POOLE BAY
Paul Halligan's buses that ran across the town for a while in 1987 and 1988
After the deregulation of buses in 1986, the following year saw the start of a new service, using ex-Plymouth Atlanteans to begin with. The company was founded primarily by Paul Halligan who had worked in various positions for National Bus. Originally numbered 200, the route ran hourly across the conurbation linking Boscombe and Bournemouth to Parkstone and Poole. It was true there were plenty of buses around on this line of route before the 200 started, but few ran across the long standing central terminal point at Bournemouth Square from one side of town to the other. Poole Bay operated originally from parking space rented in Wallisdown Road, and had an office in a shop in Christchurch Road, Boscombe. The base later moved about a mile to the Royal Mail parcels yard in Old Wareham Road, Newtown. At the start, there were also routes 201 and 202, which were simply morning and evening positioning journeys from the Wallisdown depot to the starting points at Boscombe Pier and Poole Quay.
One of the ex-Plymouth Citybus Atlanteans at the Lansdowne, Bournemouth
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The second timetable issued by Poole Bay, starting 10 June 1987
During the summer of 1987 a seasonal route 203 was introduced between the Rockley Sands holiday park west of Poole, via Poole Quay to Bournemouth Square. This ran three times a day from 29th June to 4th October. The main route was renumbered from 200 to 50 from 18th October 1987 (because the Atlanteans used had only two track not three track number blinds!). There was also a route 51 (but only briefly for a few days in October 1987!) running peak hour journeys from Broadway through Moordown and Winton to Bournemouth Square.
For the summer of 1988 the main Poole Bay route was split into two, with service 50 extended from Boscombe via Southbourne to Christchurch hourly, but without serving Boscombe Pier. Although shown in the timetable as diverted via Stour Road and Bargates to serve Christchurch railway station, this never happened in practice. Also the 50 was also cut short at its western end at Poole Arndale Centre / Rail Station and no longer served Poole Quay. This was served instead by a new summer seasonal hourly route 52 from Boscombe Pier via Bournemouth Square, Compton Acres Gardens and Sandbanks Ferry to Poole Quay. This was to run from May to October until all Poole Bay operations ceased after 22nd October 1988 after eighteen months of operation. Towards the end there had been an unsuccessful attempt to sell the operation as a going concern - the identity of the supposed mystery buyer intrigued the trade press at the time.
The route 50 timetable operating from March 1988
A single deck Bristol RE on the 50 turns from Ashley Road into Richmond Road opposite Parkstone Co-op
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This is the summer 1988 timetable (dated 22nd May) for new route 52 aimed mainly at visitors and holidaymakers:
In the last week of Poole Bay operation, a hired Routemaster 109CLT ran on the 50. It is pictured here at the Albert Road stop in Upper Parkstone with the Rossmore Bus at rear waiting to depart. Poole Bay services had run for just eighteen months, through two summer seasons, from 20 April 1987 to 22 October 1988.
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