Portsmouth Buses Partnership has achieved an unprecedented milestone at the UK Bus Awards 2025, retaining the coveted Gold Award for Partnership for Excellence for the second consecutive year. This remarkable achievement underscores Portsmouth’s position as a national leader in public transport collaboration and delivery.
The Portsmouth Buses Partnership brings together Portsmouth City Council and local bus operators Solent from First Bus, and Stagecoach South, to deliver a better, greener, and more reliable bus network for the city. This collaborative approach ensures improvements are planned and delivered as one team, setting Portsmouth apart from other regions.
Central to this success is the Portsmouth Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP), a government backed programme providing £52 million of investment to transform bus services. The BSIP has funded initiatives such as bus priority measures to cut journey times, improved passenger information, accessibility improvements across the network, as well as simpler ticketing and more.
These efforts are paying off: bus ridership has grown by 22.3% in the past year, with over 1 million journeys every month, making buses a first choice for sustainable travel in Portsmouth.
Looking ahead, the Partnership is focused on delivering even more improvements for passengers. Plans include introducing more bus priority measures to reduce journey times, further enhancing real time travel information to make services even more reliable. Work will also continue improving accessibility and ticketing options to make bus travel the easiest and most sustainable choice for everyone in Portsmouth.
Cllr Peter Candlish, Cabinet Member for Transport, said:
“Winning this award for the second year running shows how Portsmouth is leading the way in public transport innovation. With bus ridership up by over 22% in the past year and £52 million invested, we’re making a real difference for everyone who travels in our city. This partnership sets a new standard for collaboration, and we’re committed to delivering even more improvements in the year ahead.”
Simon Goff, Managing Director of First Bus South (operator of Solent from First Bus):
“We’re over the moon that the Portsmouth Buses Partnership has won for the second year running at the UK Bus Awards. Taking Gold in the Partnership for Excellence Award is a clear recognition of what can be achieved when operators and the local authority work together. From rolling out cleaner, greener electric buses to expanding services and improving reliability, our work through Portsmouth City Council’s Bus Service Improvement Plan is delivering real, tangible benefits for people in Portsmouth.
“It’s the result of years of dedication and collaboration from our First Bus colleagues and the council and most importantly, it’s a win for passengers. We remain committed to doing more through the Enhanced Partnership model, making bus travel accessible and sustainable, and helping create a greener and more connected city.”
Marc Reddy, Managing Director at Stagecoach South, said:
“We are delighted to receive national recognition for the work happening in Portsmouth. This award reflects the dedication and collaboration of all our partners, who have worked tirelessly to improve services, and the overall passenger experience. Most importantly, it highlights the growing confidence of local people who are choosing to travel by bus, helping to create a cleaner, more connected, and more sustainable city for everyone. This achievement shows what is possible when organisations and communities come together with a shared commitment to better public transport.”
| More information about the Portsmouth Bus Service Improvement Plan
The Portsmouth Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) is Portsmouth’s visionary delivery scheme aligned with the government’s National Bus Strategy and aims to dramatically improve bus services in Portsmouth and to encourage passengers back to the bus. This programme is managed by an enhanced partnership between local bus companies Stagecoach South, Solent from First Bus and Portsmouth City Council. With a £52 million grant from the Department for Transport (DfT) the Portsmouth BSIP aims to increase bus usage in Portsmouth by engaging with the local community and transforming the bus network in the city so that it is faster, more reliable, and more affordable. The Portsmouth BSIP has already funded early morning travel, and later night services, tap on tap off technology, fare free weekends to encourage residents to try the bus, Christmas Day bus services and much more, with even more exciting developments planned for 2025. According to the latest Department for Transport (DfT) figures, Portsmouth has seen a 20% rise in bus passengers over the past year and is recognised as the top city for bringing people back to bus travel, with over 12 million bus journeys taken every year. More information can be found on the Travel Portsmouth website: https://travel.portsmouth.gov.uk/bsip/ |