People across east Southampton will benefit from new bus routes, more frequent services and improved connections to key destinations when a package of bus service changes comes into effect from Sunday 30 August.

Delivered in partnership with Bluestar and Hampshire County Council, the changes have been designed to respond to feedback from local people and improve access to jobs, education, healthcare, shopping and leisure opportunities across the city and beyond. The improvements include a brand-new Bluestar 6 service, an extended Bluestar 16 route, a new Bluestar 26 service linking Southampton and Whiteley, and timetable improvements to a number of existing routes.

The changes will provide more frequent buses in areas including Peartree, Townhill Park and Bitterne, create new direct links to Southampton General Hospital, strengthen cross-city connections and improve journeys to and from the city centre. Residents currently using the Bitterne Hoppa services, which are due to be withdrawn at the same time, will continue to have access to public transport through a combination of new and updated routes.

The service changes in full are:

• A new Bluestar 6 service connecting Townhill Park with Bitterne and the City Centre via Peartree and Woolston. Peartree Avenue will now have a bus every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday daytime and hourly Sunday daytime.
• Bluestar 16 will be extended to include Northam, the City Centre, Southampton Central Station, Hill Lane, St James’ Road and the General Hospital and will terminate at Aldermoor shops. This will provide a bus every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday daytime, hourly on Sunday, linking Bitterne with the General Hospital and providing a regular bus service through St James Road in upper Shirley, enabling another cross-city link.
• Bluestar 7 will now terminate every day of the week at the Aldermoor Road bus turning circle, no longer extending to Lordshill Centre and will also see an improved timetable.
• A new Nightstar N9 service will be introduced on Friday and Saturday nights as two journeys from the City Centre to Totton and the Waterside.
• Bluestar 10 will no longer serve Peartree Avenue and will run direct from Bitterne to the City Centre via Northam, providing a quicker and straighter route from Sholing. The frequency will remain hourly daytime. Peartree Avenue will be served by the new Bluestar 6.
• Bluestar 13, 14, 19/19a will all have revised timetables.
• Bluestar 21 will now run via Milton Road, Wilton Avenue and Bedford Place providing a Monday to Friday service through the Polygon. This is instead of via Central Station which will be covered by the updated Bluestar 16.
• A new Bluestar 26 service, funded by Hampshire County Council, will run hourly on Monday to Saturday and two hourly on Sunday between Whiteley shops, North Whiteley, Botley, Hedge End Village Centre, Bitterne and the City Centre. Combined with the Bluestar 3, this will provide a bus every 30 minutes daytime along Bitterne Road East to the City Centre. Bluestar 3 will no longer serve Turnpike Way in Hedge End, serving Charles Watts Way instead. In addition, the Bluestar 26 will not serve the Hedge End Sainsburys/M&S superstores.
• From the same date the Bitterne Hoppa daytime shopping services will no longer operate. Residents in the Midanbury, Sholing and Thornhill areas will be able to use alternative bus services including the new Bluestar 6 and updated Bluestar 10 and 16.

Councillor Jacqui Rayment, Cabinet Member for Transport, said: “We know that reliable, frequent and easy-to-use bus services make a real difference to people’s everyday lives. These improvements will help more residents get to work, education, healthcare appointments, shops and leisure facilities with cleaner and greener journeys.

“The changes have been shaped by feedback from local communities and will provide better links across east Southampton, including new connections between Townhill Park, Bitterne, Woolston, the city centre and Southampton General Hospital.

“Southampton has the fourth best used bus network outside of London and, working closely with Bluestar and Hampshire County Council, we are continuing to invest to give people more travel choices, support cleaner air and help meet our goals of a greener, healthier and growing Southampton.”

New timetables and route maps will be available ahead of the changes taking effect from 30 August.