Today's Sunday Lost Scenes barely feels as if it was yesterday...
First Hants & Dorset 31826 - P926RYO - Totton (Asda) - 21st October 2008
From the winter of 2005/6 until late 2010, First Hampshire operated a number of former Go Ahead Volvo Olympians on the Southampton City Services. All were original to London companies - be it London Central or Metrobus. P926RYO was one of a number that originated with the former, and it is pictured here, retaining the London roller blinds and dual door layout as it heads past the Asda in Totton.
All of the buses have since moved out of Southampton. Indeed only former Metrobus example N528LHG remains at First Hants & Dorset - down at Weymouth in open top form - with the rest having moved predominantly to Cornwall. Furthermore, route 4 is no more - becoming First Southampton's route 10 in the big shake up earlier this more.
This photo, despite being from four years ago, also brings us onto a very present development. First Hants & Dorset are launching their route 11 from the 7th October also through Totton. Consequently, First will have two routes though Totton:
- route 10 - Southampton - Shirley - Aldermoor - Millbrook - Totton
- route 11 - Southampton - Millbrook - Totton - Marchwood - Hythe
This marks the first venture into Hythe for the Southampton Citybus network (although they have operated shopper buses and school service in the past). It will also mean both BlueStar's and First's routes 10 and 11 pass through Totton. I hope this doesn't become confusing for the customer - with one white bus and one blue bus you would hope not, anyway. Interesting times ahead in Southampton... and that's before any of the new buses due later this year / early in 2013.
* Note - apologies for lack of posts recently. I've been out and about taking many but haven't had the time to process them correctly or write blog posts. Thus, over the next month or so, I'll release them in drips and drabs, and hopefully do a couple of posts or so a week.
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