Buses in Portsmouth
Encyclopedia
Buses in Portsmouth are a form of public transport in the city of Portsmouth
, England
. Motor bus services in Portsmouth began in 1919, and were expanded in the 1930s following the closure of the Portsmouth Corporation Transport
tram network. Trolleybuses
were also operated between 1934 and 1963. Until 1988 the majority of services were provided by Portsmouth Corporation Transport
, a municipal bus company owned by Portsmouth City Council. Other services into the city were operated by Southdown Motor Services
, latterly as a subsidiary of the National Bus Company.
Prior to bus deregulation
and the privatisation of National Bus Company in 1986, the Gosport & Fareham Omnibus Company was merged with the western part of Hants & Dorset to form People's Provincial, which was sold to its employees in 1987 and moved into Portsmouth in the early 1990s. Southdown was sold to its management at privatisation. The municipal operation was sold to a consortium consisting of its employees and Southampton Citybus
in 1988, and was rebranded as Portsmouth Citybus. In 1989 both Southdown and Portsmouth Citybus were sold to the Stagecoach Group
, but the group was forced to diverge the latter, which passed to Transit Holdings in 1991. The expanding First Group acquired Provincial in 1995 and the former Portsmouth Citybus operation, by now trading as Red Admiral and Blue Admiral, in 1996. The group's later acquisition of Southampton Citybus and Southern National
saw the companies combined to form First Hampshire & Dorset
, which provides the majority of services in the city today. Stagecoach in the South Downs, the name under which Southdown now trades, operates longer-distance services. National Express Coaches, Stagecoach-owned Megabus
and First's Greyhound UK
coach operation also serve Portsmouth.
(PCT).
Early attempts to introduce motorised buses to the city, including in 1906 by the Isle of Wight Motor Bus Company, proved unsuccessful. In 1906 and again in 1911, the council turned down proposals to supplement the tram network with buses. However, in 1919 ten vehicles were introduced on a single route, beginning an operation that would last for almost 70 years.
, was extended to Drayton in 1925 in competition with a route provided by Southdown Motor Services
, which retaliated by running more journeys into Portsmouth. A change in legislation in 1927 saw the routes return to their original form. The corporation's livery, previously scarlet and ochre, was changed to red and white in 1931 in response to Portsmouth gaining city status four years earlier.
The tram system began to decline in the 1930s. Trolleybus services
replaced trams on one route in 1934, and by November 1936, all tram services in Portsmouth had been withdrawn. Bus and trolleybus services were reduced during World War II
, when the city's dockyards were a target for bombing and its population depleted by evacuation and military service. In 1946 an agreement was reached between PCT and Southdown to operate jointly on some routes. Leigh Park
, which expanded rapidly after the war, was served for the first time in 1949; although this was intended to be a short-term measure prior to the introduction of trolleybus services, the route was never served by trolleybuses.
A number of new vehicles were added to the bus fleet in the late 1940s and 1950s, and in 1958 one-person operation was introduced. Trolleybus operation in Portsmouth ended in July 1963. From 1963 until the late 1970s PCT standardised on the double-deck Leyland Atlantean
for new purchases, retaining much older vehicles for open-top services. In 1971 the company took the unusual step of purchasing twelve Atlanteans with single-deck bodywork.
Passenger numbers declined in the following decades, and services were reduced. PCT began private hire operation in 1980, and purchased its first coach in 1986. In October 1986, to coincide with bus deregulation
and the privatisation of National Bus Company (NBC), Portsmouth Corporation Transport was reformed as Portsmouth City Transport, a limited company wholly owned by the city council.
and the rapidly expanding Badgerline group. Badgerline sold its share in the venture to Southampton Citybus after less than a year.
In June 1988, Portsmouth City Transport was privatised. It was sold to a joint venture consisting of its employees and Southampton Citybus. The company was rebranded as Portsmouth Citybus and Red Admiral became a subsidiary of the company, operating largely with minibus
es. While the main operation continued to use a variant of the red and ivory livery introduced in 1986, Red Admiral vehicles were painted into a red and black colour scheme. However, Citybus still faced strong competition from Southdown and People's Provincial, two former NBC subsidiaries which were now independent, and its finances were never entirely secure during its year of operation in this form.
In October 1989, the Stagecoach Group
bought Portsmouth Citybus. The group already owned Southdown, which it had bought earlier in the same year, and merged the Portsmouth-area operations of that company with its new acquisition to form Southdown Portsmouth, operating from the former council depot in Eastney. Southdown's depot in Hilsea
was closed and its operrations transferred to Eastney. As part of the purchase, Stagecoach agreed that two routes operated by its Hampshire Bus subsidiary in Southampton would be given up to Southampton Citybus. Vehicles began to be repainted into Stagecoach's corporate livery of white with red, blue and orange stripes.
An inquiry by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission (MMC) into Stagecoach's acquisition of Portsmouth Citybus concluded in July 1990 that the takeover was against the public interest but had not caused any adverse effects, and that Stagecoach should not be made to sell the operation. Both Portsmouth City Council and Hampshire County Council
, together with a number of bus user groups in the area and the employees' trade unions, had supported the takeover, as it was felt that Citybus could not have continued to trade in the long term. However, the decision by the MMC was overruled by Nicholas Ridley
, then the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
and credited as the architect of bus deregulation.
. The company's lease on the depot in Eastney expired in May, so the former Southdown depot at Hilsea West was reopened and used by Transit Holdings. Stagecoach retained a small number of services into the city which had been operated by Southdown prior to 1989, but others, including the route to Fareham
, transferred to the new operation.
Under Transit Holdings ownership, bus operation in Portsmouth was completely remodelled. The Red Admiral name was revived as a trading name for services running to areas outside the city boundary, while Blue Admiral was introduced for routes entirely within the city. The entire fleet was replaced with minibuses, initially Ford Transit
s and later Iveco Daily
vehicles for Blue Admiral and Mercedes-Benz 811D
vehicles for Red Admiral services. Service frequencies rose to retain capacity, and Transit Holdings claimed that ridership had risen dramatically. However, some groups criticised the use of minibuses as having poor accessibility and giving uncomfortable ride quality.
Transit Holdings began to contract in the mid 1990s, and in April 1996 the Portsmouth operation was sold to FirstGroup. A month later it was merged with People's Provincial, which First also owned, and a new livery of red and cream was introduced to the enlarged company. Larger vehicles were restored to replace minibuses on most routes. In 2003 Provincial was further merged with Southampton Citybus and the eastern part of Southern National
, both earlier acquired by First, to form First Hampshire & Dorset
, officially based at the former Southampton Citybus depot in Portswood
.
In December 2006 First Hampshire & Dorset was fined by the Traffic Commissioner for poor punctuality on its services in Portsmouth. The company stated that it had rerouted some services through the city to improve their performance. The provision of evening services in the city has been criticised by some local groups. In May 2011, some contracted journeys were cut after the city council was forced to implement spending cuts.
One route entirely within the city is provided by Stagecoach in the South Downs. Branded as Hoverbus, it is operated in conjunction with Hovertravel
and connects the Southsea Hoverport
with Portsmouth Harbour and the railway station at . This was previously run by Tellings-Golden Miller
as their only bus service in the city, however on the loss of their National Express
contracts to Lucketts Travel
their Portsmouth depot was closed in January 2009 and the bus and operation of the route transferred to Stagecoach. An inter-site bus service is operated by the University of Portsmouth
to transport staff and students between different parts of the university.
. In 1924 the routes were split at Fareham
, with only Southdown continuing to serve Portsmouth. Two smaller operators in the area, Yellow Motor Service and Enterprise, were taken over by Hants & Dorset in 1924, returning their vehicles to Portsmouth.
Some Southdown routes did not initially reach Portsmouth city centre, but stopped short in nearby suburbs, an early example being a route between Cosham and Drayton. In 1925, PCT extended one of its routes to cover this section. In response, Southdown extended its route to serve Portsmouth city centre. The routes reverted to their original form in 1927. During the 1930s, Southdown maintained a bus station in Portsmouth. In 1946 the company arranged an agreement with PCT to enable joint running on routes in Portsmouth.
Both Southdown and Hants & Dorset became part of the newly-formed National Bus Company in 1968. A new route along the coast from Portsmouth to Brighton
was introduced by Southdown in 1975.
In 1983 Hants & Dorset was split to form four new companies. The eastern end of its former operating area, which included its few services into Portsmouth, were merged with the former Gosport & Fareham Omnibus Company to form the Provincial Bus Co. When NBC was privatised in the mid-1980s, Provincial was the only company to be sold under an Employee Share Ownership Plan, becoming independent in May 1987. Southdown was sold to its management in October 1987, and both companies quickly made changes.
Provincial, meanwhile, rebranded itself as People's Provincial, using a dark green and cream livery. It substantially expanded its operations in Portsmouth after Transit Holdings acquired Portsmouth Citybus, believing that its use of minibuses had left a gap in demand for services using larger vehicles. Former NBC vehicles such as the double-deck Bristol VR
and single-deck Leyland National
were used on most routes. The company was taken over by FirstGroup in October 1995. First acquired Portsmouth Citybus from Transit in April 1996 and merged the two under the Provincial name, giving the company complete dominance over routes within Portsmouth. Like PCT, it is now part of First Hampshire & Dorset.
Coastline Buses continued to be used as a trading name by Stagecoach until 2003, when its depot in Eastbourne
was closed and the surviving operations rebranded to Stagecoach in the South Downs. The name Stagecoach in Portsmouth was adopted for its services around the city.
Stagecoach introduced 21 new buses to route 700, the Brighton-Portsmouth service introduced in 1975, after its passenger numbers doubled in five years up to 2010. The route is branded as "Coastliner
", and has its own website.
Countryliner, an independent operator, also serves Portsmouth. One journey per week in each direction is operated on its route X92, a Saturday-only service originating in Midhurst
which is operated under contract to West Sussex County Council
. The route will be withdrawn in October 2011 following cuts to council funding.
, a division of the Stagecoach Group, in February 2004. Further competition on the corridor appeared in September 2009, when Portsmouth and Southampton
became the first destinations to be served by Greyhound UK
, owned by FirstGroup.
Solent Blue Line
operated a service linking Portsmouth to Southampton for four years from 2005. Prior to Blue Line's involvement, the route had been funded by both cities' council, but this did not continue. Latterly branded as the Solent Shuttle, the route was reduced in frequency in 2007 and finally withdrawn as loss-making in February 2009.
A park and ride site at Tipner
was proposed in 2007 as part of Portsmouth F.C.
's proposal to construct a new stadium. The site had previously been earmarked by the city council for a 2000-space car park with a bus link to the city. The stadium project was later postponed.
is the main bus station in Portsmouth. Portsmouth City Council stated its intention to improve the site in August 2008. The city has several bus lanes, and two routes are the subject of quality bus partnership schemes between operators, the city council and Hampshire County Council. First Hampshire & Dorset's route 41, which runs between Clanfield
and Portsmouth and is marketed as Zip, is the subject of a quality bus partnership between First and three councils which utilises several features including bus priority measures.
In 2004 the city became one of the first in the world to introduce real-time information to all of its bus stops and buses. The system was designed and developed by the city council and USA-based firm MeshNetworks.
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Motor bus services in Portsmouth began in 1919, and were expanded in the 1930s following the closure of the Portsmouth Corporation Transport
Portsmouth Corporation Transport
Portsmouth Corporation Transport was a tram, trolleybus and bus operator formed in 1898 and owned by Portsmouth Corporation. Tram services ended in 1936, while bus operations continued until the company was privatised in 1988.-History:...
tram network. Trolleybuses
Trolleybuses in Portsmouth
The Portsmouth trolleybus system once served the city of Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. Opened on , it gradually replaced the Portsmouth tramway network; the last trams ran on 10 November 1936....
were also operated between 1934 and 1963. Until 1988 the majority of services were provided by Portsmouth Corporation Transport
Portsmouth Corporation Transport
Portsmouth Corporation Transport was a tram, trolleybus and bus operator formed in 1898 and owned by Portsmouth Corporation. Tram services ended in 1936, while bus operations continued until the company was privatised in 1988.-History:...
, a municipal bus company owned by Portsmouth City Council. Other services into the city were operated by Southdown Motor Services
Southdown Motor Services
Southdown Motor Services Ltd operates bus and coach services in East and West Sussex and parts of Hampshire, in southern England. It was formed in 1915 and had various owners throughout its history, being purchased by the National Bus Company in 1969...
, latterly as a subsidiary of the National Bus Company.
Prior to bus deregulation
Bus deregulation
Bus deregulation in Great Britain came into force on 26 October 1986, as part of the Transport Act 1985.The 'Buses' White Paper was the basis of the Transport Act 1985, which provided for the deregulation of local bus services in the whole of the United Kingdom except for Northern Ireland and...
and the privatisation of National Bus Company in 1986, the Gosport & Fareham Omnibus Company was merged with the western part of Hants & Dorset to form People's Provincial, which was sold to its employees in 1987 and moved into Portsmouth in the early 1990s. Southdown was sold to its management at privatisation. The municipal operation was sold to a consortium consisting of its employees and Southampton Citybus
Southampton Citybus
Southampton Citybus was a bus operator which operated local services throughout the city of Southampton, United Kingdom. It was formed in 1898 as Southampton Corporation Transport...
in 1988, and was rebranded as Portsmouth Citybus. In 1989 both Southdown and Portsmouth Citybus were sold to the Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Sir Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...
, but the group was forced to diverge the latter, which passed to Transit Holdings in 1991. The expanding First Group acquired Provincial in 1995 and the former Portsmouth Citybus operation, by now trading as Red Admiral and Blue Admiral, in 1996. The group's later acquisition of Southampton Citybus and Southern National
Southern National
Southern National was a bus company operating in South West England from 1929 to 1969, and again from 1983 to 1999.-Original company :...
saw the companies combined to form First Hampshire & Dorset
First Hampshire & Dorset
First Hampshire & Dorset is a subsidiary bus company within FirstGroup, which operates buses and trains throughout Great Britain.First Hampshire & Dorset has its head office in Empress Road, Southampton and operates bus services in the Weymouth and Bridport areas in Dorset; and services in...
, which provides the majority of services in the city today. Stagecoach in the South Downs, the name under which Southdown now trades, operates longer-distance services. National Express Coaches, Stagecoach-owned Megabus
Megabus (United Kingdom)
Megabus is a UK coach service operated by Stagecoach Group. It started in 2003 and as of February 2010 operated 19 UK coach routes serving 41 destinations in England, Scotland and Wales. Some services link with Megatrain services which are also operated by Stagecoach...
and First's Greyhound UK
Greyhound UK
Greyhound UK is a low-cost intercity scheduled coach service in the United Kingdom, owned by FirstGroup and based on the long-established Greyhound service in the USA....
coach operation also serve Portsmouth.
Beginnings (pre-1919)
The first horse-drawn bus service in Portsmouth began in 1840, and by the late 1850s such services had expanded to cover several different route. Horse-drawn trams were introduced in 1865, and progressively expanded over the following three decades. In 1904, the last horse bus service was withdrawn. The tram system was converted to electric operation in 1901, by which time it had come under the control of Portsmouth Town Council and was operated as Portsmouth Corporation TransportPortsmouth Corporation Transport
Portsmouth Corporation Transport was a tram, trolleybus and bus operator formed in 1898 and owned by Portsmouth Corporation. Tram services ended in 1936, while bus operations continued until the company was privatised in 1988.-History:...
(PCT).
Early attempts to introduce motorised buses to the city, including in 1906 by the Isle of Wight Motor Bus Company, proved unsuccessful. In 1906 and again in 1911, the council turned down proposals to supplement the tram network with buses. However, in 1919 ten vehicles were introduced on a single route, beginning an operation that would last for almost 70 years.
Council operations (1919-1986)
PCT soon faced competition from two private operators, Portsmouth & District Motor Services Ltd and the Southsea Tourist Company, who ran bus services over routes covered by the tram network. Twelve vehicles were added to the fleet in 1924 and two new routes introduced. One of the new routes, which originally terminated at CoshamCosham
Cosham is a northern suburb of Portsmouth lying within the city boundary but off Portsea Island. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 along with Drayton and Wymering and Bocheland , Frodington and Copenore on the island.The name is of Saxon origin and means "Cossa's homestead"...
, was extended to Drayton in 1925 in competition with a route provided by Southdown Motor Services
Southdown Motor Services
Southdown Motor Services Ltd operates bus and coach services in East and West Sussex and parts of Hampshire, in southern England. It was formed in 1915 and had various owners throughout its history, being purchased by the National Bus Company in 1969...
, which retaliated by running more journeys into Portsmouth. A change in legislation in 1927 saw the routes return to their original form. The corporation's livery, previously scarlet and ochre, was changed to red and white in 1931 in response to Portsmouth gaining city status four years earlier.
The tram system began to decline in the 1930s. Trolleybus services
Trolleybuses in Portsmouth
The Portsmouth trolleybus system once served the city of Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. Opened on , it gradually replaced the Portsmouth tramway network; the last trams ran on 10 November 1936....
replaced trams on one route in 1934, and by November 1936, all tram services in Portsmouth had been withdrawn. Bus and trolleybus services were reduced during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, when the city's dockyards were a target for bombing and its population depleted by evacuation and military service. In 1946 an agreement was reached between PCT and Southdown to operate jointly on some routes. Leigh Park
Leigh Park
Leigh Park is a large suburb of Havant, in Hampshire, England. It has four electoral wards: Battins, Bondfields, Barncroft and Warren Park ....
, which expanded rapidly after the war, was served for the first time in 1949; although this was intended to be a short-term measure prior to the introduction of trolleybus services, the route was never served by trolleybuses.
A number of new vehicles were added to the bus fleet in the late 1940s and 1950s, and in 1958 one-person operation was introduced. Trolleybus operation in Portsmouth ended in July 1963. From 1963 until the late 1970s PCT standardised on the double-deck Leyland Atlantean
Leyland Atlantean
The Leyland Atlantean is a model of double-decker bus built by Leyland in the United Kingdom from 1958 to 1986....
for new purchases, retaining much older vehicles for open-top services. In 1971 the company took the unusual step of purchasing twelve Atlanteans with single-deck bodywork.
Passenger numbers declined in the following decades, and services were reduced. PCT began private hire operation in 1980, and purchased its first coach in 1986. In October 1986, to coincide with bus deregulation
Bus deregulation
Bus deregulation in Great Britain came into force on 26 October 1986, as part of the Transport Act 1985.The 'Buses' White Paper was the basis of the Transport Act 1985, which provided for the deregulation of local bus services in the whole of the United Kingdom except for Northern Ireland and...
and the privatisation of National Bus Company (NBC), Portsmouth Corporation Transport was reformed as Portsmouth City Transport, a limited company wholly owned by the city council.
Dergulation and changes of operator (1986-1991)
In 1987, a new operator began competing with Portsmouth City Transport. Trading as Red Admiral, it was jointly owned by newly-privatised Southampton CitybusSouthampton Citybus
Southampton Citybus was a bus operator which operated local services throughout the city of Southampton, United Kingdom. It was formed in 1898 as Southampton Corporation Transport...
and the rapidly expanding Badgerline group. Badgerline sold its share in the venture to Southampton Citybus after less than a year.
In June 1988, Portsmouth City Transport was privatised. It was sold to a joint venture consisting of its employees and Southampton Citybus. The company was rebranded as Portsmouth Citybus and Red Admiral became a subsidiary of the company, operating largely with minibus
Minibus
A minibus or minicoach is a passenger carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, the word "minibus" is used to describe any full-sized passenger carrying van. Minibuses have a...
es. While the main operation continued to use a variant of the red and ivory livery introduced in 1986, Red Admiral vehicles were painted into a red and black colour scheme. However, Citybus still faced strong competition from Southdown and People's Provincial, two former NBC subsidiaries which were now independent, and its finances were never entirely secure during its year of operation in this form.
In October 1989, the Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Sir Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...
bought Portsmouth Citybus. The group already owned Southdown, which it had bought earlier in the same year, and merged the Portsmouth-area operations of that company with its new acquisition to form Southdown Portsmouth, operating from the former council depot in Eastney. Southdown's depot in Hilsea
Hilsea
Hilsea is a district of the city of Portsmouth in the English county of Hampshire. Hilsea is home to one of Portsmouth's main sports and leisure facilities - the Mountbatten centre. The City of Portsmouth Boys' School is also in Hilsea...
was closed and its operrations transferred to Eastney. As part of the purchase, Stagecoach agreed that two routes operated by its Hampshire Bus subsidiary in Southampton would be given up to Southampton Citybus. Vehicles began to be repainted into Stagecoach's corporate livery of white with red, blue and orange stripes.
An inquiry by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission (MMC) into Stagecoach's acquisition of Portsmouth Citybus concluded in July 1990 that the takeover was against the public interest but had not caused any adverse effects, and that Stagecoach should not be made to sell the operation. Both Portsmouth City Council and Hampshire County Council
Hampshire County Council
Hampshire County Council is the county council that governs the majority of the county of Hampshire in England. It provides the upper tier of local government, below which are district councils, and town and parish councils...
, together with a number of bus user groups in the area and the employees' trade unions, had supported the takeover, as it was felt that Citybus could not have continued to trade in the long term. However, the decision by the MMC was overruled by Nicholas Ridley
Nicholas Ridley
Nicholas Ridley may refer to:* Henry Nicholas Ridley , English botanist* Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale , British politician* Nicholas Ridley , English clergyman...
, then the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills is a cabinet position in the United Kingdom government. Its secondary title is the President of the Board of Trade...
and credited as the architect of bus deregulation.
Transit Holdings and FirstGroup (1991-present)
On 20 January 1991, Stagecoach's operations in Portsmouth were sold to Transit Holdings, a group formed from the privatisation of Devon GeneralDevon General
Devon General was the brand name for the principal bus operator in south Devon from 1919. The name was first used by the Devon General Omnibus and Touring Company which was created in 1919. In 1922 it was purchased by the National Electric Construction Company which merged with British Electric...
. The company's lease on the depot in Eastney expired in May, so the former Southdown depot at Hilsea West was reopened and used by Transit Holdings. Stagecoach retained a small number of services into the city which had been operated by Southdown prior to 1989, but others, including the route to Fareham
Fareham
The market town of Fareham lies in the south east of Hampshire, England, between the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth, roughly in the centre of the South Hampshire conurbation.It gives its name to the borough comprising the town and the surrounding area...
, transferred to the new operation.
Under Transit Holdings ownership, bus operation in Portsmouth was completely remodelled. The Red Admiral name was revived as a trading name for services running to areas outside the city boundary, while Blue Admiral was introduced for routes entirely within the city. The entire fleet was replaced with minibuses, initially Ford Transit
Ford Transit
The Ford Transit is a range of panel vans, minibuses, and pickup trucks, produced by the Ford Motor Company in Europe.The Transit has been the best-selling light commercial vehicle in Europe for 40 years, and in some countries the term "Transit" has passed into common usage as a generic term...
s and later Iveco Daily
Iveco Daily
The Iveco Daily is a large van produced by Iveco from 1978; it was sold also as Fiat Daily until 1983. It is also available as a minibus.-First generation :...
vehicles for Blue Admiral and Mercedes-Benz 811D
Mercedes-Benz T2
The Mercedes-Benz T2 is a transporter built by Daimler-Benz. The T2 is also known as the "Düsseldorf transporter", since it was built until 1996 in Düsseldorf. The third series, built from 1996 at Ludwigsfelde, is branded the Vario. Some units of the T2 are assembled by Daimler-Benz Espana S.A. in...
vehicles for Red Admiral services. Service frequencies rose to retain capacity, and Transit Holdings claimed that ridership had risen dramatically. However, some groups criticised the use of minibuses as having poor accessibility and giving uncomfortable ride quality.
Transit Holdings began to contract in the mid 1990s, and in April 1996 the Portsmouth operation was sold to FirstGroup. A month later it was merged with People's Provincial, which First also owned, and a new livery of red and cream was introduced to the enlarged company. Larger vehicles were restored to replace minibuses on most routes. In 2003 Provincial was further merged with Southampton Citybus and the eastern part of Southern National
Southern National
Southern National was a bus company operating in South West England from 1929 to 1969, and again from 1983 to 1999.-Original company :...
, both earlier acquired by First, to form First Hampshire & Dorset
First Hampshire & Dorset
First Hampshire & Dorset is a subsidiary bus company within FirstGroup, which operates buses and trains throughout Great Britain.First Hampshire & Dorset has its head office in Empress Road, Southampton and operates bus services in the Weymouth and Bridport areas in Dorset; and services in...
, officially based at the former Southampton Citybus depot in Portswood
Portswood
Portswood is a suburb and Electoral Ward of Southampton, England. The suburb lies to the north-east of the city centre and is bounded by Freemantle, Highfield, Swaythling, St. Denys and Bevois Valley....
.
In December 2006 First Hampshire & Dorset was fined by the Traffic Commissioner for poor punctuality on its services in Portsmouth. The company stated that it had rerouted some services through the city to improve their performance. The provision of evening services in the city has been criticised by some local groups. In May 2011, some contracted journeys were cut after the city council was forced to implement spending cuts.
One route entirely within the city is provided by Stagecoach in the South Downs. Branded as Hoverbus, it is operated in conjunction with Hovertravel
Hovertravel
Hovertravel is a ferry company operating from Southsea, Portsmouth to Ryde, Isle of Wight, UK. They are the only company operating in Britain with passenger hovercraft, after Hoverspeed stopped using their craft in favour of catamarans...
and connects the Southsea Hoverport
Southsea Hoverport
Southsea Hoverport is adjacent to Clarence Pier in the Southsea area of Portsmouth in southern England. From here frequent hovercraft services leave for Ryde on the Isle of Wight. The journey time is quicker than the conventional boats that sail from Gunwharf Quay, elsewhere in Portsmouth, but the...
with Portsmouth Harbour and the railway station at . This was previously run by Tellings-Golden Miller
Tellings-Golden Miller
Tellings-Golden Miller , a subsidiary of Arriva, is a bus service and coach operator in the United Kingdom.-Golden Miller:Reputedly, Fred Varney began the Golden Miller company with the winnings from a bet made on the horse Golden Miller, which won the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand National in...
as their only bus service in the city, however on the loss of their National Express
National Express
National Express Coaches, more commonly known as National Express, is a brand and company, owned by the National Express Group, under which the majority of long distance bus and coach services in Great Britain are operated,...
contracts to Lucketts Travel
Lucketts Travel
Lucketts Travel is a small coach hire and excursion company based in Fareham, Hampshire, employing 70 people with a turnover in 2007 of £4.5m.The main vehicle type is the Scania Irizar coach, in either 49 executive or 53 standard seat configuration...
their Portsmouth depot was closed in January 2009 and the bus and operation of the route transferred to Stagecoach. An inter-site bus service is operated by the University of Portsmouth
University of Portsmouth
The University of Portsmouth is a university in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. The University was ranked 60th out of 122 in The Sunday Times University Guide...
to transport staff and students between different parts of the university.
Early years and nationalisation (1920-1987)
Services originating outside the city were established in the 1920s by Southdown Motor Services and Hants & Dorset. The first was a joint route between Portsmouth and Southampton, introduced in 1922; this was followed a year later by a route linking the city to WinchesterWinchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
. In 1924 the routes were split at Fareham
Fareham
The market town of Fareham lies in the south east of Hampshire, England, between the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth, roughly in the centre of the South Hampshire conurbation.It gives its name to the borough comprising the town and the surrounding area...
, with only Southdown continuing to serve Portsmouth. Two smaller operators in the area, Yellow Motor Service and Enterprise, were taken over by Hants & Dorset in 1924, returning their vehicles to Portsmouth.
Some Southdown routes did not initially reach Portsmouth city centre, but stopped short in nearby suburbs, an early example being a route between Cosham and Drayton. In 1925, PCT extended one of its routes to cover this section. In response, Southdown extended its route to serve Portsmouth city centre. The routes reverted to their original form in 1927. During the 1930s, Southdown maintained a bus station in Portsmouth. In 1946 the company arranged an agreement with PCT to enable joint running on routes in Portsmouth.
Both Southdown and Hants & Dorset became part of the newly-formed National Bus Company in 1968. A new route along the coast from Portsmouth to Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
was introduced by Southdown in 1975.
In 1983 Hants & Dorset was split to form four new companies. The eastern end of its former operating area, which included its few services into Portsmouth, were merged with the former Gosport & Fareham Omnibus Company to form the Provincial Bus Co. When NBC was privatised in the mid-1980s, Provincial was the only company to be sold under an Employee Share Ownership Plan, becoming independent in May 1987. Southdown was sold to its management in October 1987, and both companies quickly made changes.
Deregulation and ownership changes (1987-present)
Following privatisation, Southdown reintroduced its pre-1968 colours of light green and cream. It was taken over by the Stagecoach Group in August 1989. Two months later the same group acquired Portsmouth Citybus and merged the latter with the majority of Southdown's operations in the city to form Southdown Portsmouth. Southdown's depot at Hilsea was closed and operations moved to the former Portsmouth Citybus depot at Eastney. Stagecoach was forced to sell its Portsmouth operations, which passed to Transit Holdings in January 1991, together with the Hilsea site, which was reopened. Southdown retained a small number of services in the city, but its presence was reduced from that prior to 1989. Southdown's legal name was changed to South Coast Buses in April 1992, and its western operations were rebranded to Coastline Buses.Provincial, meanwhile, rebranded itself as People's Provincial, using a dark green and cream livery. It substantially expanded its operations in Portsmouth after Transit Holdings acquired Portsmouth Citybus, believing that its use of minibuses had left a gap in demand for services using larger vehicles. Former NBC vehicles such as the double-deck Bristol VR
Bristol VR
The Bristol VR was Bristol's rear-engined bus chassis, designed as a competitor to the Leyland Atlantean and Daimler Fleetline.-Development:...
and single-deck Leyland National
Leyland National
The Leyland National is a British single-deck bus built in large quantities between 1972 and 1985. It was developed as a joint project between two UK nationalised industries - the National Bus Company and British Leyland. Buses were constructed at a specially built factory at the Lillyhall...
were used on most routes. The company was taken over by FirstGroup in October 1995. First acquired Portsmouth Citybus from Transit in April 1996 and merged the two under the Provincial name, giving the company complete dominance over routes within Portsmouth. Like PCT, it is now part of First Hampshire & Dorset.
Coastline Buses continued to be used as a trading name by Stagecoach until 2003, when its depot in Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
was closed and the surviving operations rebranded to Stagecoach in the South Downs. The name Stagecoach in Portsmouth was adopted for its services around the city.
Stagecoach introduced 21 new buses to route 700, the Brighton-Portsmouth service introduced in 1975, after its passenger numbers doubled in five years up to 2010. The route is branded as "Coastliner
Coastliner 700
Coastliner 700 is a popular bus service operated in West Sussex by Stagecoach in the South Downs between Brighton and Southsea. The route travels via Worthing, Littlehampton, Arundel, Bognor Regis, Chichester, Havant, and Portsmouth; it also has its own livery...
", and has its own website.
Countryliner, an independent operator, also serves Portsmouth. One journey per week in each direction is operated on its route X92, a Saturday-only service originating in Midhurst
Midhurst
Midhurst is a market town and civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England, with a population of 4,889 in 2001. The town is situated on the River Rother and is home to the ruin of the Tudor Cowdray House and the stately Victorian Cowdray Park...
which is operated under contract to West Sussex County Council
West Sussex County Council
West Sussex County Council is the authority that governs the non-metropolitan county of West Sussex. The county also contains 7 district and borough councils, and 159 town, parish and neighbourhood councils. The county council has 71 elected councillors...
. The route will be withdrawn in October 2011 following cuts to council funding.
Coaches
Portsmouth is served by National Express Coaches, which operates a number of routes to the city and currently provides twelve journeys per day between London and Portsmouth, offering journey times of around two hours. A competing service between the two cities was introduced by MegabusMegabus (United Kingdom)
Megabus is a UK coach service operated by Stagecoach Group. It started in 2003 and as of February 2010 operated 19 UK coach routes serving 41 destinations in England, Scotland and Wales. Some services link with Megatrain services which are also operated by Stagecoach...
, a division of the Stagecoach Group, in February 2004. Further competition on the corridor appeared in September 2009, when Portsmouth and Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
became the first destinations to be served by Greyhound UK
Greyhound UK
Greyhound UK is a low-cost intercity scheduled coach service in the United Kingdom, owned by FirstGroup and based on the long-established Greyhound service in the USA....
, owned by FirstGroup.
Solent Blue Line
Solent Blue Line
Solent Blue Line Ltd formerly Musterphantom Ltd is a bus company which operates buses in Hampshire, England under the names Bluestar and Uni-link. The company was taken over along with its parent, Southern Vectis in 2005 by The Go-Ahead Group. From 25 February 2008, all previous Solent Blue Line...
operated a service linking Portsmouth to Southampton for four years from 2005. Prior to Blue Line's involvement, the route had been funded by both cities' council, but this did not continue. Latterly branded as the Solent Shuttle, the route was reduced in frequency in 2007 and finally withdrawn as loss-making in February 2009.
Park and ride
A park and ride bus service is operated in Portsmouth on Saturdays and some bank holidays. It runs from a site in North Harbour to the city centre and Portsmouth Harbour.A park and ride site at Tipner
Tipner
Tipner is a residential district of Portsmouth, located on the north western corner of Portsea Island in southern England. It includes a housing estate, built during the 1930s, that used to function as married quarters for the Royal Navy, a yachting club, allotments, a primary school, Waterside...
was proposed in 2007 as part of Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
's proposal to construct a new stadium. The site had previously been earmarked by the city council for a 2000-space car park with a bus link to the city. The stadium project was later postponed.
Infrastructure
The Hard InterchangeThe Hard Interchange
The Hard Interchange is a transport interchange in Portsmouth, southern England. It is located about a mile south-west from the city centre. It offers bus and coach transport, and the neighbouring Portsmouth Harbour Station provides trains to London, Cardiff and Brighton...
is the main bus station in Portsmouth. Portsmouth City Council stated its intention to improve the site in August 2008. The city has several bus lanes, and two routes are the subject of quality bus partnership schemes between operators, the city council and Hampshire County Council. First Hampshire & Dorset's route 41, which runs between Clanfield
Clanfield
Clanfield may refer to:* Clanfield, Hampshire* Clanfield, Oxfordshire...
and Portsmouth and is marketed as Zip, is the subject of a quality bus partnership between First and three councils which utilises several features including bus priority measures.
In 2004 the city became one of the first in the world to introduce real-time information to all of its bus stops and buses. The system was designed and developed by the city council and USA-based firm MeshNetworks.