Portsmouth City Council has received confirmation of UK government funding to transform bus travel for residents.
The city has been awarded £48m to fund new tickets, reduced fares and make bus journey times shorter and more reliable, supporting the delivery of the National Bus Strategy, which is designed to increase bus use and deliver a wide range of economic, health and social objectives.
The announcement comes weeks after the government announced that Portsmouth and Hampshire would be awarded £6.5m for zero-emission buses, bringing the total funding to transform bus travel in Portsmouth, and the wider area, to £54.5m.
In partnership with both First and Stagecoach, the funding will be invested in a number of improvements that were informed by feedback from residents and businesses, including a need for lower fares.
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With the funding, a number of discounts will be introduced including reduced price tickets for young people up to the age of 19, a 90-minute hopper ticket for any passenger valid on any bus in the city in that time period, family tickets and cheaper tickets for evening travel.
To help ensure buses are accessible to all there will be discounts for jobseekers and hard to reach groups, too. The council will also offer free travel on ‘Small Business Saturdays’ and ‘Free Fare Sundays’.
To ensure a best price guarantee for passengers, there are plans to develop a ‘tap-on, tap-off’ bank card payment on all buses, similar to the London Underground, so passengers only pay for the journeys they make, and fares are capped at daily and weekly limits.
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The council will also increase evening bus service frequencies on core routes to every 20 minutes with last journeys at 11pm and at 1am on Friday and Saturday evenings, as well as starting services earlier with journeys from 4.30am on core routes and services running on Christmas Day for workers and those visiting family at home or in hospital.
Felicity Tidbury, acting assistant director, Portsmouth City Council, said: “The government funding is fantastic news for the city, it is the much-needed boost Portsmouth needs especially when the cost of living is increasing, and we need to keep the city connected.
“This funding will also help us tackle the problem of air pollution from transport in Portsmouth so that everyone can live healthier lives.”
Portsmouth’s Bus Service Improvement Plan, submitted to the government in October last year, will now form the basis for the wealth of improvements planned for public transport in the city over the next couple of years.
