September is Catch the Bus Month!

Local people and visitors in-and-around Southampton are being encouraged to find out how easy and convenient it is to travel by bus. 

To mark Catch the Bus Month - a nationwide campaign running throughout September - we are helping to raise awareness of the benefits of travelling in this way, particularly among those who don’t normally use public transport. 

“According to official figures, the number of local bus passenger journeys in England saw an increase of almost 20 percent in the year ending March 2023, and studies show that it is a third less stressful than travelling by car. Taking the bus can also help achieve half the government’s recommended 150 minutes’ moderate exercise per week, so there are plenty of reasons to want to increase usage still further,” said our head of communications, Nikki Honer.  

“We are certainly working hard to encourage more people on-board. Over recent years, we have invested millions of pounds in new buses to serve our comprehensive network of routes across Southampton. The seating on these state-of-the-art vehicles is more comfortable than ever, and each sports the latest Euro 6 low emissions engine.  

“They also offer USB charging points for smartphones and hand-held devices, and contactless ‘tap on tap off’ ticketing facilities.  

“Planning travel and buying tickets is now easier than ever too - thanks to the Bluestar app, offering customers the chance to tailor their plans, track their intended bus in real time and pay for tickets instantly.  

“The cost of travelling across the city offers excellent value-for-money with the £2 fare cap for a single journey still in place - part of the Government’s Help for Households initiative.  

"During catch the Bus Month, we are offering new app customers 10 percent off a monthly pass. All you need to do is enter discount code 10CTBM24 when you buy a 30 day ticket on our app for the first time.  This offer is only available via the app for new customers only and is restricted to one purchase only any time during September 2024.

“We are committed to ensuring our buses are accessible for all. One example of this is the work we have been doing with Guide Dogs - our official good cause for 2024 and 2025.  

“Not only do we offer up our vehicles to help the charity’s young puppies become more familiar with bus travel, we are also raise funds to be used towards training these wonderful canines. In fact we recently made a donation of £23,000 to cement our commitment to this very worthy cause. 

“We want as many people to travel with us as possible, and Catch the Bus Month gives us an excellent opportunity to encourage more people to try sustainable transport. With just one fully-loaded double decker having the potential to take up to 75 cars off our roads, we hope we can help ease congestion across Southampton during September and beyond.” 

Click here to download the Bluestar app today!

For further details about the national campaign, visit bususers.org