I’ve yet to get over to Southampton to sample First’s 30th April changes. May be at the weekend, or the following one, I don’t know. But there’s much you can do these days by travelling vicariously, via the web.
Like sample the Southampton timetable book.
First and its agency have put much effort into the publication’s design. This is a good plan because the change has been so comprehensive that the timetable, more than ever, really is the key to unlocking the new routes and frequencies. Very little’s been left untouched. In its detail, the booklet reminds me a little of
Yellow Buses’. In fact, it might even be better: it’s certainly a little less cluttered. Like Bournemouth’s, the routes are colour coded and they each have a geographic map to help passengers. The addition of bus stop locations on those maps might be helpful. There’s also a schematic network plan towards the front plus plenty of explanatory text.
What marks the timetable out from previous examples is the design. The front cover and header colour & font text may have mixed reviews but it’s certainly eye catching. Actually, it’s sufficiently different to make it rather attractive. Yes, this is a bus timetable but it needn’t be dull.
First has spent the best part of six months in putting together its Southampton changes, on top of those
the week before in Fareham. It’s the first network to fall under significant scrutiny since the UK Bus senior management change.
First has rewritten the Soton rule book in providing a locally managed change that’s radical and different. By producing a rather stand-out timetable,
First has chosen *not* to spoil the ship for a ha’peth of tar. Indeed, there have been a variety of good promotion materials.
“Questions are now being asked, and unfavourable comparisons made, with strong management teams at rivals Stagecoach and Go Ahead”—Investors’ Chronicle
Wednesday’s Investors’ Chronicle feels that the future
First’s bus division looks “bleak” as shares plunged by a third. All eyes will therefore be on Southampton as
First hopes to demonstrate that it can breathe new life into tired networks and reap the benefits in terms of network growth in difficult times. While I’m sure it will be easy to find fault with something—perhaps incorrect flag numbering, a timetable case untouched—this has been a very strong effort from a subsidiary that shows real signs of turning the corner from an otherwise lacklustre performer.
I’m sure that some detractors might experience problems but we at
Omnibuses wish the
First galley team well in preparing the Reddy meals in its lively Kitchin.
21 comments:
Sorry for this, but the hard evidence on the ground is that little has really changed in Southampton. To launch something this significant would suggest, to me, that a good deal of staff training should have been carried out behind the scenes to ensure that the front-line force was sufficiently briefed.
My experience this week has been of surly drivers who have no idea at all of what the new network is, what routes now go where, and are bluntly rude to passengers who dare to enquire.
Two drivers talking to a queue of waiting passengers with comments like 'you must think the management tells us what goes on' and 'don't imagine we've had any training, on anything' is hardly likely to show commitment at all levels.
I wonder what investment was actually made in thorough briefings/training at Southampton ?
Never mind this boring Southampton stuff. Tomorrow is the 30th anniversary of the start of East Kent/Southdown service 718, Canterbury - Brighton. There was one round trip by each company per day, and the coaches passed at Hawkhurst, where drivers swapped, so an East Kent driver never went west of there, etc. Regular Southdown vehicle was Leopard/Duple Dominant 1285, DP livery with grant doors and orange/black NBC moquette seats.
Glad you like it.
I'm curious why you feel the need to fake the photos of the poster sites on your blog ?
I'm pretty sure they are not taken in Southampton are they ?
It looks like a very good example of the sort of publicity that should be both lauded and adopted by others. We spent a lot of time earlier this week in this blog commenting on the lack of timetables at another place - 50 comments I believe - and here we have an example of which I think the bus industry can be proud. We can get things right!
I agree with Countrybus 100% although the note about staff has me worried. No company should have customers that know more about changes than the staff - they are the people who represent the company and are at the front line, dealing with the people at the "farebox"
(Farebox - another phrase that should be banned along with "car" (bus), "traffic" (planning) and "technical problems" (the kind of thing you wouldn't POSSIBLY understand)
Perhaps the First publicity team could now find some time to add the X4 to the Portsmouth map?
@Anonymous 13.15
It is common place to do this for scale - showing the work in situ.
Most outdoor creative means nothing unless you see it in context.
We've been following this closely on the Southampton Bus Update blog (http://sotonbus.blogspot.com) and while the new network does seem to be very well thought out and commercially wise, its implementation could have been smoother. There were no paper versions of the new timetable in the city before last Thursday, just 3 days before the new network launched. Anyone going to First Hampshire's website now, clicking on Journey Planning then Timetable Booklets can still download a copy of the timetable booklet for the old network which was withdrawn last weekend.
There are obviously some very clever people at First in Southampton, but they are quite plainly being let down by the dynamics of the organisation they are in.
Go Ahead's Bluestar will surely retaliate to the attacks on their routes particularly in Millbrook and Hedge End. It will be interesting to see whether First can be organised enough to stand its ground and deliver a proper full product.
@SotonBus not sure where you are looking on FHD website, but if you open the Southampton timetable booklet option it is the correct and latest timetable ?
Definitely the most up to date timetable book in the journey planning section of the Hampshire website!
The old one still shows up in Google Chrome. Just tried Firefox and the new one appears.
Sounds like you need to empty your cache SotonBus, the old one was there at the beginning of the week but cannot say when it changed over.
Bus stop information was by no means comprehensively updated ... Web site still says new network 'coming soon' ... What are we celebrating here??
........so what processes were used to ensure that drivers were fully briefed ?
Sounds a bit too much like the usual First problem of lack of attention to detail.
If you read comments on Facebook, sounds like the majority of drivers were well briefed with drivers advising customers in detail of of the changes well in advance and customers praising this but a minority will always let down the majority.
Anonymous @ 0633
On their blog, The MHD Partnership - which produced the publicity - states that this included "development and execution of a drivers guide" [sic].
There have been numerous positive drivers comments on First's Facebook page.
No matter how much training you do, some drivers will always be surly and miserable. Weeding these out is only ever a long term issue and affects all companies.
As for drivers going the wrong way.
Well, it's not ideal, but if a whole network goes back to the drawing board and gets totally re-done, it's tonnes for the drivers to remember. Do we really expect that every single one of hundreds of bus drivers is going to go the right way on thousands of journeys from the very first day?
You might, but personally, I don't think it's realistic. If everyone was going the wrong way, then it would be a disaster, but a few isolated cases of drivers slipping up are to be expected in my book. It's how quickly this is corrected that's the real issue, and they seem to have sorted it out very quickly indeed.
Well, I'm Joe Public in terms of buses - and only very, very rarely do I use one.
But I'm rather impressed by First's efforts round here. Prompted by the News' coverage of the Eclipse routes, I wandered over to the First site and found a great array of routes (4 & X4) that I, or my children may well actually use.
To complement this, the buses seem (purely from observation of a couple driving through the village) to have been re-painted and branded as "Solent Rangers"
And the timetable/map booklet is a quantum leap from the last time I took a bus (3 years ago). The blue of the "Solent Ranger" paint theme is also the colour of the routes on the maps. Further, the booklet includes details of competitors' routes. In the past, I recall them being airbrushed out of existence by First!
Overall, I'm very impressed and this non-bus user is planning to test the routes soon and see if the service is suitable for my children to use to get into Soton & Pompey.
My News-prompted bus googling also turned up all these very interesting bus blogs!
Having now viewed the timetable book,it has pages of text concerning the route chnages at the start,and then pages of very basic timetable matrix often with plenty of white blank space,...no photos,no local identity, no attempts to sell the areas they serve...all very bland.
The route maps are quite good,but the town centre detail map on page 11 does not bother to show the First Travel Shop(why on earth not?),and just manages to stop short of showing the central rail station...might not many First bus passengers use the First Great Western train too ?
Missed opportunity...3/10.
Perhaps anon @2029 should highlight what you need to do to score 10/10 in his/her book? It may not be 10/10 but 3/10 for not showing the travel shop or central station on the map hardly deserves loosing 7 points. If you want a really poor example of a timetable book look at the locally produced try the choices guide, full of adverts for the local supermarket but rarely explaining how to get there, no index of places served, poor quality bus spotter pictures, no explanation of what has changed since the last issue probably because production is sporadic and infamously riddled with careless errors.
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