Hants Cuts: Fleet Buzz 30 & 77

Yes, the year changes number. Oh well, not good news for some in Hampshire.

Hampshire County Council are saving money by cutting funding from services, especially more evening and Sunday services. Some Basingstoke and Blackwater Valley services are to have their Sunday service commercially operated by Stagecoach with a two hour frequency. Certain areas in the Blackwater Valley will be significantly affected with some having to rely on taxishare services.

Fleet Buzz 30 is a casualty of the Hampshire County Council bus cuts due to a lack of usage on part of the route, with many other routes covering the old route.

Stagecoach South 16261 on Fleet Buzz Route 30, Fleet Station

The reason why an Olympian was used on the 30 was said by the following 77 driver as cold weather meant "4 buses could not start up".

The section of Odiham High Street - Crondall - Zebon Copse Estate (where this bus is going to) will have no bus service, but a Taxishare service will be provided. This does not really substitute for a bus service!


Fleet Buzz-Stagecoach South 47738 on Route 30, Fleet Station

The section between Church Crookham, Fleet and Farnborough will be covered by the revised 72, but following a more direct route than existing 30 (thus not serving most the roads that will lose their service between Crookham and Fleet).
Highgate Lane in Farnborough will now be served by revised route 41.
Minley Estate will be served by new Route 9, as 72 will not cover this part of the route.


Fleet Buzz-Stagecoach South 47737 on Route 30, Fleet Station

The section between Basingstoke and RAF Odiham will be replaced by a revised 10 (peak times only) and a rerouted 13.

More photos of the 30 at Fleet:


Fleet Buzz-Stagecoach South 47740 on Route 30, Fleet Station


Stagecoach South 47545 on Fleet Buzz Route 30, Fleet Station

Also, the 77 is to be withdrawn, replaced with yet another taxishare service:



Fleet Station to Fleet Station by Taxishare? Interesting!


Stagecoach South 47540 on Fleet Buzz Route 77, Fleet Station

From a driver on the route: Stagecoach had "asked for the subsidy to be doubled" and had worked until 11am, carrying only "4 passengers, all of which didn't pay" because they were all under the concessions pass. Stagecoach thus was losing money with the service, so instead of doubling the subsidy, the route would be withdrawn.


Stagecoach South 47540 on Fleet Buzz Route 77, Fleet Station

This 77 shown is going to a place that will have no bus service after the changes (the PVR is 1, hence the same bus photographed).
A disgruntled local however stated that the 77 withdrawal would mean that many people within Fleet can not go out without the bus service as they do not have a car.

As a footnote:



To confuse people (it confused at least two people in the three hours I was at Fleet), the new timetables for the 72 had already been put up, with the old timetables nowhere to be found!


And if you want outdated stop information, look no further than the flag. Of all the routes visible, only the 72 exists today. No sign of the 30 or the 77, and yet there is sign for a 71 and 73!

So Happy New Year, etc etc...

Hants Cuts: Fleet Buzz 72

Merry Thursday, which just so happens to be Christmas. In any case, Hampshire County Council are giving the present of removing your bus service, in the terms for some people!

Hampshire County Council are saving money by cutting funding from services, especially more evening and Sunday services. Some Basingstoke and Blackwater Valley services are to have their Sunday service commercially operated by Stagecoach with a two hour frequency. Fleet is to notably notice the changes as they will lose their direct link to Aldershot, as well as some places along Fleet Buzz's Route 72, running between Reading and Aldershot at the moment.

Fleet Buzz 33307 on Route 72, Reading Station (Jan 2014)

This means that no longer will Reading see the word "Aldershot" as a destination of buses, as the route is diverted to Farnborough instead of Aldershot, thus leaving some places with no bus. It seems by HCC that the average load for Aldershot is a mere 4.5 people, so the link seems to be not feasible.


Fleet Buzz 25247 on Route 72, Reading Station (July 2014)

This also means there will no more Fleet Buzz in Reading, as this brand will be replaced by Stagecoach corporate branding, as it will transfer from Fleet Buzz to Stagecoach South.


Stagecoach South 34635 on Route 72, Reading Station (Oct 2014)

Also, the section of Minley Estate will be replaced by new route 9, which is a Farnborough circular.
Another minor alteration is the rerouting of the 72 to not go via Risley Dog & Partridge, but rather straight through Odiham Road.


Stagecoach South 16261 on Route 72, Aldershot (Dec 2014)

And as "the section from Fleet to Church Crookham, Quetta Park and Aldershot will no longer run, but a taxishare service is being arranged for travel between Fleet and Quetta Park.." This leaves a large area with no bus service. This seems to not bother Hampshire County Council, somehow.

Later, we will cover most of the rest of the cuts that are affecting the Blackwater Valley and Fleet.

Clap for Borismasters - Route 137 NBfL Conversion

Arriva London LT355 on Route 137, Marble Arch

Yep, another phased conversion, and another late night writing a post out. Oh well.


Arriva London LT350 on Route 137, Marble Arch

Route 137, a former Routemaster route, brings back the possibility of an open platform with these Borismasters. But obviously, money means that idea is kept shut.


Arriva London LT337 on Route 137, Marble Arch

It underwent the slow transition (not as slow as the 453) from a full conventional bus operation on the first week of December towards the Borismaster, taking until past when this post was written until possibly the end of the month to have all of LT317-356 running on the route.


Arriva London LT349 on Route 137, Oxford Circus

All of the LTs seem to be red, so far, which is strange as the most recent few conversions have involved all-over advert ready painted buses, but not all buses have entered service yet.

Here is a view of the 137 old order, appropriately last year under the same Christmas lights! Oh how some things don't change:


Arriva London DW45 on Route 137, Oxford Street, 13/11/13

It's taken less than a full month to get nearly a full LT allocation on the 137 on certain days. It's taken 453 way more than that. The title "Clap for Borismasters" is because the 137 serves Clapham Common. Appropriately for Christmas Eve, Christmas lights adorn most of the photos on this post, so have a Happy Thursday and hopefully more posts arrive before the year number changes!