We’re investing £1.5 million in seven brand new double deck buses for Bluestar, and the first vehicle will begin to appear from November.
The first bus to be delivered will be showcased across a number of Bluestar routes until it is joined by a further six buses which will all be dedicated to the popular and growing Bluestar 1 service.
These fully accessible and low emission Scania Omnicity buses will bring new levels of quality to our users, and we’re confident they’ll surprise those who haven’t used the bus for a while. With a roomy interior, plentiful legroom, leather-edged high-back seats, and deep, tinted windows, getting around in style will become the norm for users on Bluestar 1 between Southampton and Winchester.
Immediately after delivery, the Bluestar bus was posed with similar buses being introduced by other local bus companies, also part of the Go Ahead Group across the South Coast. Customers using Wilts & Dorset, Southern Vectis and uni-link buses are also benefiting from a huge investment in these highly-specified buses.
Bo Martinsson from Scania hands over the new deliveries to Engineering Director Steve Hamilton (left) and Managing Director Alex Carter (right) at Southampton’s Eastern Docks
The eagle-eyed amongst you may notice that the Bluestar vehicle – fleet number 1125 – has been painted in a darker, bolder shade of blue which will complement an exciting new branding initiative to highlight these spectacular new buses to passers by. For the time being, the bus sounds out a message that even more new buses are just around the corner.
Bluestar’s Operations Manager Alex Hornby takes to the wheel of the new Bluestar Scania OmniCity
Each of the Scania buses are completely built and manufactured in Poland, and are then driven across Europe through Sweden – and shipped onto roll-on, roll-off cargo ships at Gothenberg to Hull. When they get to Hull they have to be examined by the UK authorities to confirm they meet a whole raft of rules and regulations for operation here. Then they get driven down to the Scania dealer in Poole for a pre delivery inspection, before delivery to us at Bluestar HQ in Eastleigh.
The line-up of four new buses in their respective Go-Ahead Group colour schemes at Mayflower Park in Southampton
Coupled with the £3 million investment in new buses at our new uni-link operation, residents within Southampton and the surrounding areas will enjoy the benefits of 25 new buses in the area, thanks to a huge commitment in improving local bus travel in the area by Bluestar.
We will be celebrating the arrival of these new buses on Saturday 15 November in Southampton and Winchester city centres – more details on this event coming soon!