Go South Coast

[nw1]

The Daily Echo is reporting the confirmation that Bluestar will be taking on the contracts for what are currently Xelabus X11 and X12 from 28th October.


Source: https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/24622419.bluestar-taking-bus-routes-lordshill-shirley/

Interesting... I guess they were anticipating this some time ago, hence the reason why they went from 20 to 23 when they took on the Eastleigh services and missed out 21 and 22.

Presumably resourcing the vehicles will be no problem as there are a lot of vehicles parked up in the city centre between school/college peaks.

Back to the current Sunday workings, I do note that in some hours the 15 arrival at Central Station at xx50 does then go empty to the city centre to form the xx55 on the 14 just five minutes later. Seems incredibly tight, but I've seen it twice for real now (on one occasion, the 14 did indeed depart late) so I'm presuming that is the booked working. Specifically this definitely happens with the 1550 arrival forming the 1555 out.

 

[GeekyJamez]

Interesting... I guess they were anticipating this some time ago, hence the reason why they went from 20 to 23 when they took on the Eastleigh services and missed out 21 and 22.

Presumably resourcing the vehicles will be no problem as there are a lot of vehicles parked up in the city centre between school/college peaks.

Back to the current Sunday workings, I do note that in some hours the 15 arrival at Central Station at xx50 does then go empty to the city centre to form the xx55 on the 14 just five minutes later. Seems incredibly tight, but I've seen it twice for real now (on one occasion, the 14 did indeed depart late) so I'm presuming that is the booked working. Specifically this definitely happens with the 1550 arrival forming the 1555 out.

Those routes do go through some more narrow roads so won't they need something like a Solo?

 

[nw1]

Those routes do go through some more narrow roads so won't they need something like a Solo?

I don't think Bluestar have theirs anymore, certainly haven't seen them since around the start of the year.

My guess is they'd use some Enviro200s off other routes, which would be in turn displaced by some of the double-deckers parked up in the city centre between the peaks.

The timetables are up: a shame they cannot run in the peaks or on Saturdays, but I guess they are running them at times of the day when there are vehicles to spare.

Perhaps if they are a success they will run them on a similar basis to the 10, as a 6-day a week hourly service covering the morning and evening peaks and Saturdays too, which is arguably the minimum level of service for a city bus route.

I note the 22 is Tues/Thurs only. Do Bluestar have another route which runs Mon, Wed, Fri and Sat only? Can't think of one OTOH.

 

[Flange Squeal]

I don't think Bluestar have theirs anymore, certainly haven't seen them since around the start of the year.

My guess is they'd use some Enviro200s off other routes, which would be in turn displaced by some of the double-deckers parked up in the city centre between the peaks.

The timetables are up: a shame they cannot run in the peaks or on Saturdays, but I guess they are running them at times of the day when there are vehicles to spare.

Perhaps if they are a success they will run them on a similar basis to the 10, as a 6-day a week hourly service covering the morning and evening peaks and Saturdays too, which is arguably the minimum level of service for a city bus route.

I note the 22 is Tues/Thurs only. Do Bluestar have another route which runs Mon, Wed, Fri and Sat only? Can't think of one OTOH.

Essentially the service structure is simply being carried over from the current Xelabus contracts (X11/X12) with some minor retimings, most notably the current 1400 X11 between the City Centre and Lordshill (now 1355 route 21) which is curtailed at the Hospital. These are run 'between schools' at present so to run all day plus Saturday would likely require additional funding from Southampton City Council who fund the routes.

In regards to the 22's Tue/Thu operation, there are the H1/H2 routes between Hythe and Applemore that run Mon/Wed/Fri only, however I assume the resource from that also does the Tue/Thu T3/T4 around Totton. Currently the X12 runs these days as it fits between the Monday, Wednesday & Friday 'Bitterne Hoppa' services. These are also financially supported by Southampton City Council, so maybe Bluestar might be able to the fill the gaps with this contract too should Xelabus choose not to go for that contract at renewal as well.

 

[PTR 444]

I don't think Bluestar have theirs anymore, certainly haven't seen them since around the start of the year.

My guess is they'd use some Enviro200s off other routes, which would be in turn displaced by some of the double-deckers parked up in the city centre between the peaks.

The timetables are up: a shame they cannot run in the peaks or on Saturdays, but I guess they are running them at times of the day when there are vehicles to spare.

Perhaps if they are a success they will run them on a similar basis to the 10, as a 6-day a week hourly service covering the morning and evening peaks and Saturdays too, which is arguably the minimum level of service for a city bus route.

I note the 22 is Tues/Thurs only. Do Bluestar have another route which runs Mon, Wed, Fri and Sat only? Can't think of one OTOH.

Weren’t Southampton City Council looking at introducing a direct, more frequent route from the City to the General Hospital via all of Hill Lane, which would have likely superseded the X11 (soon to be 21)?

 

[nw1]

Weren’t Southampton City Council looking at introducing a direct, more frequent route from the City to the General Hospital via all of Hill Lane, which would have likely superseded the X11 (soon to be 21)?

Not sure but the Hill Lane area is certainly a notable gap in the network. As recently as around 2003 ISTR it had a 20-min interval daytime service (the 5A, if I remember correct, and the 25 before that) with the St James' Road area also getting a 20-min interval service on the 5. And around 2006 it was still half-hourly on each of the 5 and 5A.

Some kind of regular all-day route via either Hill Lane or St James' Road to the hospital and then onto Lordshill would seem to me to make sense. Perhaps after a bedding-in period the 21 will be revised in this way.

EDIT:

On another matter I noticed that a Bluestar Enviro200 was doing the X7R from Southampton at 1610 this afternoon, even though this is advertised as a Salisbury Reds service. Furthermore according to bustimes this seems to be a regular occurrence - it's happened for the past few Saturdays - so must be a booked duty. Looks like it comes off another service as it doesn't do any X7(R)s earlier in the day.

 

[Surreyman]

The announcement today re Wrightbus supplying Electric vehicles to the Go Ahead group, namechecks Salisbury and Southern Vectis, meaning that the Isle of Wight will receive Streetdeck Electroliners and Salisbury a mix of Streetdeck Electroliners and Kites (split not known). These are reported due for delivery 'early 2026'.
Does this mean that Go South Coast will no longer buy Enviro 400MMCs? - Or do they still need to buy Euro 6 diesels?

 

[aswilliamsuk]

The announcement today re Wrightbus supplying Electric vehicles to the Go Ahead group, namechecks Salisbury and Southern Vectis, meaning that the Isle of Wight will receive Streetdeck Electroliners and Salisbury a mix of Streetdeck Electroliners and Kites (split not known). These are reported due for delivery 'early 2026'.
Does this mean that Go South Coast will no longer buy Enviro 400MMCs? - Or do they still need to buy Euro 6 diesels?

This BBC article (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crej0jn334zo) says 11 double decks (presumably for R1 and Stonehenge work) and 12 single-decks (for Park & Ride and other city services) for Salisbury.

 

[Eyersey468]

The announcement today re Wrightbus supplying Electric vehicles to the Go Ahead group, namechecks Salisbury and Southern Vectis, meaning that the Isle of Wight will receive Streetdeck Electroliners and Salisbury a mix of Streetdeck Electroliners and Kites (split not known). These are reported due for delivery 'early 2026'.
Does this mean that Go South Coast will no longer buy Enviro 400MMCs? - Or do they still need to buy Euro 6 diesels?

I don't think they will be buying many more diesels, if any. All the big bus groups say they want their fleets zero emission by 2035,personally I think that is a fantasy as I don't think they will have the money to buy enough new vehicles nor am I convinced the manufacturers will have enough capacity to build enough over the next 10 years

 

[MotCO]

nor am I convinced the manufacturers will have enough capacity to build enough over the next 10 years

Step forwards Yutong or BYD with their vast capacity for building vehicles (esp. Yutong).......

 

[hdennis13]

Does this mean that Go South Coast will no longer buy Enviro 400MMCs? - Or do they still need to buy Euro 6 diesels?

GO ahead and other operators have many new diesel enviro400 and street decks etc, which will probably be moved around their operations to routes where electrification is unsuitable at the moment. Oxford and a few first depots have gone fully electric, which allows new vehicles to be cascaded and oldest scrapped.

 

[nw1]

Have used bustimes and on-the-ground observations to work out how Bluestar have sourced the two extra vehicles for the 21.

It's a bit convoluted but this seems to have happened.

One duty (a single-decker) appears to come off the 20 to form the 0855 on the 21, and is replaced by a double-decker (seems to be an Enviro400 City consistently) on the 20 at 0852 (off a school/college service) which then does a few journeys on the 20 before a single out-and-back on the 10 (at 1313) before moving onto the 18. This latter duty (the 10 then the 18) is long-standing though the vehicle formerly came off a 4 out-and-back trip. Prior to the 21, the single-decker would have stayed on the 20.

It then forms the 1055 and 1255 before moving onto 14/13 circuits from 1455 onwards. This replaces a double-decker which does the 1155 on the 14 and the 1333 on the 13, before going onto school/college trips. This double-decker itself replaces a single-deck duty on 13/14 circuits which then... moves onto the 20 to replace the Enviro 400 City above.

So essentially for this duty it uses a single-decker which is displaced off other routes by double-deckers in between school/college duties, albeit in a convoluted way.

The other duty, also a single-decker is essentially formed by a vehicle which used to form the 1425 on the 14 following a lengthy layover in the morning. It's a bit more complex than that as some other 10/13/14 workings have been altered, but that's basically what happens. But the final journey (1355) is formed of a double-decker which then does the 2 short journey from St George's School to the city centre in the afternoon before doing the sixth peak-only duty on the 20.

 

[SW Buses]

Moving to the Island, has anyone aware of how many buses are needed for their Christmas Day schedule?

 

[Gloster]

The timetable is out on the company’s website and in leaflets, so I leave you to work it out. It is different to previous years when the 3 and 9 interworked, and one vehicle could work the 4 and 7. Then I think it was six plus any changeovers.

 

[SW Buses]

The timetable is out on the company’s website and in leaflets, so I leave you to work it out. It is different to previous years when the 3 and 9 interworked, and one vehicle could work the 4 and 7. Then I think it was six plus any changeovers.

Thank you, I since found the pdf of the Christmas Day schedules on their website.

 

[WibbleWobble]

I believe seven (one extra compared with 2023) due to extra time being added in to timetables.

 

[Gloster]

I believe seven (one extra compared with 2023) due to extra time being added in to timetables.

I make it eight: four on 3 and one each on the other four routes.

 

[nw1]

A few other random Bluestar observations.

The increase to 20-minutely on the 9 has resulted in more single-deckers (seems to be mostly single-deckers Mon-Fri and Sat but with a few double-deck journeys). This was, IIRC, also the case when the 9 was 20-minutely pre-Covid, it was also mostly single-deck in those days.

By contrast the 11/12 on Sats is now mostly double-deckers (from my observation pretty much everything in the 2-5pm period except the 1422 and 1622 journeys on the 11). Some of the deckers keep on the 11/12 but others swap with other routes. These routes are of course only half-hourly on Sats compared to 20-minutely Mon-Fri.

Also with the 14/15 interworking on Sunday (happens in some hours at least) with the 15 arriving at the station around xx50 then going empty to form the 14 at xx55.. does that lead to timekeeping issues?

 

[WibbleWobble]

I make it eight: four on 3 and one each on the other four routes.

It is actually 10 buses interworking across all five routes, as it allows for recovery time and breaks.

 

[Gloster]

At least one of the Southern Vectis double-deckers (1651, I think) has been fitted with coach-style seating: larger and bulkier seats with adjustable headrests. Although the number of fixed seats is the same (I think) this has reduced the space available for prams, etc., and the number of tip-up seats. What advantage is there in this arrangement as there are no long distance runs except the very limited number of summer-only Island Coaster ones?

 

[Lynford1976]

At least one of the Southern Vectis double-deckers (1651, I think) has been fitted with coach-style seating: larger and bulkier seats with adjustable headrests. Although the number of fixed seats is the same (I think) this has reduced the space available for prams, etc., and the number of tip-up seats. What advantage is there in this arrangement as there are no long distance runs except the very limited number of summer-only Island Coaster ones?

1651 has been fitted with these seats since new. It is one of a batch of seven (1648-54) that have just transferred from the mainland and were previously used on the X3 between Salisbury and Bournemouth, hence the comfy seats.

They are intended for use on the West Wight routes: 7 and 12 and have, in turn, displaced the last Scanias to the mainland.

 

[Mark L]

1648 - 1654 have recently transferred to the SV fleet having previously been used on service X3 (Salisbury - Bournemouth). Although they have all been repainted I am pretty certain that they have retained their previous internal layout. There is a pic here - https://www.flickr.com/photos/20179...yC1N9-2oub5VW-2otH99g-2osFb6b-2osGu3L-2oiGSdw

 

[Gloster]

1648 - 1654 have recently transferred to the SV fleet having previously been used on service X3 (Salisbury - Bournemouth). Although they have all been repainted I am pretty certain that they have retained their previous internal layout. There is a pic here - https://www.flickr.com/photos/20179...yC1N9-2oub5VW-2otH99g-2osFb6b-2osGu3L-2oiGSdw

That is definitely the type of seats, although I can’t vouch for the layout as I don’t go upstairs. Does this reduce the number of seats upstairs? If they are mainly for the 7 and 12, then that is why I have only used them twice: I rarely travel on anything but the 9.

 

[Towers]

At least one of the Southern Vectis double-deckers (1651, I think) has been fitted with coach-style seating: larger and bulkier seats with adjustable headrests. Although the number of fixed seats is the same (I think) this has reduced the space available for prams, etc., and the number of tip-up seats. What advantage is there in this arrangement as there are no long distance runs except the very limited number of summer-only Island Coaster ones?

I’m pretty sure the headrests are fixed, rather than adjustable?!

 

[Lynford1976]

I’m pretty sure the headrests are fixed, rather than adjustable?!

Definitely fixed.

 

[Gloster]

The headrests looked like the type that could be wiggled a bit, but both times I have been on one I have sat in a high seat (always preferred by those of us with dodgy legs). It doesn’t look as though there is really room behind the stairs for a pushchair and parent, unlike the older vehicles.

 

[Towers]

The headrests looked like the type that could be wiggled a bit, but both times I have been on one I have sat in a high seat (always preferred by those of us with dodgy legs). It doesn’t look as though there is really room behind the stairs for a pushchair and parent, unlike the older vehicles.

As @Lynford1976 notes, they’re definitely fixed! If you look at the front of the seats, it’s all one piece. Cumfy though!

 

[PTR 444]

It appears that Hill Lane in Southampton will finally be getting a regular bus service after an absence of several years. Half of the existing journeys on Bluestar route 19 are being renumbered to 19a and diverted along the full length of Hill Lane, Winchester Road and Dale Road, providing a much needed service boost for that area.

Timetable improvements from Sunday 23 February

Find out about the improvements, plus the return of the Z00 bus and a new route!

www.bluestarbus.co.uk

Bluestar 19 & NEW 19a

• The Bluestar 19 will be split into two routes, the 19 and the 19a.
• The 19 will continue to run on its current route.
• The 19a will follow the 19 route from Fairfax Court to Central Station then will serve Hill Lane, Winchester Road, Dale Road and Tremona Road before continuing back onto the existing 19 route from Coxford Road.
• The 19 and 19a will both run up to every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday.

 

[DaveHarries]

It appears that Hill Lane in Southampton will finally be getting a regular bus service after an absence of several years. Half of the existing journeys on Bluestar route 19 are being renumbered to 19a and diverted along the full length of Hill Lane, Winchester Road and Dale Road, providing a much needed service boost for that area.

Timetable improvements from Sunday 23 February

Find out about the improvements, plus the return of the Z00 bus and a new route!

www.bluestarbus.co.uk

Indeed and, although I don't live down there, I would say about time too. Changes also to Services 17 and 18 along with a new Service 61 and return of the Marwell Zoo bus.

Sticking with the GSC topic their Swindon operations have changes coming up as well effective from the same date. Services 1A and 1B extend beyond GWH to Badbury Park and also, thanks to BSIP funding, Service 1B extends beyond Sparcells to Haydon Wick (Orbital Park). Changes also to 11, 13A, 14A and 15.

https://www.swindonbus.co.uk/timetable-improvements-sunday-23rd-february-2025

HTIOI,
Dave

 

[buslad1988]

Does anyone know exactly what Go-Ahead plan to do on the Isle of Wight with the BSIP funds?

They already have pretty good service levels there - is it mainly for increases in frequency on some of the minor cross-island routes? Assume also enhancements to the local town services.

With the electric buses on order presumably these enhancements will soak up any cascaded stock.