Together with our colleagues at Hampshire County Council, we are continuing our commitment to the Quality Bus Partnership by renewing the promotion of the Bluestar network between Hythe & the Waterside, Totton and Southampton. The move follows the success of our Bluestar 8 and 9 services which were upgraded with new buses in March 2006 after an investment of £1.4 million by our parent company, the Go Ahead Group. Additional investment was made by Hampshire County Council of £400,000 in 2007 to upgrade the bus stops and infrastructure to support the improved service.
With passenger journeys on this part of our network now up by 10%, we have launched a new promotion to attract even more people to use our services. A number of billboard adverts have erected, promoting the popular Bluestar services in the Waterside area. The partnership has also invested in new bus stop timetable displays and refurbished bus stops to encourage more residents to change their travelling habits. This information includes routes, times as well as ticket prices, which helps to ensure that first-time users are confident travelling with us.
Cllr Mel Kendal (Executive Member for Environment, Hampshire County Council), Dr Julian Lewis MP (representing New Forest East), Andrew Wilson
(Head of Passenger Transport, Hampshire County Council) and Alex Hornby with one of the Bluestar billboards at Totton.
The County Council’s Executive Member for Environment, Cllr Mel Kendal, said: “This is the first time that billboard posters have been used to boost passenger journeys in this area, and I’m sure it will build on the 10% growth in passenger journeys that we’ve already seen. The partnership is keen to build on this still further, and will continue to work together on ways to encourage more people to travel by bus.”
Our Operations Manager, Alex Hornby, reiterates Cllr Kendals' points: “We’re always looking at ways to encourage people to use our popular Bluestar services in the region, and are not afraid to push the boundaries of marketing within the bus industry. The promotional material has been placed in strategic areas on Bluestar 7, 8 and 9 with improved information available at the new stops along these routes. We hope this proves effective in attracting even more passengers on these services. Our productive and continuing partnership with Hampshire County Council shows what can be achieved when operators and local authorities work closely together.”