Solent Omnibus Club

Black Velvet News.
New routes coming in on January 12th 2009.
Fair Oak Flyer direct to Eastleigh every 15 min.
500 Eastleigh to Southampton hourly via Swaythling and Portswood.
Route B is withdrawn.

Corporate Colour Creep
Former Uni-Link (Accord Southern) Dennis Darts/East Lancs PE55 WSU etc are now painted in the corporate Solent Blueline (Go-Ahead) two-tone blue livery with sign writing for CityLink free bus. The vehicles continue to ply their trade between Red Funnel and the Central Station via West Quay.

Battle of the B's
Eastleigh this morning resembled the early days of de-regulation. Black Velvet launched its commercial route B (Eastleigh-Boyatt Wood-Southampton). Whilst Go-Ahead launched a free service over the same route using the name Beep Bus and running three minutes ahead of Black Velvet, the service will remain free until next Monday when their service registration commences. The Beep buses are painted red with the Beep logo between decks and carry legal lettering for Marchwood Motorways (see photos in Photo Album section of this website). Go-Ahead management patrol on the Bus Station concourse with hand full of timetables enticing passenger to use their buses. The Beep Buses tended to arrive on stand early resulting in some non-aggressive stand blocking by Black Velvet, due mostly to the length of vehicles and shortness of bus stands rather than driver rivalry.

Bus Wars
More likely to be a mini skirmish starting in Eastleigh during September. Black Velvet have registered route B, Eastleigh Bus Station to Southampton via Boyatt Wood, starting on the 8th February. Go-Ahead Group company Wilts & Dorset have also registered the same route to commence on the 15th September and in the following week fellow Go-Ahead company Solent Blueline have also registered the same route commencing 22nd September.

First Route Cuts In Southampton.
Front page news in the Daily Echo 19th August 2008. First Bus in Southampton are to introduce cuts and timetable revision to a large number of services from 31st August 2008. New timetables will be available from 27th August.
http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/search/display.var.2428393.0.outrage_a
t_moves_to_cut_bus_routes.php

Saturday 19th July. A new bus service started in Winchester. Mortons of Little London are operating open-top Bristol VRT on a seasonal service between Winchester, Cheriton and Alresford three times a day on Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sundays until 7th September 2008.
The service operates under the Hampshire Pullman name and on the first day was operated by VDV 140S a Bristol VRT/ECW CO43/31F body, new to Western National in 1978.

Two new services of note for summer 2008 are being operated by First Hampshire & Dorset Ltd under contract to Hampshire County Council, New Forest District Council and the New Forest National Park.
Service 56C operates from Brockenhurst Railway Station to Lyndhurst and service 56D from Ashurst Railway Station to Lyndhurst. Both services operate on Sunday's from 6th July until 28th September with an additional service on bank holiday Monday 25th August. The service is free to holders of valid train tickets.

I am researching my family tree and I am being led towards Glider Coaches in Bishops Waltham. Has anybody got any information about Glider, in particular a Mr Southwell, who we know has driven coaches and may even have been the owner?
Many thanks in anticipation, Andy