It is a common practice for major towns and cities to have a series of routes starting with 1, and hence it is likely all single digit numbers will be used. Some places however do not follow the full sequence, either due to routes being withdrawn or companies reserving the number for elsewhere.
For a town or city to count, it must have a population of at least 50,000 and be missing one route number in the sequence of 1-9, excluding prefixed or suffixed routes. For example:
How many other large towns and cities are there missing at least one route number from 1 to 9?
For a town or city to count, it must have a population of at least 50,000 and be missing one route number in the sequence of 1-9, excluding prefixed or suffixed routes. For example:
- Portsmouth has no service numbered 4, 5, 6 or 9. These numbers were reserved by First for routes out of neighbouring Gosport.
- Poole does not have a route 2 or 7. It does have an m2 and a 7A, 7B & 7C, but these do not count due to the prefix/suffix rule.
- Bournemouth had practically no non-suffixed single digit routes until the network change of 2018, which saw many of the former b-suffixed routes drop the letter. Even so, a 7, 8 and 9 are still missing from the town.
- Southampton was missing a route 5 until October when Mini Link started up their service to Ringwood. This now looks set to be reversed again as the company enters difficulties due to Covid.
How many other large towns and cities are there missing at least one route number from 1 to 9?
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