First Southampton > Reviews > First in Portsmouth

Author's product rating:   

Quality of Rooms	Good
Customer service	good
Frequency of bus / buses	Frequent
Value for money	Good
Reliability	Good

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

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Having just started university down here in Portsmouth, and living without a car, i often find myself using the local bus services.

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 to university!

First have a large selection of routes to almost anywhere, many of which run late in the evenings and on sundays too. For example, thisevening (sunday) i used a service which runs every 30mins until about 11pm - can't ask more than that can you?

They have a selection of buses, mostly no older than 6 years old and all in general good, clean condition. They have no double deckers, lots of long buses (with about 60/70 seats) and some smaller buses (with about 30 seats). These are normally distributed on the appropriate services, so the larger buses on the busier routes etc.

They have a travel shop at the main station forecourt which sells advance tickets and are also agents for National Express. The staff in here are extremely helpful, i've been in 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?

The only thing i would like to see improved is slightly lower fares, or a fare-increase hold for a while. I have recently found out that First offer a 50% student discount to all students with a valid NUS card (basically, all students who havn't lost their campus card). You have to ask for it, just show your NUS card. I would recommend to them that they should advertise this more, because now i can get to the town centre for 67p - i would rather do this than pay £5 for a taxi!

Overall, i'm happy to use them regularly, they provide a good service with clean buses which is not too expensive (compared to other companies). Their staff are normally fine and some are really helpful. At most bus-stops there is a shelter or at least a seat, and always a timetable. Occasionally things go wrong a buses don't run on time, but i think that is mostly beyond their control. They know where people want to go from and too, and provide good services between these places. Well done to all involved.