A look back in the archive for today's blog entry. In March 2006, the emerging BlueStar network reached a new constellation of the Solent Blue Line network with an expansion to the Waterside - Totton and Hythe, down to Langley, Fawley and Calshot. The previous routes were the 38 from Southampton to Hythe and Langley, and the X9 connecting Southampton with Fawley and Calshot.
I travelled down on 12th April 2006 to capture the latest arrivals, my first trip to the Hythe. It is charming, coastal town on the edge of the New Forest. It is probably best known in the transport world for its strong maritime history, with the ferry to Southampton, the Victorian pier, and the world's oldest operating pier train. More widely, Hythe is known for its high street with a mix of national brands and local merchants, along with its large marina nearby. Sitting on the bench along Prospect Place overlooking Southampton Water and watching the ships go by is a particularly peaceful past time.
Brand new Mercedes-Benz Citaro 403 (HX06 EZC) stands at Hythe's Ferry Yard.
The routes were relaunched to a similar structure that they remain two decades later. The X9 became the 9, continuing to be fast between Southampton and Hythe, with extensions every 20 minutes towards to either Fawley and Calshot or to Langley. The 8 replaced the slower journeys, via Totton and Marchwood, terminating at Hythe.
As well as the changes to routes, a fleet of ten brand new Mercedes-Benz Citaros were introduced to the fleet. This was at the time where a large number of similar buses had entered service with sister Go Ahead companys City of Oxford Motor Services (the Oxford Bus Company) and down the road, from Poole, at Wilts & Dorset. Further examples would come the year after to Southern Vectis, on the Isle of Wight.
404 (HX06 EXD) stands outside the Ferry Yard, nearly in the position where the present day bus stop is. The Ferry Yard itself was taken out of use within a decade.
The Citaros were the first single deck buses to carry the BlueStar brand. At this point, the majority of the non-premier BlueStar routes still carried Solent Blue Line branding. On the exterior, branding was applied noting the destinations served, key messages and frequency, along with promotional messages on the rear of each bus.
The buses had full rear destination displays, which was still quite a novelty at the time. Here is 409 (HX06 EZJ) - the 'three pointed star'.
... meanwhile, sister 410 (HY06 EYZ) has 'a star is born'.
The Citaros introduced full DDA accessibility, front, side and rear displays, along with the latest travelling and environmental benefits for passengers. They primarily replaced Leyland and Volvo Olympians, although, for reasons that I have forgotten over the past twenty years, one double deck was still required on one of the workings of route 8. This was certainly planned rather than a surprise - but I can't remember the reason for the non-Citaro allocation - possibly there were enough Citaros to cover the basic service, but no spares if one was undergoing maintenance.
The old order - Leyland Olympian 729 (H729 DDL) stands in Hythe Ferry Yard on the 8 for Southampton.
Back in 2006, the Hythe local services also operated six days a week. At the time, the services were numbered 36/36A and 37. The 36/36A connected Hythe with Dibden and Netley View, where the 37 operated between Applemore and Blackfield, via Hythe. Each service required one bus.
Former Southern Vectis Iveco TurboDaily 244 (P244VDL) still wears the Oxford blue livery of its former operator. It is terminating at Hythe Ferry Yard with the 36A. These buses carried coach-style seats and 2+1 seating.
Next door was Dennis Dart 583 (XIL 8583), new to London Buses as J393 GKH. This carried the the standard Solent Blue Line livery for the time.
The service today received the most recent upgrade last year, with four brand new ADL Enviro400MMCs and eight ADL Enviro200MMCs purchased for the Waterside corridor. The bespoke branding has disappeared, but the BlueStar brand continues and Go Ahead continue to invest.
Brand new Enviro400MMC 1806 (HJ25 BYK) leads another band new single deck relative in Hythe on 13th June 2025 on a route 9, heading for Fawley.
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