Bus passengers in Portsmouth can look forward to a guaranteed higher standard of services, following the signing of a new bus passenger charter.
Portsmouth City Council has collaborated with local bus companies, First Solent and Stagecoach who have both enthusiastically signed the charter which agrees a minimum standard be met in the delivery of services for Portsmouth’s bus passengers.
This charter lays out a series of pledges, which detail what passengers can expect from their bus services in Portsmouth including (but not limited to):
- A reliable bus service, that means buses normally running no more than one minute early or five minutes late.
- Value for money tickets, with a range of payment methods including cash, card and app.
- An increased range of tickets, which will enable easier travel by bus.
- CCTV on most buses for passenger safety and security.
- Readily available information about the progress we are making to improve bus services through regular updates on social media, real time information signs and publications.
- A network of regular bus services designed to connect people to places according to demand.
- And much more.
The bus passenger charter has been made possible by Portsmouth’s Bus Services Improvement Plan (commonly referred to as BSIP), an investment of £48m of funding from the Department of Transport (DfT) and part of the National Bus Strategy. This is one of a series of schemes that Portsmouth City Council will be implementing, to improve bus services across the city, and make a bus service that is more attractive to everyone.
Cllr Lynne Stagg, Cabinet Member for Traffic and Transportation, said:
“I am delighted to be part of the signing of Portsmouth’s bus passenger charter. We want to get more people using the bus in Portsmouth, and by introducing and implementing these agreed high standards, we are committed to ensuring that the bus is a convenient, straight forward, and easy way of travelling around our city”.
Simon Goff, Managing Director, First Solent said:
“We are thrilled to sign up to the Portsmouth City Council bus charter. Delivering a high-quality bus service to the citizens of Portsmouth is essential for us. The charter will guarantee the high standards that we, at First Solent, work hard to maintain and that the people of Portsmouth and those visiting the area deserve.”
Gordon Frost Managing Director of Stagecoach South said:
“We’re delighted to work in partnership with the Council to put bus customers at the heart of our city’s transport network and policy. We look forward to raising the profile of sustainable travel and delivering the services our communities need and expect”.
Read the charter in full and find out more about public transport in Portsmouth at https://travel.portsmouth.gov.uk/public-transport/bus-passenger-charter/.
Photographed are Gordon Frost Managing Director Stagecoach, Cllr Lynne Stagg, Cabinet Member for Traffic and Transportation, and Marc Morganhuws Commercial Director at First South.