- Coastliner 700
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Coastliner 700
Cruise along the coast
One of the new Coastliner 700 buses at The Hard Interchange, Portsmouth.Overview Operator Stagecoach in the South Downs Vehicle Enviro 400, Enviro 300 Livery Stagecoach livery with Coastliner logos and other images to be explained in the article Peak vehicle requirement 17 (Enviro 400) , 13 (Enviro 300) Status Open Nighttime N700 Route Locale Portsmouth Landmarks served Brighton Pavillion, Chichester Cathedral Start Brighton Via Hove, Worthing, Littlehampton, Arundel, Bognor Regis, Chichester, Havant, Portsmouth End Southsea Length 62.4 miles (100.4 km) Service Level Daily Frequency 10 mins Weekend frequency 30 mins Journey time 4 hours 20 mins Operates 0505 - 0415 Route map Coastliner 700 is a popular bus service operated in West Sussex by Stagecoach in the South Downs between Brighton and Southsea. The route travels via Worthing, Littlehampton, Arundel, Bognor Regis, Chichester, Havant, and Portsmouth; it also has its own livery. The general daytime frequency of the routes is every ten minutes, and the route is a popular tourist lifeline in the summer as it travels between major tourist destinations on the south coast. Double-decker buses are normally used to operate the route, although there are also single deckers. The route has its own website.
Contents
History
The bus stop flags at Cambridge Junction, Portsmouth, Hampshire.
The route was introduced in 1975. Passenger numbers increased dramatically in the early 2000s, and by 2010 the service carried four million people per year. New vehicles were introduced by Stagecoach in March 2010.[1] The service has had its own livery from the beginning. It began with a coloured strip along the side of the green Southdown bus; now it is the regular Stagecoach livery, blue, white, orange and red, with the route description on the side, and different buses having livery related to a certain town along the route, and slogans such as 'We took the Coastliner 700 to fun and fashion'.[2]
In Brighton, the bus is often though of as a bit of a 'foreigner' or visitor to the rest of the buses in Brighton with their cream and red livery.[3] It is the only bus route in the UK that stays so close to the shoreline throughout the whole route; for the majority of it the bus is on the very front, so that one could look out and watch the boats on the sea or the beach.[3] It is operated from three Stagecoach depots, Worthing, Chichester and Portsmouth, and normally run with branded Enviro 400s and 300s.
Route
The service operates along the south coast, stopping at several landmarks, among which are Brighton Pavilion and Chichester Cathedral. The Worthing Birdman competition at Worthing pier also attracts lots in the summer, as the route travels right along the road next to the promenade where it is held and takes people back to their various hotels and caravan sites, of which there are many in that region.[4]
Gallery
An Scania N230UD/Enviro 400 branded for the service pictured at The Square in Emsworth, West Sussex.
Stagecoach in the South Downs 27511 (GX06 DZF), an Alexander Dennis Enviro300 in Queen Street, Portsmouth, Hampshire on route 700. It is unusual to see this type of bus on the Coastliner 700 service, which is normally operated by branded double-decker buses.
A Dennis Trident 2/Alexander Dennis ALX400. It is seen standing on Marine Parade, Worthing, West Sussex, England.See also
- List of bus routes in West Sussex
- Stagecoach in the South Downs
References
- ^ "South coast bus travel gets a green upgrade". The News (Portsmouth). 2 March 2010. http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/local/east-hampshire/south_coast_bus_travel_gets_a_green_upgrade_1_1248666.
- ^ Transport Illustrated: Hants & Sussex Part 1. http://transport-illustrated.blogspot.com/2011/02/hants-sussex-part-1.html. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
- ^ a b "Get your kicks on route 700". The Argus. http://www.theargus.co.uk/blogs/blogs/alicewright/4648432.Get_Your_Kicks_on_Route_700_/. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- ^ "Caravan Sites Brighton". excite. http://travel.excite.co.uk/caravan-sites-brighton-area-N23787.html. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
External links
Categories:- Transport in West Sussex
- Bus routes in England
- Transport in Brighton and Hove
- Transport in Portsmouth
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