First Hampshire & Dorset is a bus company within First Group, operating services within Portsmouth, Southampton, Weymouth and surrounding areas.
History
First Hampshire & Dorset has its head office in Portswood, Southampton and operates bus services in the Weymouth and Bridport areas in Dorset; and services in Southampton (Portswood Depot), Portsmouth (Hilsea Depot), Fareham and Gosport (Hoeford Depot).
FirstBus acquired bus services in Portsmouth in 1996 from Transit Holdings trading as Red Admiral & Blue Admiral, which in turn had taken over the Portsmouth CityBus operations under the title of Southdown Portsmouth.
The former Southdown operations continue to be operated by Southdown Motor Services Limited t/a Stagecoach Coastline, or Stagecoach in Portsmouth (Portsmouth area services) or Stagecoach in the South Downs (Chichester/Worthing services).
FirstBus (later renamed First Group) had previously taken over the bus services in Gosport and Fareham formerly operated by People's Provincial and Hants & Dorset and amalgamated the services in the East Hampshire area as First Provincial.
Further acquisitions of the bus operations of Southampton CityBus and Southern National were made, with the company being renamed First Hampshire & Dorset in 2003.
In December 2006 the Traffic Commissioner fined First Hampshire & Dorset £35,000 for failing to run one in five buses in Portsmouth on time.[1] The operator received an earlier formal warning over timekeeping in June 2005. The Traffic Commissioners' nationally accepted criteria for the operation of a bus journey is running more than one minute early or more than five minutes late (otherwise the journey is deemed not to have run). In its defence, First Hampshire & Dorset had submitted that Portsmouth City Council's five year plan to resurface every street to improve street lighting had severely affected the operator's ability to maintain services, something rejected by the Traffic Commissioner.
First Hampshire & Dorset now publishes reliability and punctuality data on its website.
Operations
First Southampton (City Red)
First Group purchased Southampton City Bus in 1997 and after a brief period of using the City Bus name the operation was renamed First Southampton. In 1999 First Southampton was merged with First Provincial to form First Hampshire. This later became First Hampshire & Dorset and now the Southampton services of the company are branded as City Red. The company is facing growing competition in Southampton from Go-Ahead owned Bluestar and Uni-link.
Overview:
| Garage
Name |
Address | Routes
Operated |
No. of
Vehicles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southampton | Bus Depot, Empress Road, Southampton, Hampshire, SO14 0JW | 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13 | 58 |
Garage Details:
Southampton
Southampton City Red operates out of one depot on Empress Road. All services are operated by Wright Streetlite DF Micro Hyrbid. Some of these were new to the depot, and some have been transferred from fellow First subsidies.
Over the years, services have been operated by a mixture of single and double deck vehicles. The backbone of the double decker fleet was a large number of Volvo Olympians with Northern Counties Palatine 1 bodywork. All of these were second hand, the double door vehicles coming from Go-Ahead's London operations and Stagecoach. The company also had sixteen Volvo B7TL's with Alexander ALX400 bodywork. Most of these carried branding for service 17/17A but this has since been removed and the vehicles transferred out of the garage. In March 2007 the Portswood Depot received a small number of 07 registration Volvo B7TL's with Wright Eclipse Gemini bodywork for use on service 8/8A.
The single deck fleet has comprised of Dennis Dart SLFs with Plaxton Pointer 2 and smaller MPD versions for service 16, Volvo B10BLE with Wright Renown bodywork and a number of Mercedes-Benz based minibuses.
First inherited a large number of Leyland Atlanteans from Southampton City Bus along with Leyland Lynxs and gas powered Dennis Darts. All of these have now been withdrawn from the Southampton fleet. First introduced a number of bus types that are also no longer in service in Southampton, these include Wright Solar Fusion bendy buses introduced in 2000 but were transferred to First Glasgow in 2003 after they proved unsuitable for a number of Southampton roads[2], former First Capital Dennis Arrows proved unpopular in Southampton and moved onto First Manchester in 2006. First had operated Optare Solos on the free City-link service between Southampton Central railway station, West Quay Shopping Centre and Town Quay, these left the Southampton fleet when First lost the City-link contract to Uni-link.
Bus Types Operated from Southampton
| Vehicle Chassis | Vehicle Body | Routes Operated |
|---|---|---|
| Wright Streetlite DF | Wright Streetlite DF | all routes |
| Wright Streetlite Max DF | Wright Streetlite Max DF | all routes |
Services:
| Route
Number |
From | via | To | Branding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southampton | West Quay, Central Station, Millbrook, Testwood | Calmore | City Red 1 |
| 2 | Southampton City Centre | Central Station, Shirley Precinct, Redbridge Hill | Millbrook | City Red 2 |
| 3 | Lords Hill | General Hospital, Central Station, Sholing, Kathleen Road | Thornhill | City Red 3 |
| 6 | Southampton City Centre | West Quay, Wright’s Hill, Butlocks Heath | Hamble | City Red 6 |
| 7 | Southampton City Centre | RSH Hospital, Bevois Valley, Cobden Bridge, Bitterne Park, Midanbury | Townhill Park | City Red 7 |
| 8 | Southampton City Centre | Civic Centre, Northam, Moorgreen, Hedge End Superstores | Hedge End Station | City Red |
| 9 | Southampton City Centre | City Centre, Merry Oak, Bursledon Road | Sholing | City Red |
| 11 | Southampton City Centre | West Quay, Woolston | Weston | City Red 11 |
| 13 | Southampton City Centre | City College, Woolston, Peartree Avenue | Harefield | City Red |
First Portsmouth, Fareham & Gosport (First Solent)
First is the predominant operator within Portsmouth, with little competition from Stagecoach South.
Overview:
| Garage
Name |
Address | Routes
Operated |
No. of
Vehicles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hilsea | London Road, Hilsea, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO2 9RP | 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 27, D1, D2 | 64 |
| Hoeford | Gosport Road, Hoeford, Fareham, Hampshire, PO16 0ST | E1, E2, 3, X4, X5, 9, 9A, 10, 11, 20, 21, 28, 28A, F1, F2, PR1, PR2 | 101 |
Garage Details:
Hilsea
Hilsea operates the majority of services within the city of Portsmouth and Waterlooville. Due to the small size of the garage, and the large allocation, vehicles are stored overnight in the nearby News Centre.
Bus Types Operated from Hilsea
| Vehicle Chassis | Vehicle Body | Routes Operated |
|---|---|---|
| Alexander-Dennis Enviro 200 | Alexander-Dennis Enviro 200 | 13, 14, 22 |
| Alexander-Dennis Enviro 200MMC | Alexander-Dennis Enviro 200MMC | 7, 8 sometimes 2 |
| Wright Streetlite DF | Wright Streetlite DF | all routes |
| Wright Streetlite Max DF | Wright Streetlite Max DF | all routes |
| Optare Solo M99700SR | Optare Solo SR | 13, 14, 22, 25 |
Hoeford
Hoeford operates the services within Fareham and Gosport, as well as Solent Ranger services between Southampton and Portsmouth/Gosport. They also operate the Portsmouth Park and Ride.
Bus Types Operated from Hoeford
| Vehicle Chassis | Vehicle Body | Routes Operated |
|---|---|---|
| Optare Solo M99700SR | Optare Solo SR | 9, 9A, local Fareham Routes |
| Alexander-Dennis Enviro 200MMC | Alexander-Dennis Enviro 200MMC | E1, E2 |
| Wright Streetlite DF | Wright Streetlite DF | all routes |
| Wright Streetlite Max DF | Wright Streetlite Max DF | 1, 3, X4, X5 |
| Scania OmniCity CN94UB | Scania OmniCity | spare |
| Alexander-Dennis Trident SFD | East Lancashire Myllennium Lolyne | mainly X4 and X5 |
| Alexander-Dennis Enviro 400 | Alexander-Dennis Enviro 400 | mainly X4 and X5 and P&R |
Services:
| Route
Number |
From | via | To | Branding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gunwharf Quays | Fratton Bridge, Goldsmith Avenue, Milton, Festing Road | Southsea | |
| 2 | Gunwharf Quays | Albert Road, St Mary's Hospital, Copnor, Hilsea, QA Hospital | Paulsgrove | |
| 3 | Southsea | Southsea Shops, Lake Road, North End, Cosham, QA Hospital, Portchester | Fareham | |
| X4 | Portsmouth | Portchester, Titchfield, Park Gate, Sarisbury Green , Lowford, Woolston | Southampton, West Quay | Solent Rangers |
| X5 | Gosport | Lee-on-the-Solent, Stubbington, Titchfield, Warsah, Sarisbury Green, Lowford, Woolston | Southampton, West Quay | Solent Rangers |
| 7 | City Centre | North End, Hilsea, Widley, Crookhorn, Milton Road | Wecock Farm | The Star |
| 8 | Gunwharf Quays | Stamshaw, Hilsea, Widley, Cowplain, Horndean | Clanfield | The Star |
| 9/9A | Fareham | Rail Station, BRT, Carisbrooke Road, Gomer Lane, Stoke Road | Gosport | |
| 11 | Fareham | Hoeford, Fleetlands, Forton Road, Haslar | Alverstoke | |
| 12 | Tipner | Gladys Avenue, Chichester Road, Copnor Bridge | Fratton | |
| 13 | City Centre | Arundel Street, Goldsmith Avenue, Eastern Road | Baffins | |
| 14 | City Centre | Arundel Street, New Road, Copnor Bridge | Baffins | |
| 18 | Paulsgrove | QA Hospital, Hilsea, Northern Parade, Fawcett Road, Palmerston Road | Southsea | |
| 20 | Fareham | Highlands, Funtley | Wickham | |
| 21 | Fareham | Redlands Lane, Newgate Lane, Peel Common | Hill Head | |
| 22 | Highbury | Cosham High Street, Lower Drayton, Eastern Road | Farlington | |
| 25 | Gunwharf Quays | Old Portsmouth, Southsea Shops, Albert Road, Eastney | Hayling Ferry | |
| 27 | Rowlands Castle | Leigh Park, Denvilles | Emsworth | |
| 28A | Fareham | Segensworth, Swanwick Station | Whiteley | |
| D1 | Waterlooville | Auger Road, Berewood | Hambledon | |
| D2 | Waterlooville | Berewood, Milton Road, Sunnymead Drive | Denmead | |
| E1 | Fareham | Rail Station, BRT, Tichborne Way, Stoke Road | Gosport | Eclipse |
| E2 | Fareham | Rail Station, BRT, Forest Way, Stoke Road | Gosport | Eclipse |
| F1 | Fareham | Rail Station, Blackbrook Road, Highlands Shops | Highlands | |
| F2 | Fareham | Lesuire Centre, Maylings Farm, Frosthole Crescent, Highlands Shops | Highlands | |
| F3 | Fareham | North Portchester | Portchester Precinct | |
| QA1 | QA Hospital | NHS Park and Ride Service | NHS Fort Southwick | |
| PR1 SUSPENDED | Tipner Car Park | International Port, City Centre | Gunwharf Quays | Park and Ride |
| PR2 SUSPENDED | Tipner Car Park | International Port, City Centre | University of Portsmouth | Park and Ride |
Logo of First Wessex
First Wessex, Dorset & South Somerset
First services in Dorset were formerly those of Southern National. First operate a limited number of routes in this region, but do run the Jurassic Coaster services.
Overview:
| Garage
Name |
Address | Routes
Operated |
No. of
Vehicles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bridport | West Street, Bridport, Dorset, DT6 7NQ | outstation | - |
| Weymouth | Edward Street, Weymouth, Dorset, DT4 7DP | 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 10, X51, X53, X54 | 63 |
Garage Details:
Bridport
Bridport is used as an outstation for the First Wessex operation, meaning that any of the fleet's vehicles may be stored there.
Weymouth
Weymouth is the main depot for First Wessex, operating all vehicles within the fleet.
Bus Types Operated from Weymouth
| Vehicle Chassis | Vehicle Body | Routes Operated |
|---|---|---|
| Optare Solo M99700SR | Optare Solo SR | Wessex 3 and 6 |
| Volvo B7RLE | Wright Eclipse Urban 2 | Wessex 1, 2, 4, 10 |
| Wright Streetlite DF | Wright Streetlite DF | Wessex School Routes |
| Wright Streetlite Max DF | Wright Streetlite Max DF | Wessex 1, 2, 4, 10 |
| Volvo B7TL-57 | Alexander-Dennis ALX400 | Portland Coaster |
| Volvo B9TL-57 | Wright Eclipse Gemini | Wessex 1, 10, School Routes, Jurassic Coaster |
| Volvo B9TL | Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 | Jurassic Coaster |
| Alexander-Dennis Enviro 400 | Alexander-Dennis Enviro 400 | Wessex 1, 10, Jurassic Coaster |
Services:
| Route
Number |
From | via | To | Branding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Weymouth | Chiswell, Fortuneswell, Easton, Weston, Southwell | Portland | |
| 2 | Weymouth | Radipole Spa, Dorchester Road, Broadwey | Littlemoor | |
| 3 | Weymouth | Newstead Road | Westham | |
| 4 | Weymouth | Overcombe Corner, Maunsell Avenue | Preston | |
| 6 | Bridport | Bradpole, Melplash, Broadwindsor, West Coker | Yeovil | |
| 8 | Weymouth | Newstead Road, Fiveways, Charlestown | Chickerell | |
| 10 | Weymouth | Radipole, Broadwey, Upwey, Dorset County Hospital | Poundbury | |
| 501 | Weymouth | Wyke Regis, Portland Castle, Easton | Portland Bill | Portland Coaster |
| 502 | Weymouth | Abbotsbury Road, Fiveways | Littlesea Holiday Park | Portland Coaster |
| 503 | Weymouth | Esplanade, Bowleaze Cove | Waterside Holiday Park | Portland Coaster |
| X51 | Dorchester | Poundbury, Chideock, Charmouth, Lyme Regis | Axminster | Jurassic Coaster |
| X53 | Weymouth | Portesham, Chideock, Charmouth, Lyme Regis | Axminster | Jurassic Coaster |
| X54 | Weymouth | Osmington, Lulworth, Upton, Hamworthy | Poole | Jurassic Coaster |