April/May 2024 Service Changes & Forthcoming Events

Over the next month there are a number of service changes taking place across our area, which as a pleasant change are all positive improvements rather than cuts. That said, the outcome of the Hampshire County Council consultation about their planned axe wielding session (which closed at the end of March) may well see the …

Reprise of the ABC!

Just under 10 years on from their large last event, but a whopping one hundred years since their founding, we are now just over a week away from Safeguard Coaches celebrating their centenary... and they want you to be there! Some readers may remember the 29th March 2014 when Safeguard Coaches threw open the doors …

Alton outstation closes as Alton Bus Rally & Running Day returns

Today has seen two news items relating to the Hampshire market town of Alton. While two days a week sees Cresta Coaches operate shopper bus routes 206/208 to nearby villages, Stagecoach South is very much the dominant operator. The town used to have its own bus depot, but these days services are now operated by …

Hampshire Budget Cut Consultation

Hampshire County Council (HCC) have launched a 'Future Services' consultation on the future of public services in order to reduce money, including public transport, to meet a £132 million budget shortfall by April 2025. The consultation is open now and runs until Sunday 31st March. There are several types of council-funded public transport services in …

2024 – the year of the inconsistent timetable?

There are a number of revised timetables being introduced in the New Year that will require passengers to pay particular attention to their new times, be it due to uneven headways on consecutive journeys, or Saturday timetables having different clockface departures to the weekday timetable. Hopefully this sort of thing won't catch on... Fleet wise, …

White Bus to finally reach Heathrow

Back in June we reported that a London Service Permit (LSP) had been submitted by White Bus to extend the route 446 weekday Woking to Chertsey 'shorts' over the full length of the route to Staines, then on to Hatton Cross via Ashford Hospital and Heathrow Terminal 4. This would result in Woking to Staines …

Amendments to amendments and other bits and bobs

A bit of a round-up post of changes taking place over this coming weekend and next month, as well as a few other bits and bobs. First, the service changes... Some of these service changes are amendments to services that were only recently amended. Tomorrow (27th October) is the final day of operation of Stagecoach's …

Less rides in Rydes Hill

Over recent years, the number '9' has become associated locally with more limited Stagecoach South services set up to replace previously more frequent route withdrawals. Examples include: Alton’s town circular 9 (a very limited service running for just 2.5 hours per weekday replacing the 65’s hourly diversion through residential Alton and previously served by town …

Late August & Early September 2023 Service Changes

The next week or so will see a whole host of changes to bus services across our area, partly as a result of Surrey County Council tendering which sees Diamond South East lose much of their local stage carriage network, as partly as a result of commercial decisions by operators. The details of these are …

Heathrow Happenings

There are a number of new routes and service changes happening around Heathrow Airport over the next week or so, including a doubling of the RailAir frequency from Woking (RA2) and a brand new coach route serving several locations in our area (730/731). Some other changes occurring that are not really within our coverage area, …