People across Portsmouth can benefit from single bus fares capped at £2 for the winter under a government-backed campaign to encourage people back on to public transport.
Portsmouth City Council has collaborated with local bus companies First Solent and Stagecoach who have both taken up the scheme.
According to the Department for Transport, people can save almost a third of the ticket price for the average journey thanks to its £60million subsidy. This would also cut emissions and congestion by taking an estimated two million cars off the roads.
Cllr Lynne Stagg, Cabinet Member for Traffic and Transportation, said:
“It is great that the bus operators in Portsmouth have signed up to take part in the fare cap scheme. We know cost of living pressures are affecting many people and hopefully these discounted fares will help residents to cut costs as they use buses to get to school, work and other destinations around the city”.
“By catching the bus, everyone can help to lower the number of cars in our city centre, reducing congestion, cutting emissions and making a real difference to the environment. We hope this scheme will make it more affordable for residents to catch the bus for cleaner, healthier journeys around Portsmouth”.
Any single journey, of any distance on the same bus of participating operators, which includes First and Stagecoach locally, is no more than £2. The temporary £2 bus fare cap on single adult fares does not change the concessionary fare scheme or impact free travel. Existing single fares below £2 are unchanged. Return fares are not included in the scheme, nor are daily or weekly tickets. It may be better value in some cases to buy two single journeys, or a daily ticket or a weekly ticket and you should check with the participating bus company.
More improvements to bus services across Portsmouth are due throughout the year with a series of council led schemes funded by the Bus Service Improvement Plan now underway. The Bus Service Improvement Plan is a £48 million investment of government funding designed to transform bus travel for Portsmouth residents, creating a quicker and more reliable bus service.
For more information about these changes and public transport options across the city, please visit https://travel.portsmouth.gov.uk/public-transport/
