Southampton free bus shuttle

[STEVIEBOY1]

Good morning, does anyone know if the free little bus shuttle still operate from the Central Station to the town centre and ferries? Thank you.

 

[Mr Spock]

It operates but unless you have a ferry ticket or bus pass you have to pay.

 

[Greenback]

I think it's £1 unless you have a through ticket to/from the IoW.

 

[fgwrich]

I think it's £1 unless you have a through ticket to/from the IoW.

It is now a £1 flat fare unless as you say you have a through ticket. It can be a nice walk through the city though and there is a nice French Café (or Dancing Man Brewery/The Platform Tavern) not that far from the Ferry Terminal if you've got the time to spare.

 

[SpacePhoenix]

From: http://www.redfunnel.co.uk/travel-connections/rail/

Southampton Central is a busy station hub with services provided by South West Trains, First Great Western, Cross Country and Southern. CityLink, a free shuttle bus (£1 for non Red Funnel customers) operates every 30 minutes between the station and Red Funnel's ferry terminals on Town Quay. Aprroximate journey time: 10 minutes.

For going between the station and the shops, unless you've got a load of heavy luggage you may as well walk as it's not too far from the station to the shops

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Thank you for these replies, they must have introduced the £ 1.00 since I last visited Southampton. I shall walk as I am not planning to do much shopping, but hope to find a decent pub for a drink and something to eat at lunch time.

 

[IanD]

As always if looking for a decent pub try CAMRA's WhatPub website

 

[Greenback]

It is now a £1 flat fare unless as you say you have a through ticket. It can be a nice walk through the city though and there is a nice French Café (or Dancing Man Brewery/The Platform Tavern) not that far from the Ferry Terminal if you've got the time to spare.

Thanks for the confirmation. I love the Platform Tavern, by the way!

Thank you for these replies, they must have introduced the £ 1.00 since I last visited Southampton. I shall walk as I am not planning to do much shopping, but hope to find a decent pub for a drink and something to eat at lunch time.

The £1 fare is a relatively recent introduction, within the last twelve months if memory serves. I'm not surprised by it, the service was intended to benefit travellers to and from the Isle of Wight, but whenever I used it, it seemed to full of people lugging their heavy shopping bags to and from the station.

 

[swt_passenger]

Changed last May as shown here: http://www.redfunnel.co.uk/travel-connections/bus-connections/citylink/

I reckon one of the contributors to the original scheme baled out; probably the City Council, or the West Quay owners.

But it was definitely originally marketed for shoppers as well as ferry passengers, in fact they still highlight the stops at West Quay and The Marlands/ASDA in the timetable.

 

[Kite159]

It was useful for shoppers owing to the pick-up outside West Quay which is a good 15+ minute walk from the station, lot longer if you have shopping or kids.

 

[Lrd]

I reckon one of the contributors to the original scheme baled out; probably the City Council, or the West Quay owners.

But it was definitely originally marketed for shoppers as well as ferry passengers, in fact they still highlight the stops at West Quay and The Marlands/ASDA in the timetable.

It was Southampton City Council that pulled out. It's now run by Bluestar on behalf of Red Funnel.

On another note, I can most definitely recommend The Platform Tavern, even if it is a little pricey. But there are also lots of pubs on the high street, or the QE2 Mile as it's signed as, which runs from Town Quay up through Bargate, Above Bar Street, London Road and The Avenue.

 

[Greenback]

Changed last May as shown here: http://www.redfunnel.co.uk/travel-connections/bus-connections/citylink/

I reckon one of the contributors to the original scheme baled out; probably the City Council, or the West Quay owners.

But it was definitely originally marketed for shoppers as well as ferry passengers, in fact they still highlight the stops at West Quay and The Marlands/ASDA in the timetable.

I always thought that the shopping stops were for those from the island who wanted some retail therapy on a day trip!

It was useful for shoppers owing to the pick-up outside West Quay which is a good 15+ minute walk from the station, lot longer if you have shopping or kids.

I have to say that whenever I used the bus there were a lot of people getting on at The Marlands heading to the ferry, but hardly any heading to the station. This reinforced my belief that the service was primarily for those heading to and from the IoW.

On another note, I can most definitely recommend The Platform Tavern, even if it is a little pricey. But there are also lots of pubs on the high street, or the QE2 Mile as it's signed as, which runs from Town Quay up through Bargate, Above Bar Street, London Road and The Avenue.

Yes, that's true, I always enjoy a pint or two when I'm in Southampton, and it doesn't have to be at the Platform Tavern!