First Southampton

Or that is how it may appear. I come from an area where, to be quite frank, the bus services are totally crap, with arrogant bus drivers who are incapable of simple fare arithmetic, and in many cases they are incapable of safely conducting a PSV. (Not Southampton, but Stagecoach in Gloucester.) Despite having an impressive fleet of buses here in Southampton (although some predate the dark ages!) there is a complete lack of conformity to any timetable by nearly every single service that I have used.

Why then, do First Southampton have the sheer audacity to publish a timetable? Is it some from of joke? Is there a conspiracy to ensure that the population of this city die of stress before they reach 40? I know of no less than thirty people who have been put in inconvenient situations with their employers because of the "service" offered by First Southampton, and let's face it, that is simply not good enough. For fares to be continually increasing, one would expect to see some improvement in the situation...but alas, there has been none.

Many would attribute the problem to the myriads of beer-hungry students taking up all the spaces on the buses, but, being one of those myself, I wouldn't agree. I have seen cities such as Leeds cope perfectly well with a greater student population than Southampton, and their fares are cheaper.

Where, therefore, is all our money going? It can't all be going on fuel for the buses, as most of them are either driving so slow or not driving at all! I can smell a fat cat somewhere.

Bottom line, BUCK UP your ideas First, otherwise you'll be finding yourself demoted to the league of Stagecoach in Gloucestershire...and you woudn't want that now would you?