With the schools returning in six weeks, Stagecoach are starting to run out their changes for the start of the new academic year. In this case, it means substantial changes in Winchester, including to college services. So from 30 August 2026, let’s look at the mix of frequency improvements, timetable adjustments, and some more significant network revisions.
[As a side note: Bah! Meh! Andover’s service 3 has been moved to Winchester AGAIN by my automated back end]
You can find the official Stagecoach South announcement at this page but as a summary:
The headline improvement is on Service 3, where weekday daytime frequencies will increase from every 20 minutes to every 15 minutes. This should help ease capacity and improve reliability on what is one of the city’s core corridors.
Service 64 will also gain later evening journeys from Alton. The Friday & Saturday 2315 from Alton will now run six days a week and a new Friday and Saturday Only 0015 will run – presumably the back working of the 2320 (Friday & Saturday Only) trip out from Winchester.
Elsewhere, a number of services will see timetable revisions aimed at improving punctuality:
- Service 5
- Service 6 during the peak service, due to issues in Worthy Lane
- Services 49 & 49h (school service 649 will also revert to Mortimers Lane in the afternoon)
- Service 67
- Service 69 sees minor timetable revisions, including changes to Saturday journeys.
- Service 75 gains new evening journeys (supported by Hampshire County Council), with buses running hourly on Saturdays between 08:45 and 17:45.
- The 14:55 college-day Service 74 journey from Peter Symonds to Andover will be withdrawn; the 14:57 Service 75 provides an alternative.
There are also several structural changes to the network:
- Service 4 will be renumbered to Service 11.
- Service 68 will be withdrawn due to passenger numbers
- College Service 86 will operate the Oakley loop clockwise, aligning with Basingstoke’s Service 11.
Services 7 and 77 will be combined, with all journeys operating as Service 7 and the 77 number withdrawn. These changes come with impacts. Buses will no longer serve Stockbridge or Salisbury, while Teg Down is removed and instead covered by the new Shopper Service 14. Littleton will also be withdrawn due to safety concerns making the right turn from Deane Down Drove onto Stockbridge Road; passengers here are directed to use Service 16 instead.
A new Shopper Service 14 will be introduced, operating once daily (Monday to Friday) in each direction. This will link Teg Down, Bereweeke Avenue, Fulflood, the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, the rail station and the city centre.
Service 16 is also revised, with all journeys running direct along Stockbridge Road following discussions with Hampshire County Council and Littleton & Harestock Parish Council. This provides improved access to Waitrose at Weeke, although Bereweeke Avenue and Andover Road will no longer be served.
Overall, the changes appear to focus on improving reliability and simplifying the network, although this comes alongside some reductions in coverage, particularly affecting more peripheral areas. For timetables I have not directly linked to, you can find them on the service changes page until around mid-September.