Bluestar bus service changes (From Daily Echo)
When news happens, text SDE and your photos or videos to 80360. Or contact us by email and phone.
Bluestar bus service changes
10:41am Monday 22nd October 2012 in News By Ed Stilliard, Senior Reporter
Bluestar have announced changes to services
BUS chiefs are changing routes and timetables from the start of next month.
Bluestar is altering some of its services from Sunday, November 4 in a bid to save costs.
Management blames the rising cost of fuel and other operating costs and said they need to make changes to preserve some of their services which carry very low numbers of passengers.
Bosses added that the changes would improve some services, in terms of the number of buses and their reliability.
The new timetables will mainly affect routes in the Marchwood, Rushington, Hythe, Langley, Fawley, Totton, Cadnam and Lymington areas.
Bluestar operations director Ed Wills, said: “A large percentage of bus users will not be affected, in fact they will see improvements to the timetable and many commuters will find they have more buses to choose from each hour.
“We hope that the improvements will encourage more people to use our more convenient services and we have been very careful not to isolate the few areas where routes are to change as there will be another service from which to choose.
Don Harper, secretary of the Southampton Pensioners’ Forum, broadly welcomed the changes.
He said: “The T3 and T4 service will enable pensioners in outlying villages access Totton and then Southampton.
“The new Sunday service from Calshot will be a great help to people who wish to visit relatives in the general hospital.
“The extending of the Bluestar 3 should be good for Boorley Green residents, but I am aware that the one-hour frequency of the service is not liked by users.”
The company will be hosting information roadshows in Hythe, Totton and Southampton city centre to provide advice and information to travellers.
TIMETABLE CHANGES
Key changes are to Bluestar 1, 3, 6, 8, 9 10, 11 and 12 while some routes have been extended and changed.
Bluestar 3 will be extended to Boorley Green and will no longer serve Kings Corner in Botley.
The route between Southampton and Bitterne will be revised and will now run via Woolston link road and Peartree Avenue. The service will then follow its existing route to Botley High Street and then turn onto Winchester Street before continuing onto Boorley Green, Maddoxford Lane and terminating at Oatlands Road.
Bluestar 8 will now run up to every half an hour between Southampton and Hythe on Monday to Saturday daytimes.
The service will be extended hourly beyond Hythe, to Holbury, Blackfield, Fawley and Calshot beach to replace service H3.
There will be a new hourly Sunday daytime service between Calshot and Southampton with additional Monday to Saturday evening journeys between Southampton and Marchwood.
Existing Bluestar services 10 and 11 between Cadnam and Totton will be replaced with a T3/T4 service providing a circular route around Totton, West Totton, Calmore, Tatchbury Mount, Woodlands, Bartley and Cadnam.
Additional reporting by Luke Tugby
Comments(6)
loosehead
says...
12:58pm Mon 22 Oct 12
sotonboy84 wrote:They have to cover bus passes
The only thing that would make me even consider using their service, and any any other bus service in Southampton for that matter is for them to drop their prices. Almost £2 (some journies more) for a single ticket in Southampton.
IanRRR
says...
1:32pm Mon 22 Oct 12
sotonboy84 wrote:Oh please get real! Its 2012, and fuel costs a fortune. A bus costs around a thousand pounds per day to operate, yet you moan about a £2 fare, whilst possibly paying £3.50 for a pint of beer that just goes down the toilet?
The only thing that would make me even consider using their service, and any any other bus service in Southampton for that matter is for them to drop their prices. Almost £2 (some journies more) for a single ticket in Southampton.
I heard a guy moaning the other day, about having to pay £3.30 for a single fare to go just one bus stop. That sounds awful, until the driver pointed out that he could always walk if he didnt like the price, and it would probably take him about an hour and a half on foot! Of course, the guy paid up and sat down looking very sheepish. Some people just love complaining, until reality comes and slaps them in the face... I think bus fares remain fantastic value, compared to the costs of vehicle ownership.
IanRRR
says...
1:39pm Mon 22 Oct 12
loosehead wrote:No, they dont have to cover bus passes! They get paid (albeit a small amount), every time someone uses a pass. Those passengers would not travel in many cases, so it works out at about break even. The annoying thing is that they are allowed to use them on afternoon peak hour buses.
sotonboy84 wrote:They have to cover bus passes
The only thing that would make me even consider using their service, and any any other bus service in Southampton for that matter is for them to drop their prices. Almost £2 (some journies more) for a single ticket in Southampton.
Boatman
says...
5:09pm Mon 22 Oct 12
focus19
says...
11:52pm Mon 22 Oct 12
sotonboy84 says...
12:27pm Mon 22 Oct 12