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 next service changes post being somewhat less positive. There are also a couple of dates for the diary that may be of interest to local readers. We’ll start with these before listing the service changes mentioned above.

This coming Saturday, 27th April, will see Alexander Dennis opening the doors of their Trident House premises in Farnborough for a free public event between 1000 and 1600. Intended for both enthusiasts or those from within the industry, the open day will showcase many elements of the business from engineering to sales and aftersales. Various buses will be on display while others will operate rides from the site around the local area, however there are no specific shuttle bus services to/from the event itself. Car parking will be available at Farnborough Aerospace Centre (sat nav users are advised to use postcode GU14 6XW and follow the signs), with those arriving by public transport requiring an approximate 20 minute (1 mile) walk from the nearest bus stops ‘Netley Street’ on Alexandra Road. These are served by Stagecoach South’s Gold route 1 service which runs to here from Aldershot, Farnborough, Frimley and Camberley every 12 minutes and appropriately generally in the hands of Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 MMC vehicles (click here for timetable).

A bit further afield, Sunday 5th May will see a number of Southdown vehicles running up to every 12 minutes recreating the Hilsea to Waterlooville section of former route 740. Starting at 1000 from the Hilsea Lido bus stops close to First Solent’s Hilsea garage, the event will run through until 1600 with a £5 programme available to purchase giving details of the services operating on the day and a history of the route. Click here for the event webpage.

The following day, Bank Holiday Monday 6th May, sees the long running Friends of King Alfred Buses (FoKAB) running day. Centred on Winchester Broadway, a large selection of routes will recreate former King Alfred Motor Services and Hants & Dorset routes both in the city and outlying villages, plus the former Aldershot & District and Alder Valley route out to New Alresford and Bishops Sutton either direct or through the villages via Itchen Abbas. A display of buses will also be at the St Catherine’s Park & Ride site, where car parking is also available and a frequent shuttle bus service will run into the city for the main event. Information can be found on the FoKAB website, where you can also order a programme (which also gets you one free admission to Twyford Waterworks) to be delivered in advance which details the extensive network of routes, with departure times and vehicle allocations. Typically there are around 15-25 departures per hour covering around 25 routes, so plenty to see and do.

Sunday 19th May will see the free Basingstoke Festival of Transport held 1100-1600 at the War Memorial Park. Most of the stated approximately 750 vehicles will be classic cars, commercials, fire engines, military vehicles etc rather than just buses and coaches, however public service vehicles do usually feature alongside these.

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Service Changes

Now for the forthcoming service changes taking place over the next month or so…

Monday 29th April

461: St Peter’s Hospital – Weybridge – Kingston
Operated by: Falcon Buses
Enhanced timetable using two year funding from Surrey County Council, provided with a view to the enhanced level becoming financially viable by year three. The 461 will increase from a half-hourly frequency to every 20 minutes during Monday to Saturday daytimes (enhanced frequency level operates until 1720/1620 from St Peter’s Hospital and 1811/1721 from Kingston, Mon-Fri/Sat respectively).

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Saturday 4th May

442: Staines – Stanwell – Heathrow Terminal 5
X442: Staines – Worple Road – Heathrow Terminal 5
Operated by: Carlone Limited
Minor retimings and some additional weekend journeys. Route 442 gains new 1030/1300/1600 Staines to Heathrow T5 and 1105/1335/1635 return journeys. Route X442 gains new 1152/1452/1722 Staines to Heathrow T5 and 1224/1524/1754 return journeys.

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Sunday 5th May (or next scheduled day of operation)

YoYo: Farnborough – Prospect Estate
Operated by: Stagecoach
Renumbered from YoYo, which it has been officially ‘numbered’ as since Sunday 10th June 2007, back to its ‘6’ number which dated from the Sunday 13th April 2003 Blackwater Valley network revision changes. This follows the ‘KITE’ regaining its 20 number from Sunday 7th May last year, and the other route brandings mostly based on children’s toys having already been discontinued some time ago (Marbles 2, Connect 4/5, YoYo 6, Scoot 15 and Kite 20). The Monday to Saturday daytime frequency will increase from quarter-hourly to every 12 mins by adding a third bus to the cycle, while the Sunday daytime frequency is increased from half-hourly to every 20 mins utilising two vehicles. The operating day is also extended with departures from Farnborough as follows – Weekdays 0555-2315 to 0520-2320, Saturday 0700-2315 to 0620-2320, and Sunday 0815-1815 to 0720-2020. These enhancements are funded by Hampshire County Council ‘Bus Service Improvement Plan +’ money.

Pre-pandemic, three buses were able to offer a 10 minute frequency, however this will no longer be possible due to increased running times as a result of the route also being diverted from the same date (a typical off-peak round trip increasing from 25 mins to 31 mins). During Covid, the use of larger vehicles to facilitate social distancing meant buses had to be diverted away from the narrow low arch bridge under the railway on Prospect Road. Buses will return to that routing to allow the use of vehicles larger than the current Optare Solos, although BusTimes tracking seems to suggest some journeys lately have already seen larger vehicles used and taking the diversion. This is from Kingsmead along Victoria Road and Cove Road to West Heath railway bridge (as per routes 2 and 9 and serving all stops), then along the western half of West Heath Road to rejoin the current route at Giffard Drive. This will see the eastern half of West Heath Road (Watts Road and Beta Road bus stops) left to Monday to Saturday route 10 (Farnborough to Church Crookham), while Union Street will no longer be served by buses. The YoYo will also no longer serve Farnborough Main railway station on weekday mornings and Mon-Sat evenings like it does now pre-0817 and post-1849. The bus stops along Union Street were actually removed during the YoYo’s pandemic diversion, but two stops were reinstalled in early 2023 by the station using flags from Gosport (the stops near Green’s School Lane were never reinstated). You can read about this by clicking here to view a blog post from the time.

2: Farnborough – Frimley – Camberley
Operated by: Stagecoach
Retimings to most journeys across the week. Weekdays lose the 0615 Farnborough to Hawley Lane Estate ‘short’, but gain a new 0820 over the same section. Weekends see the Saturday 0634 and Sunday 0827 Frimley High Street to Camberley equivalent journeys extended to start from Farnborough at 0605/0805 respectively to cover the full length of the route, and the Sunday evening 1800 Camberley to Frimley journey extended to Farnborough (arrive 1850). Monday to Saturday evenings also get later ‘short’ journeys over the Farnborough to Hawley Lane Estate section funded by Hampshire County Council ‘Bus Service Improvement Plan +’ money, departing Farnborough at 2005/2135/2235 and Hawley Lane Estate at 1832/1930/2030/2200.

13: Basingstoke – Alton – Bordon & Whitehill
113: Alton College – Liphook
123: Alton College – Haslemere / Liphook
Operated by: Stagecoach
The long term road works that have caused the route to be diverted between Alton and Bordon via Selborne instead of Kingsley are temporarily suspended for the academic exam period. Buses will return to their normal route until Friday 28th June, from when they will resume diverting via Selborne until at least September. Note that Southview Rise in Alton and the Hackwood Roundabout area of Basingstoke will not resume being served by the 13 though, with the current route in those areas remaining as now on a permanent basis. Southview Rise will remain served by the limited three per day weekday route 9 Alton town service.

20: Aldershot – Ash – Guildford
Operated by: Stagecoach
Most journeys will be given some additional running time to improve reliability. The 20 minute frequency will also continue for an hour later on weekends to match weekdays (1800 from Aldershot and 1920 from Guildford), while Sunday mornings will gain an earlier round trip (0610 from Aldershot arriving 0648, returning from Guildford at 0655 arriving 0733).

402: All Hallows School – Pinewood Park
Operated by: Stagecoach
Minor retimings to afternoon journey as follows (current/new) – All Hallows School (1525), North Camp Netley Street (1541/1545), Farnborough Kingsmead (1550/1554), Cove Nash Close (1557/1600), Pinewood Park School (1606/1609).

From the same date, there will be timetable changes to Stagecoach services in Basingstoke on routes 1, 5, and The Link (being renumbered 32). The latter will offer free travel on Sundays and Bank Holidays throughout May to celebrate the introduction of its brand new Sunday & Public Holiday service. For more information, see this post by our friends at the Hampshire Bus Update blog.

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Sunday 26th May

65: Guildford – Farnham – Alton
Operated by: Stagecoach
Revised timings offering a generally more even hourly frequency for much of the day, resulting in the squeezing in of an extra journey in each direction over the current hours of operation, plus some additional earlier/later journeys and the introduction of a Sunday service. Weekday mornings see the 0606 Farnham to Alton ‘short’ withdrawn but a new 0550 Farnham to Guildford ‘short’ introduced in the opposite direction. Saturday mornings gain a new 0715 Farnham to Guildford ‘short’. Monday to Saturday evenings see a new later 2010 Guildford to Alton journey, plus the extension of the current 2015 Alton to Farnham ‘short’ onwards to Guildford. The newly introduced Sunday service will see a mostly hourly frequency, with departures from Guildford at 0750, 0840-1540 then 1710/1810, and from Alton at 0840-1640 then 1815/1915.

I believe this will be the first time the route east of Alton towards Guildford has had a Sunday service since the late 1990s, when the Hampshire County Council-funded Stagecoach Hampshire Bus route 64A (formerly the Alder Valley / Oakley Coaches / Guildford & West Surrey route 453 to Aldershot / Farnborough / Guildford) ran from 1995 to some point before the millennium. This ran differently to today’s 64 and 65 though as follows: Winchester to New Alresford (via Itchen Abbas as per today’s 67), New Alresford to Alton (via Four Marks as per today’s 64), Alton to Bentley (as per today’s 65), then heading off the main road through Blacknest to join the A325 past Birdworld. From here it broadly followed today’s 18 to Aldershot via Farnham and Weybourne, before heading eastwards to Guildford via Ash along today’s route 20.

To mark the improved offering, travel will be FREE on the 65 on Sunday 26th and Bank Holiday Monday 27th May, as well as every Sunday throughout June. This offer will also apply for travel on the Winchester to Romsey route 66 at the same times, which is also receiving some timetable amendments from the same date.

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…and finally

We previously mentioned Alexander Dennis above, with their forthcoming open day. Followers of our Facebook page will have seen I was fortunately able to snap this on its first day (in fully branded) service on 16th April, but sadly in quite heavy rain. For those who just follow the main blog though, Safeguard’s recently acquired 8.9m Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 YX18 KOD, intended for use primarily on their Woking to Barnsbury Estate route 81 circular, has now returned from repaint into the newer bus fleet livery first worn by the influx of MCV eVoRa-bodied Volvo B8RLEs. It is pictured below posed alongside its bigger ‘KOD’ sibling, Volvo/MCV BV72 KOD, in a photo kindly sent to us for publication by Managing Director Andrew Halliday courtesy of Dave Hillman. The company have also presented a cheque for £5,239 to The Fountain Centre in memory of their late engineering manager Brett Lambley, following their recent centenary celebration.

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