Purbeck Breezer route 50 is a bus route between Bournemouth railway station and Swanage operated by morebus under the Purbeck Breezer brand. It is the only bus route which travel on the Sandbanks Ferry.
History[]
This route was formerly numbered 150 since no later than 1982 to at least 2005.[1].
According to the timetable in 1982[2], route 150 ran from Bournemouth via Poole Road to Westbourne, Branksome and Upper Parkstone, and turned to Richmond Road and Compton Avenue for Canford Cliffs, then continued on today's route to Swanage.
- 16 September 2018: autumn timetable in effect, decreased service level to hourly daily.
- 28 October 2018: winter timetable in effect, decreased service level to every 2 hours on Sundays.
- 10 March 2019: spring timetable in effect, increased service level to hourly on Sundays.
- 25 May 2019: summer low season timetable in effect, increased service level to 1-2 hourly departures on weekdays, half-hourly on weekends.
- 20 July 2019: Sandbanks Ferry suspended operation, route diverted through A351, summer high season timetable in effect, increased service level to half-hourly daily.
- 1 September 2019: summer low season timetable in effect, decreased service level on weekdays to hourly mid-day.
- 22 September 2019: autumn timetable in effect, decreased service level to hourly service.
- 31 October 2019: Sandbanks Ferry resumed operation, returned to normal routing.
- 3 November 2019: winter timetable in effect, decreased service level to every 2 hours on Sundays.
- 9 March 2020: spring timetable in effect, increased service level to every hour on Sundays.
- 5 April 2020: service split into 2 sections due to Sandbanks Ferry closure under lockdown:
- Bournemouth – Sandbanks continuing on route 60 to Poole, with departures every 2 hours Mon-Sat only.
- Studland - Swanage every 1-2 hours daily, with some departures continuing on route 40 to Poole.
- 31 May 2020: through service with route 60 between Bournemouth, Sandbanks and Poole increased to daily operation.
- 17 June 2020: service between Bournemouth and Swanage restored with hourly departures as Sandbanks Ferry resumed operation.
- 5 July 2020: first departure at 06:45 Swanage and 08:02 Bournemouth changed to daily service from Mon-Fri only.
- 19 July 2020: summer high season timetable in effect, increased service level to half-hourly service daily.
- 6 September 2020: summer low season timetable in effect, decreased service level on weekdays to hourly mid-day.
- 20 September 2020: autumn timetable in effect, decreased service level to hourly service.
- 11 January 2021: last departure from Bournemouth diverted through A351 due to Sandbanks Ferry suspending evening operation, serving Swanage, Studland and Shell Bay in reverse order.
- 24 January 2021: winter timetable in effect, decreased service level to every 2 hours on Sundays.
- 1 March 2021: cancelled the diversion through A351 as Sandbanks Ferry resumed evening operation.
- 2 April 2021: as lockdown eased with high demand anticipated, summer high season timetable put in effect much earlier in the season, increased service level to half-hourly service daily[3]
Current route[]
This route serves the following areas in order:
- Bournemouth railway station
- Lansdowne (Holdenhurst Road, Bath Road)
- Bournemouth Square
- West Cliff (Priory Road, West Cliff Road, Grosvenor Road)
- Westbourne
- Branksome Park (Western Road, Tower Road, Pinewood Road, Westminster Road, Pinecliff Road)
- Canford Cliffs (Western Road, Haven Road)
- Sandbanks (Shore Road, Banks Road, Sandbanks Ferry)
- Shell Bay, Studlands (Ferry Road, Swanage Road)
- Swanage (Ulwell Road)
If Sandbanks Ferry is suspended, the section between Swanage and Shell Bay is served in reverse order.
Service level[]
This route has different timetables in different seasons:
- winter season (typically late October to early March): hourly service Mon-Sat, every 2 hours on Sunday
- spring / autumn season (typically early March to late May and mid September to late October): hourly service daily
- summer low season (typically late May to mid July and early September to mid September): 1-2 departures per hour on weekdays, every half an hour on weekends
- summer high season (mid July to early September): runs every half an hour daily
w.e.f. 2 April 2021, anticipating increased demand due to border restrictions, this route runs on the summer timetable with half-hourly headway daily.
In case of Sandbanks Ferry closure, this route is diverted through A351 between Sandbanks and Swanage, serving the section between Shell Bay and Swanage in reverse order.
Fare[]
Route 50 travels across morebus zones A (Bournemouth - Sandbanks) and C (Shell Bay - Swanage), with the ferry crossing as the zone boundary.
Fleet[]
Under normal circumstances, this route is served by open-top Volvo B5TL MCV EvoSeti buses with Purbeck Breezer livery (fleet number 1704-1712).
In high season, 8 buses operate on this route, with each round trip 4 hours. The following is the likely roster as of July 2021:
| Swanage | 06:45 | 07:45 | 08:25 | 09:20 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bournemouth | 07:57 | 08:57 | 09:20 | 09:50 | 10:20 | 10:50 | ||
| Swanage | 09:50 | 10:20 | 10:50 | 11:20 | 11:50 | 12:20 | 12:50 | |
| Bournemouth | 11:20 | 11:50 | 12:20 | 12:50 | 13:20 | 13:50 | 14:20 | 14:50 |
| Swanage | 13:20 | 13:50 | 14:20 | 14:50 | 15:20 | 15:50 | 16:20 | 16:50 |
| Bournemouth | 15:20 | 15:50 | 16:20 | 16:50 | 17:20 | 17:50 | 18:20 | 19:00 |
| Swange | 17:20 | 17:50 | 18:25 | 19:25 | 20:25 | 21:25 | ||
| Bournemouth | 19:40 | 20:40 | 21:40 |
See also[]
- Purbeck Breezer route 70, also runs between Sandbanks, Canford Cliffs and Bournemouth.