Changes to Bus Services in Highfield

Changes to Bus Services in Highfield

The HRA Committee recently discussed the change of route of the U1 Unilink bus as the service is no longer serving Central Station via Highfield. The nearest stop to the station using this service is now the Civic Centre – not that convenient if carrying or wheeling luggage. Service U2 does continue to stop at the Station but only on the north side. This service does not use Winn Road as it travels north up The Avenue to Burgess Road and so much of Highfield is cut off from the routes we have all been used to.

Bluestar, who operate Unilink, sent the following comment:

“Very few customers used the U1 to/from central station south, and the journey down and back meant an additional vehicle was required in the circuit for the U1. By not going down to central station, the bus saved had been reinvested into the route to offer buses more journey times and improve punctuality. The U6 was revised to serve central station south in place of the U1. The U6 has seen some punctuality concerns in recent times, this has been caused by roadworks and road closures, and the underlying performance of the route is good. There are of course many other buses that serve the station, both south and north side, from most locations around the city.”

Recently the Daily Echo ran an article with the headline: “Plans to improve buses between Southampton and Eastleigh axed” It seems that there are many changes ahead with little factual information easily available at the present time. All of this at a time when residents are being encouraged to make more use of bus services.

Please find the contact email for the bus company so that you can contact them further about the service route changes or comment more generally on bus services: talk2us@unilinkbus.co.uk

Barbara Claridge, HRA HonSec