over the years, currently with the private plate G15 SSP (for Southampton Science Park) alongside their more common Gxxx XEL number plates.
Updated: UniLink to Winchester as well!
UniLink have also announced that a new U7 bus will also be introduced between Highfield Interchange, Winchester School of Art and Winchester Broadway.
What I can only imagine is the replacement for the WSA Shuttlebus (shown here on the Southampton University Students Union website) – which if I am not mistaken is currently run by Lucketts from their Fareham Depot albeit I have not seen it operating recently to be sure.
The fact as well, that the UniLink announcement advertises it as going to Winchester Broadway, I wonder if it will also become an open public service?
Update 22 July: A follower on Twitter has said that the U7 is going to be a restricted service for students and staff only.
A New Service for Chandlers Ford
With the last 18 months of services being registered, given up, sold and operated by borrowed buses; Eastleigh has a new service operated by a local community operator.
A one year trial of new route 44 starts this week and for those with a long memory, the route number may jog a memory of Red Rockets and nostalgia. This new route though will be operated by Community First and comes from funding thanks to Chandlers Ford Parish Council, Hampshire County Council and a grant from Eastleigh Borough Council.
The timetable above was found on the local Eastleigh Liberal Democrat Twitter account, so I apologise if it comes out low quality at your end. With the exception of an early afternoon lunch break, it is basically an hourly service alternating each way around the loop. I wonder if Community First and Bluestar will come to some sort of reciprocal agreement for tickets in the Velmore area as both services could compliment each other.
Cancelled service reprieve at Hilsea
I say cancelled services reprieve, but its more of a short extension as First Solent will continue to run it’s Portsmouth area supported services for another month.
We previously reported that the tendered services across routes to Tipner, Milton and Farlington would be cancelled from 30th July, and that Stagecoach would take them on from Sunday 3rd September. First Hampshire, Dorset and Berkshire have now put a short new registration in to continue the services until that changeover day. This is not really a surprise though for service continuity.
At the same time, after First Solent acquired the land at The News Centre a few months ago, they have apparently started parking their buses back there. I did sight an internal announcement about this, which would suggest the parking at Limberline Road is no longer in use?
I would imagine that the PVR loss from the services will be reinvested into the rest of the core network. Although you will occasionally see shortage of staff issues on the First Solent social media channels, it oft feels that it is one or two duties rather than a widespread issue. Maybe you can tell me different?
Also, minor changes in Fareham
There are some running time changes for services in Fareham, affecting the E1 and E2 as well as the F1 service to the Fareham Highlands area. There is no substantial changes that I can see, although journey times will differ.
Riding on the Cresta of an expansion?
I know, I have had a pint of Asahi and a pint of Pravha and I am already writing rubbish interludes.
We reported previously that the contract for service 95 between Winchester, Micheldever and East Stratton has not been awarded to Stagecoach South. As you might have already of guessed, the 95 will be run by small independent Cresta Coaches from Tuesday 1st August (yes…. It’s another mid-week service change) (oh wait, I have not mentioned that yet) and the new service 95 is getting a Scary Movie style slashing.
It will now only run on Wednesdays and Fridays leaving East Stratton at 10:30 rather than the Monday and Thursday that it does now. Traveline also only shows the 95 running in one direction. We all know that is going to be stupid and there will be a return trip (unlike the round trip that Stagecoach does) and so it might simply be “set down only” although I think that is crazy too.
Summer ends Early at Transpora
Transpora Bus in Bournemouth have announced the cancellation of their open top bus service from Wednesday 23rd August (yes…. that is the other mid-week service change).
The T1 from Bournemouth Pier to Hengistbury Head runs on a 45 minute frequency using two open top buses (or more often it seems one open and one closed top) and it appears to not be that profitable.
When I highlighted that the T1 was being cancelled the week before the late summer Bank Holiday weekend, the Managing Director at Transpora was quick to jump on Twitter and tell me that it is because a more lucrative offer.
I know, I have this slightly inebriated head fuzz of deja-vu about all this. I am sure I have had similar conversations before.
From the Transpora news page though, it appears that there is now a nice flood of white across the Bob Lucas Stadium, in Weymouth where TransporaBus has five operating discs registered. This is in preparation for schools services taken on from Barry’s Coaches – due to retirement – and the Weymouth Park & Ride over the summer months.
They have, in recent weeks, rationalised their Bournemouth schools services and combined the four routes they run into two. The St Peter’s School services are now also cancelled entirely from September, so at the same time I hope that the replacements that are already in the works are ones that the existing drivers will be able to easily slot into and stay in employment.
It will also be interesting to see what this new service is that is so profitable that you can cancel an open-top beach bus service before the Bank Holiday weekend.
Things are slowing down
There certainly feels like there are less in the way of substantial changes in the commercial service networks.
The ex-Yellow Bus network feels like it has now fully merged into morebus and likewise the ex-City Red network into Bluestar.
I hope that we are now entering a more prolonged period of stability. All the time that things change, it scares off the potential custom that is sitting on the fence, and I think we are seeing a large element of that on the rail network. When the £2 flat fare increases in the autumn though….
Unilink are also launching a new U7 route to the Winchester school of arts-see their site for further details.
That’s right – it is Highfield, Winchester School of Arts, Winchester Broadway (from what I have heard)
I do need to add that in
Stagecoach will be running the PCC contracts except for the 22 which First retained. I do wonder if Scoach will think about little expansions in their “Southdown Portsmouth” (remember them?) network & finally link up with the 69 Winchester to Fareham service at Fareham again as they will be serving nearby Paulsgrove. Those of you with long memories might recall that there was a 68 & 69 Stagecoach service from Winchester & Fareham into Portsmouth in Sept 1990. However a certain Nicholas Ridley buggered up the network in Portsmouth when he made Scoach sell off bits to the dreaded Mini-bus man!!
Scoach running the 25 bus along the seafront-(ish) from The Hard to the Hayling Ferry. All they need to do now is combine it with the 21 to Leigh Park & Havant from the Hard & the Portsmouth City Transport 143 service will live on once more! Oooo…. nostalgia! 😉
I remember the 69 running into Portsmouth well, and it was not that long ago that it stopped.
We have already talked about the Stagecoach contract wins in a previous post; another commenter suggesting that with the 18 moving to Stagecoach that it would not take much to have a “new 69”.
I think cost vs benefit would not pay off just yet though.