Bluestar customers, winners of the £2 fare video competition

A local family, who moved to Eastleigh from Ukraine in 2022, have triumphed in a national competition organised by leading passenger transport company, the Go-Ahead Group.

Go-Ahead, which owns Bluestar, challenged its passengers to create a video featuring the gems and advantages to be had by taking advantage of the £2 bus fare cap. And Eastleigh-based Oksana Chernova and her daughter Lena came out as winners - receiving a new iPhone 14.

“My colleagues at Go-Ahead Group received hundreds of entries nationwide, so we’re proud that our two of customers were deemed to be the best,” said Andrew Wickham, Bluestar managing director.

“The judges felt that Oksana and Lena deserved their first prize because their video was very professionally made and included so many things - including our app, the fare, the bus, the destinations, the narrative of a day out, and even some good shots of our on-board usb chargers.

“I’m delighted for them both. The judges had no idea of Oksana and Lena’s challenging personal circumstances when they picked out the winners but, knowing what we know now, this achievement is particularly impressive. On behalf of the Go-Ahead Group, I would like to wish them all the very best for the future.”

Oksana and Lena met up with Andrew in Southampton to receive their prize - which will be put to good use by Lena, who studies Media Digital creative technology at Barton Peveril College.

Oksana said: “We have come a long way from our home just north of Kyiv, and I’m so proud of Lena - who put in much of the work for this video. We spent quite a lot of time putting together a story board and planning our video, before setting off and filming our day out in Southampton using the £2 fare cap.

“I’m so pleased that the prize was an iPhone because Lena will make very good use of it in her studies. We’re very grateful for all the support we have had from people in Southampton and Eastleigh, and we’d like to thank them for making us feel so welcome.”

Take advantage of the £2 single fare where up until the end of October, most single journeys will be capped at £2. Click here to find out more.