There is a lot of talk of things involving routes this week and we are coving both buses and trains. Yes, I know, we talk about trains a little bit more than we used to! I think some of that was because I started talking about the increase in some of the PlusBus prices and it went from there. So what we will do is get the train bit out of the way and then focus on the rest.
While you are reading this, I am still working on the service updates page! I started to import both VOSA (which we know often is slow to update) and BODS (which tends to update as operators upload timetables).
The new issue? The BODS rendering went to far! Example… First Solent service 9 is diverted for two days along Privett Road – PING! a new timetable with 18 stops that are probably affecting a dozen trips for two days appears. Also PING! two lots of the entire morebus timetable list due to a mismatch.
I persevere. Now onwards:
CrossCountry returns to Brockenhurst
Since around 2021, which was that weird sort of time between COVID lockdowns and COVID lockdowns, CrossCountry substantially reduced the number of services calling at Brockenhurst and instead run nonstop between Southampton Central and Bournemouth. Readers might be able to correct me, but I am sure that coincided with the reduction to 2-hourly service for much of the day.
CrossCountry later re-instated their hourly timetable, but they are now including the Brockenhurst (BCU) stop once again, providing longer instance travellers (and the rest of us) with a more convenient route to the west side of the Isle of Wight.
The change takes place next weekend when the summer timetable changes take affect across the national rail network.
New Routes in Southampton
Using money from local authority funding, two new routes have been announced in the Southampton area which it is hoped will start by September.
Reporting from the Daily Echo suggests that the two routes will be:
- Townhill Park, Bitterne, Woolston, City Centre
- Townhill Park, Bitterne, City, Upper Shirley, Southampton General Hospital
Now….sensible me would suggest this would be achieved by extending the existing Bluestar 16 via Hill Lane and St James’s Road to the Hospital. The route via Woolston though looks like it will be entirely new unless possibly services 10 and 13 get caught up in the mix and modified in some way.
I will await the announcements on BODS or VOSA.
Stagecoach
Last year, Stagecoach South (with if I remember PCC funding) re-routed service 18 away from parts of Southsea, via Kent Road to Clarence Pier.
The residents of Kent Road, far from rejoicing that they now have a closer service to take them to the Fratton Centre and North End, now want the bus diverted away again.
Reporting from The News and the Daily Echo has complaints that the smell of diesel and the vibration of the single pane windows from early morning to late night makes life unbearable.
There are also complaints that cars have to mount the pavement when they try to outrun the buses between gaps in the parked cars.
On the plus side, we reported last week that electric buses are heading to the Farlington depot – maybe there is a little placation to be offered to the Southsea residents.
First Wessex service changes
Following the hideous attempt at m system trying to work out the X51; First Wessex have updated their news page with their summer service changes.
From last Friday anew late evening service was launched an from Saturday 23rd May there are changes to most of the network.
New LB1
So I know, it is slightly outside our usual operating area but a new LB1 service will run in the Lyme Regis and Bridport areas on Friday and Saturday nights until the end of September.
There are found round trips between the two towns, with the last trip from Lyme Regis at 2330 extending all the way to Weymouth arriving at 0055.
Town Services
Most of the service changes from the First Wessex news page suggests that it the changes are fairly typical of what see for the summer:
- Service 1 (Portland) revised timetable for the increased traffic
- Service 2 (Brisbane Road) increased to every 15 minutes (every 20 minutes on Sundays)
- Service 4 (Preston) increased to every 20 minutes [I am sure this usually runs later in the evenings in the summer, but it is not mentioned]
- Service 8 (Chickerell) regain their later evening trips every day
- Service 10 (Dorchester & Poundbury) increased to every 15 minutes (every 20 minutes Sundays)
There will also be additional buses on Monday evenings as Weymouth has a weekly fireworks display.
Jurassic Coaster (& Longer Distance)
The usual changes to the X-branded services are coming as well:
- Summer Holidays only X50 – Weymouth – Wareham – Swanage
- Service X51 (Weymouth – Dorchester – Bridport – Axminster) wll remain at current frequency with extended journey times
- Service X52 (Weymouth – Abbotsbury- Bridport) returns with a 2-hourly open top bus service interworking with the X53
- Service X53 (Weymouth – Bridport – Axminster) will remain at current frequency with extended journey times
- Service X54 (Weymouth -Wareham – Swanage) will once again extend to Swanage every 2 hours.
- Service 55 will also return with a connecting service for Bovington Tank Museum and Monkey World
Timetables for all services are still more reliably on the usual TravelineSW and First Wessex websites.
I would assume that if the 16 was extended to cover the new route (which would make sense) it may be split into a 16 and a 16a type service as it seems to be a half hourly bus proposed for the new route (compared to the 16’s current 15 minute frequency).
I would also assume the proposal would mean changes to the current 21 possibly curtail it in Shirley rather than that also go down St James Road and the bottom part of Hill Lane.
I am sure that something is likely to lose out to create these new services.
You may be right that 2tp on each service will be the answer, I suppose with the 20 as well there is not much loss for ways to Southampton.
The folk who compile the weekly Traffic Commissioner Notices messed up last Thurs (7th May). They conflated the First 55 summer service (Lulworth-Wool-Bovington) with the summer extension of the X54 (Wareham-Swanage) implying the 55 runs to Swanage, which it doesn’t. I informed the depot manager at Weymouth in the hope that someone may put things right.