And So To Leigh Park

Leigh Park (a "suburb" of Havant) was developed to rehouse the citizens of Portsmouth who had been bombed out during WW2 ...

... or who lived in sub standard housing.

Buses were part of the Portsmouth Area Agreement with business being shared between the Corporation and Southdown. With priv&atisation this became First Bus and Stagecoach respectively. In practice this eventually settled as Stagecoach serving Havant and Leigh Park and First the communities of Waterlooville, Denmead and Horndean that lay astride the A3 London Road.

In a burst of incompetence, fbb mis-remembered the start of the changes which happened on 5th April. He was expecting them on 7th! So when he looked on Stagecoach's web site for the old timetables, there they were, gone!

Fortunately Hampshire's Havant timetable book had not been updated. Phew!

So below are Leigh Park map extracts from that excellent publication. But first,  a chunk of Portsmouth City's map ...

... which shows the route of the 20 from Cosham via Widley and the 23 from Cosham via Drayton and (off the map right) Farlington.

Here they appear on the map in the Havant booklet.

The 21 (ORANGE) has joined the fray from Anchorage Park and will link up with the 20 on Purbrook Way. These services operated every 30 minutes each, giving a bus every 15 from the West Leigh area into Havant.

On the above map we can see the 23 (RED) running direct from Portsmouth to Havant,8 then striking off via Leigh Park centre to terminate at Warren Park. The 23 ran every 10 minutes and offered a service all night seven days a week.

So what has happened from 5th April?

Here are the timetable extracts before the change:-

Service 20 via Widley and West Leigh

Service 21 via Farlington and West Leigh

Note that these two combine to provide a clockface every 15 min service via West Leigh.

Service 23 via Havant to Warren Park

To keep us all on our toes, Stagecoach does not mention Warren Park on their timetables but uses the terminus loop's name, Strouden Court.

Here is the new map.

Well, helpfully for the passenger NOT, all the colours have changed.

We already know from yesterday's blog that service 21 is withdrawn and replaced by an hourly 19 (DARK GREEN) which no longer serves West Leigh OR Havant itself. 

It does a little loop at Leigh Park centre.

Service 20 to West Leigh and Havant (BLUE GREEN) increases from every 30 to every 20 minutes ...

...which sounds great until you remember that West Leigh has LOST the 21!

Service 23 (MID BLUE) still runs every ten minutes with its night journeys intact ...

... but goes no further than Havant bus station.

So what about Warren Park we hear you cry? Well, now ... the claim to "improve reliability" becomes a service 22 (PALE BLUE) between Havant and Warren Park only. fbb conjectures that "to improve reliability" is a downright lie. In fact the service to Warren park is reduced from evert 10 to every 12 minutes.

Not only that,  but the published timetable on the Stagecoach web site is a masterful display of timetabular incompetence and obfuscation!

Please click on the above and enlarge it to really enjoy its awfulness.

It is about as offputting to the passenger as having no timetable at all - just turn up and guess, folks; it's only Warren Park!

Of course you can change from the 10 minute 23 to the 12 minute 22 at Havant bus station. So that will most definitely improve reliability, will it not?

You will, of course, have to pay an extra fare which will be higher than the previous through fare all the way on the 23.

Good, innit?

And talking of route 22 ...

Did you spot that there is another 22 in the Portsmouth area. It is run by First Bus (on tender) locally at Cosham ...

... and offers a truly memorable every 70 minute frequency.

Deep joy!

Generally these changes mean a reduction in all services to all parts of Leigh Park. Only the 23 to Havant (only) avoids a noticeable trim.

Isn't the commercial model for the UK's public transport just fine and dandy?

P.S. Forthcoming ...

Received by mail yesterday morning. This is the latest publication from the prolific pen of Keith Shayshutt ...

... and it's a cracker.

Review on Monday.

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 The Easter Jigsaw 

Caesar's Head!

Because the Jewish authorities could not pass a death sentence, they needed to "prove" that Jesus had committed a crime (e.g. treason) against the Roman government, notably the emperor. a total dictator.

Their first attempt at entrapment was rather feeble - and it didn't work!

They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you pay no attention to anyone's status, but teach the truth about God's will for people. Tell us, is it against our Law to pay taxes to the Roman Emperor? Should we pay them or not?”

But Jesus saw through their trick and answered, “Why are you trying to trap me? Bring a silver coin, and let me see it.”

The coin was a denarius.

They brought him one, and he asked, “Whose face and name are these?”

“The Emperor's,” they answered.

The Emperor was Caesar Augustus whose name and portrait appear on the coin.

So Jesus said, “Well, then, pay to the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor, and pay to God what belongs to God.”

As well as a good answer, here was the implication that those who brought the trick question were simply NOT "paying God what belongs to God". 

Tensions are rising.

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 Next Variety blog : Satuirday 12th Apr