First Southampton

Advantages: Your eyes are filled by buses
Disadvantages: They take your hard earned brass

...in style!”. However, the first actual buses that came from FirstBus were those that replaced the old CityBus buses, like the economical ones like Gas and Electric powered with massive great roofs that must have had the power to power over 50 engines which they never really use. The next buses came out almost instantly, long ones and double-deckers made by Volvo and by the way, it’s the excellent Swedish Volvo that build these buses. ...
...bendy buses. They are excellent and seemed dead weird at first. But with huge passenger capacities and seats, rush hour and peak times are not as much trouble because people have room to actually rest their bums, well, most the time. Now the actual buses are most probably the cleanest of all the bus companies, with strong glass windows, bearable seats with some style and comfort and finally, they seem the safest as I’ve never really saw them ... Read review

Advantages: Buses go to all parts of Southampton. New buses provide comfort for all passengers, also good disabled facilities available. Free service from Train Station to the West Quay Shopping Centre.
Disadvantages: The old buses are basically awful, needs to get rid of them and bring in newer buses. Needs to win back old bus users and introduce Student schemes.

So what's the deal with First Southampton Bus? First Bus is quite a new company in Southampton having taken over from the terrible 'City Bus'. When they took over from the unpopular company, they knew that to win back customers on their buses they need to improve drastically. First Bus has only one company, which they are competing against in Southampton, which is Blue Line. Although Blue Line has many buses running in various places in Southampton, ...
...around the edges of Southampton. First Bus was chosen to introduce the newest kind of bus into Britain, which is the 'bendy bus', which is growing more popular around the country in major cities due to the success it is having in Southampton. I want to get the bus, but where do they go? With Southampton having a major new look these days, they have to have buses, which go to all the main areas of Southampton. First bus operates from the edge of ... Read review

Advantages: Good routes, nice buses, 50% student discount
Disadvantages: Some journeys can be expensive

...There are two main companies, First and Stagecoach, providing local routes. First operate most of the city and some inter-city services, and stagecoach only operate a few. Generally, i find that other students dislike using the bus services, some say it's more expensive than owning a car down here and others just say they'd rather get a taxi from A-B. On a personal note, i'd recommend them to anyone - and they are a lot cheaper than bringing a car ...
...numerous times especially when i first moved down here. Their drivers are mostly helpful, some are a little quiet and seem rude, but they do put up with a lot from the public being rude at them - a lot of the time about fares or whatever, something which is completly out of their control. I think people should be a bit more careful about who they complain to, a driver is not responcible for a fare increasing so why upset them or be rude to them? ... Read review

Advantages: Well, they are buses I suppose
Disadvantages: Often late, crowded, dirty

...UK is hardly wonderful, but First Southampton buses are just SO bad it's not true. I could wax lyrical about my bad experiences, long waits and overcrowded buses, but you've heard it all before so I'll just summarise what I feel. A return ticket from one of the outlying regions of Soton to the centre costs around £1.20. For that amount of money, you might expect that (within reason) most buses could run on time, the bus might be clean and have enough ...
...asking too much. Often large, double-decker buses are run on routes where they don't even half-fill. Yet on the most popular routes, such as 11 and 13 (now 11B) from the city centre to Portswood and Bassett, are often single-deckers which are packed out. Why? I accept that in busy times, given the city's traffic congestion, travel will be slower. But WHY can't this be anticipated and the timetables adjusted accordingly? I wouldn't mind waiting ... Read review

Advantages: Cheap....With season tickets!!!!
Disadvantages: Expensive, late, unreliable

...been a regular travel on First Southampton for the last three years to travel to and from uni and work. The comfort of the seats are OK but could be better if the company spent more money, they get more than enough from the fares that they charge. Service of customers is average. The drivers can get stressed at times - especially on packed buses and when people are being noisy. The drivers are better than they used to be though. Some drivers will ...
...unless you have the official first travel card which shows your date of birth, because you won't get away with it, you wil be asked to show your pass and if you don't have one, you will be charged full fare. You only get cheap travel fare if you are an OAP, and you need to have an OAP pass and you can travel any distance for just 30p for a journey (Journeys must be made after 9am to get OAP fare though, but only on Modays to Fridays) Buses speed ... Read review