Hampshire's web site reports ...
A new service 66, with improved frequency to & from Winchester, will be introduced from 26 October 2014.
Current services 32, 33 and 66 will be combined to create a new service 66 which will run up to every 30 minutes between Romsey and Winchester, via Ampfield and Hursley with additional earlier and later journeys.
A new Sunday service will also be introduced, with buses running every hour.
In order to serve the Abbotswood housing development, alternate journeys will run either via Jermyns Lane and Winchester Hill, or Braishfield Road and Richmond Lane.
A new service 66, with improved frequency to & from Winchester, will be introduced from 26th October 2014.
Current services 32, 33 and 66 will be combined to create a new service 66 which will run up to every 30 minutes between Romsey and Winchester, via Ampfield and Hursley with additional earlier and later journeys.
A new Sunday service will also be introduced, with buses running every hour.
In order to serve the Abbotswood housing development, alternate journeys will run either via Jermyns Lane and Winchester Hill, or Braishfield Road and Richmond Lane.
Observant blog readers will, after due concentration, conclude that these news items are remarkably similar. Who copied from whom is not recorded but fbb would (were he a betting man) offer low odds on Hampshire County Council simply reprinting what Stagecoach sent them. In due course, we will discover whether this information is helpful or not.
Meanwhile a bit of (recent) history. Stagecoach (successors to Hampshire Bus) has run a route 66 between Winchester and Romsey for most of the deregulation period. It has had numerous variations and, just a few short years ago, was mainly branded as X66.
When Stagecoach was awarded the South West Trains franchise, they soon promised to introduce Rail Link buses from railheads to locations previous served by train but ostensibly cut off the from the rail network. These ran from Liphook to Bordon ...
... from Southampton to Hythe ...
... from Winchester to Romsey.
Bus watchers were not over impressed as the links followed existing "ordinary" bus routes. Effectively the Romsey link duplicated the 66 between Winchester Station and Romsey as shown in an edition of the Great Britain bus timetable from year 2000.
Some of these routes were politically motivated and, arguably, silly. Not only was there duplication between Winchester and Romsey, but the hourly Hythe service toddled emptily on whilst Solent Blue Line ran three (sometimes four) buses an hour from the other side of Southampton station!
All these services eventuallly fizzled out or, like the Romsey offering, were merged with existing routes. There were protests ...
... and some rail link journeys were retained with the 66 for a while, but did not last, leaving the original service to sink back to an unattractive hourly frequency with a smattering of extra trips at peak times.
This most recent timetable also shows journeys on routes 32 and 33, previously shown separately by Stagecoach as Romsey local services. We need to turn to the sainted Traveline to extract some helpful information for these services.
they both follow a one-way loop via Cupernham and Woodley; here the 32 ...
... and here the 33.
The consequences of the difference are not clear from the timetable because the Cupernham timing points are side roads, not main roads; and Traveline seems to be unclear where Romsey ends and Woodley begins. But an fbb map shows what actually happens.
We will try to unravel the changes in the next blog; but, be warned, it is not easy!
As a P.S., More recently (Recently? Actually seven yesr ago!) Stagecoach also had a go at a new rail link ...
... which used vehicles from the withdrawn Romsey service. The service is enthusiastically advertised today on the Waterlooville town web site.
RL (Rail-link) Waterlooville to Petersfield Train Station railink via Cowplain Shops, Horndean to Petersfield. Service runs hourly from Waterlooville to Petersfield starting 06:15 Mondays to Fridays (07:15 on Saturdays) until 20:45.
You guessed right. That did not last either; it ran from 2007 to 2010. Perhaps someone should tell the good folk of Waterlooville; also maybe that the plural of "taxi" is an apostrophe-less "taxis"? Three cheers for Lynne Truss.
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First Forays into Fowey
More problems for Western Greyhound
In a press release issued yesterday, First Bus has announced further expansion in Cownwall.
Here is the relevant text.
The extra routes will begin operating in January 2015, and will include services from St Austell to Fowey and Mevagissey. Additionally, First Kernow’s Truro to St Austell route 27 will be extended each hour to Bodmin.
As well as these developments, the company’s routes between Newquay and Truro via both Perranporth (87) and Fraddon/Quintrell Downs (91) will see further enhancement.
The extra routes will begin operating in January 2015, and will include services from St Austell to Fowey and Mevagissey. Additionally, First Kernow’s Truro to St Austell route 27 will be extended each hour to Bodmin.
As well as these developments, the company’s routes between Newquay and Truro via both Perranporth (87) and Fraddon/Quintrell Downs (91) will see further enhancement.
Details are eagerly awaited.
Western Greyhound routes are 529 to Bodmin (the 528 no longer runs), 524 and 525 from Mevagissey via St Austell to Fowey. Cornwall Busways also operate their route 30 paralleling the 529 and far as Roche and 31 alongside the 524/5 to Par.
Western Greyhound routes are 529 to Bodmin (the 528 no longer runs), 524 and 525 from Mevagissey via St Austell to Fowey. Cornwall Busways also operate their route 30 paralleling the 529 and far as Roche and 31 alongside the 524/5 to Par.
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Next bus blog : Wednesday 29th October
Someone should also tell the good folk of Waterlooville that an hourly service that starts at 0615 can't be hourly if it finishes at 2045.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest problem with the Waterlooville bus was tat it left too soon after the train was due and so often missed it leaving an hour wait. Also the other way it arrived too close to when the fast train left for London so there wasn't time to buy a ticket...which wouldn't have been an issue as the drivers had ticket rail machines but they either never worked or weren't used. It was very poorly used (I commuted for 6 months on it). I will say one thing though that the raillink drivers were very friendly and ran in heavy snow even when the 37 didn't. Since the cancellation the 37 has been slightly enhanced to compensate but ridiculously is scheduled to arrive and depart Petersfield station as the fast trains to London leave and from London arrive and so usually misses both!!
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