City Red: Southampton prepares to say goodbye to iconic red buses

The bus operator, owned by First Bus, announced last year that it would be ceasing operations in the city.

The iconic red buses will make their final journeys on Sunday, February 19, with all existing services to be covered by Bluestar.

A look back

Fully restored double-decker bus (Image: Phil Blair)

Prior to 1879 there were no public transport operations in Southampton.

That is until a horse tram operator brought it to the city, and from that City Red was born.

In 1898 Southampton Corporation Transport decided to take the reins of the public transport offering with horse-drawn trams and buses.

That was until it became Southampton Citybus post-war.

READ MORE: Former Citybus staff offering one last ride in the City's old double deckers

It was owned by the town council until 1954, and the city council until 1993 when it was purchased by employees.

Four years later the company was acquired by First Bus.

Since then, the operator has been offering services in and around the city; taking residents, commuters, and visitors where they needed to go.

Why is City Red leaving Southampton?

In a statement sent to employees via a company app in November, managing director, Simon Goff said the company’s services have “not been sustainable.”

He said: “Unfortunately, our services in Southampton have not been sustainable for many years, even before the Covid pandemic.

"Falling customer numbers post-Covid, changes in travel patterns, rising costs and low fares caused by the oversupply of bus services in Southampton have all contributed to the decision.

"We've examined all available options, but regrettably, we see no alternative."

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Despite the challenges faced in Southampton, the company recently signed an agreement to purchase Essex-based Ensign Bus Company Limited.

Speaking on the news, a First Bus spokesperson said: “The closure of our Southampton Depot and operations was not a decision we that we took lightly.

“We first purchased the Southampton operation in 1997. 

“Despite the introduction of wide-ranging transformation plans including measures to attract more customers, there simply remained insufficient demand for the number of buses operating in the city’s competitive market.

“We continue to re-align our networks after the pandemic so that we operate where there is sufficient customer demand and invest in the areas where we see growth potential.”

The terms of this agreement have not been disclosed, and it includes 55 buses and just over 200 employees.

What routes can I expect from Bluestar?

The company has confirmed that areas of Southampton with pre-existing bus services will be served.

Not only that, over 140 new employees have signed up to work with Bluestar as the company prepares to “take to the roads of Southampton.”

And thanks to their successful recruitment drive new routes will be introduced from Sunday.

READ MORE: Bluestar confirms all existing City Red areas will be served

Bluestar managing director, Andrew Wickham said: “We will be running six brand new routes, linking Lordshill, Townhill Park, Harefield, Hedge End, Sholing, Thornhill and Hamble with the city centre.

“We are going to run the Bluestar 19 between Lordshill and Thornhill every 15 minutes on weekdays - rather than every 20 minutes, as previously stated.

“We will also run extra evening journeys on our Bluestar 7 route, between Sholing and the city centre.

“Those wishing to use our new Bluestar 13 route, between Harefield and the city centre will enjoy more frequent buses too.

“We will run this service every 30 minutes, and hourly on a Sunday.”

From Sunday, Bluestar will run the following services:

• Bluestar 10 (currently City Red 9) city centre to Sholing
• Bluestar 13 (currently City Red 13) city centre to Harefield
• Bluestar 14 (currently City Red 8) city centre to Hedge End
• Bluestar 15 (currently City Red 6) city centre to Hamble
• Bluestar 19 (currently City Red 3) Lordshill to Thornhill - but re-routed via Maybush Corner instead of Warren Avenue.
• Bluestar 20 (currently City Red 7) city centre to Townhill Park