TravelWise and try going by bus
Try going by bus for TravelWise Week
This week, we are taking part in TravelWise Week, a week-long campaign promoting active and sustainable travel across Hampshire.
We are going to tell you about the various travel options you can take when working, studying, and playing in Hampshire. If you can swap your car for a different mode of transport one or more days this week, that would be great, and it would be brilliant if you could also tweet a picture. So, join in, leave your car at home, and discover alternative ways to travel. #BeHantsTravelWise
Today we are going to look at bus services across Hampshire.
Local bus services
Have you thought about switching to the bus for all or some of your journeys? They’re faster with dedicated bus lanes, more convenient by going right into our cities and town centres, and great value – all our local bus companies offer daily, weekly or longer-term tickets.
Hampshire is serviced well by Stagecoach running local bus services across Hampshire, Surrey and Sussex; First Bus which is the major provider in Southampton, Portsmouth, Fareham, Waterlooville and Gosport; and Bluestar which operates across south Hampshire, to and from Winchester, Eastleigh, Southampton, Hedge End, Totton, Romsey and Fawley.
All these operators have their own bus apps which allow you to plan your journeys, buy tickets, track your bus, and much more! If you are new to the area, and are not sure which bus service you need, you can use any of their journey planners, which will give you the bus information for the whole of Hampshire, and surrounding counties.
You can also use the Hants RTI app which gives real time information for over 10,000 bus stops in Hampshire. Available from Android and iPhone app stores.
Eclipse – Hampshire’s Priority Bus Network
This bus service links key towns and destinations in southeast Hampshire – including a dedicated off-road busway between Redlands Lane in Fareham and Rowner Road in Gosport, with new bus stops at Oakdene and Leisure Centre. More information about tickets and routes can be found here. This service is getting 20 brand new buses featuring free W-Fi, USB charging points, next stop announcements along with the latest Euro VI standard engines for cleaner air.
Find out more about it here, with this great video comparing taking the bus versus driving the same route.
Solent Go travelcard 
The Solent Go travelcard is a range of tickets you can use across all the region’s bus operators and on some key ferry routes. There are several City Zone versions of the travelcard, offering convenient bus travel in and around Southampton, Portsmouth or region-wide at lower cost. Hop-on and hop-off buses as you please. All you need to do is sign up online and your travelcard will be posted to you. You top up online and just tap when boarding buses making it easy and convenient.
Park and Stride
Both Winchester and Portsmouth offer Park & Ride services, so if you have to use your car to get to these locations, try out the convenience of Park & Ride. Winchester has 5 Park & Rides, with over 2000 spaces. The buses operate Monday to Saturday, and at peak times, every 10 minutes.
The Portsmouth Park & Ride is just off the M275, and operates Monday – Sunday except at Christmas, running every 10 – 15 minutes depending on the day.
Remember it would be brilliant if you could tweet your pictures switching the car for alternative modes of travel. #BeHantsTravelWise #TravelWiseWeek