Buses in Portsmouth and Hampshire: South East grants more than £17m to boost reliability but lower fares

The Department for Transport has granted £17.2m of funding for the South East – covering Hampshire and Portsmouth. This is to try and make bus services more attractive for passengers, while keeping ticket prices low and increasing the reliability of services.

Roads minister Richard Holden has confirmed that fifteen local authorities in the region will receive their funding allocation as part of the Bus Service Improvement Plan+ (BSIP+) for 2024-25. Mr Holden, Conservative MP for North West Durham, said: “Buses are the most popular form of public transport, and so many residents in the South East rely on their local service to get to work, attend medical appointments, and see loved ones.

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"We are delivering for local communities across fifteen local authorities by providing a further £17.2 million to improve and protect essential local services, as we continue to boost transport connections in the South East to grow the economy.” Over the last three years, the government has invested more than £246m into the region to improve bus services.

Local authorities can use the funding to create new routes, enhance existing routes at evenings and weekends, or make tickets cheaper. This month, Portsmouth City Council has been running a scheme where tickets are free at weekends.

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Passengers have still been enjoying the £2 cap on single bus tickets, which has been extended on numerous occasions. The average fare has dropped by 10.8 per cent in rural and non-metropolitan parts of England.

Silviya Barrett, from Campaign for Better Transport, said: “We’re pleased the £2 bus fare cap we campaigned for has been a success, reducing fares and boosting passenger numbers. The additional funds for local authorities announced today are also welcome and we hope that this is just the start of ongoing investment in bus networks across the country.”

Janette Bell, managing director of First Bus, added: “We welcome the certainty provided by today’s confirmation of the next tranche of local authority funding allocations. We look forward to working together with our local authority partners to deliver the best services possible for our customers.”