Bus operator First Hampshire marks first year of its Star services; carried more than three million passengers in their first year of operation

• Iconic Portsmouth bus fleet carries more than 3 million in first year of service

Portsmouth, England, 2014-10-23 — /Travel PR News/ — Bus operator First Hampshire celebrated the first birthday of its Star services on Monday (20 October) with the news that in their first year of operation, the Star buses have carried more than three million passengers.

The 26 buses in the Star fleet that went into service on routes 7 and 8 on 20 October last year, replaced the ZIP-branded vehicles that had been running on the A3 bus priority corridor from Waterlooville and Clanfield to Cosham, Portsmouth city centre, Gunwharf and Southsea since 2005.

The three million mark was smashed in the year up to September 2014. This represents a 12 per cent rise in passenger numbers over the year.

Three of the iconic buses, HMS Victory, HMS Diamond and HMS Lancaster, all named after Royal Navy ships, took pride of place at the celebrations in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. HMS Victory (the ship) was be celebrating Trafalgar Day the following day (21 October) with the traditional on-board service and flying of the signal “England Expects That Every Man Will Do His Duty”.

Joining the Star celebrations were Cllr Steve Wyllie, the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth representing the city and Cdr Peter Laughton, Commanding Officer of HMS Lancaster; Lt Cdr Alex Meyer, Commanding Officer of HMS Diamond and Lt Cdr Rod Strathern, Commanding Officer of HMS Victory.

Also present were Councillor Seán Woodward, Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Environment at Hampshire County Council and Cllr Ken Ellcome, Portsmouth City Council’s Cabinet Member for Traffic and Transportation.

There was also a ceremonial cutting of a specially designed Star fleet cake to celebrate both the first birthday and the three million passengers who have travelled on the Star fleet.

Marc Reddy, Managing Director of First Hampshire, Dorset & Berkshire, said:  “This is a proud day for First and our partners, Hampshire County Council and Portsmouth City Council as we celebrate a real success story. Our first priority is to continuously improve our services for existing customers and to encourage more people to consider using the bus especially in a bustling city like Portsmouth.

“We are thrilled that the Star services have so far been used by three million people, equivalent to a 12 per cent year on year growth, and we look forward to welcoming even more new customers in the years ahead.”

Cdr Peter Laughton, Commanding Officer of HMS Lancaster said: “I’m delighted to be part of the first birthday celebrations for the First Bus that bears HMS Lancaster’s silhouette. I think it’s a great way of recognising the maritime heritage of Portsmouth, and the continued relevance of the Royal Navy today.”

Councillor Seán Woodward, Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Environment at Hampshire County Council, said: “The Star service along the bus priority route has been a great success since it started last year.  Bus use in Hampshire is close to a 20 year record with 31 million passenger trips a year and, the new Star buses, together with infrastructure improvements, demonstrate how a good public transport route can offer a viable alternative to the car while offering access to areas of education and employment for all.”

Cllr Ken Ellcome, Portsmouth City Council’s Cabinet Member for Traffic and Transportation, said: “It is great to see a first-class service like the Star running in Portsmouth, particularly one that reflects the city’s naval heritage so well. First has worked hard to create an attractive service and had a positive impact in its launch year.

“Buses are the backbone of our public transport system. We’ve made significant infrastructure investment to try to get people using buses in the city and we are dedicated to working with bus operators and partners like Hampshire County Council to continue this work.”

Comments received from Star bus service users include:
“It is a brilliant service, which is a little bit different and because of this, I look on the buses as fashion accessories. It is also a very sociable service and it is always lovely to meet new people on board the buses.”

“I live in Waterlooville and think the Star is a superb way to travel to the city centre both for business and for pleasure. I particularly like the leather seats and free wi-fi, which make the journeys even more comfortable and more convenient for me to keep in touch en route.”

“The Star buses are such an improvement on the previous ones. They are far more spacious and so much nicer and easier to use especially with their next stop announcements.”

For more information about First buses in Hampshire including timetables, go to:http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/hampshire/.  There is also a dedicated website for The Star,www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/star/index.php. First Hampshire is also on Facebook and Twitter at www.facebook.com/firsthampshire or www.twitter.com/firsthampshire.

Ends

Notes to Editors: 
For interviews, images and more information contact: Alison Henderson, PR Manager (South Coast), First, on 023 8071 4832/00730 195427 or email: alison.henderson@firstgroup.com.

Hampshire County Council built the £35m ZIP Bus Priority Corridor was built by Hampshire with a £25.1m Department of Transport contribution, its function being to improve bus operations on the busy A3 into Portsmouth.  With 6.5km of bus & cycle lanes and other measures, such as signals that give buses priority over cars at some junctions and real-time bus arrival information in many stops and online, the aim was to deliver bus services that would help persuade more people that the bus is a viable alternative to car travel.  Portsmouth City Council contributed to the project with a modern bus stop infrastructure and bus lanes that help ensure the reliability of all services coming into the city.

The Star services were created as a result of a ground-breaking collaboration.  With the arrival of the 26 new vehicles last year, partners First, Hampshire County Council and Portsmouth City Council decided to replace the ZIP brand with a new bus brand symbolising Portsmouth’s maritime heritage.

The partners’ marketing teams together with those from Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and the Royal Navy chose the Star as the name for the new services. This is a reference to the North Star or Pole Star, once used by sailors for navigation purposes, and the star emblem that forms part of the Portsmouth city crest

There are 26 buses in the Star fleet. Each of the buses is named after a different ship, comprising Portsmouth’s three historic ships, Mary Rose, HMS Warrior and HMS Victory and 23 of the Royal Navy’s current warships that operate from Portsmouth Naval Base.

They are: HMS Illustrious, HMS Daring, HMS Dauntless, HMS Diamond, HMS Dragon,  HMS Defender, HMS Duncan, HMS Kent, HMS St Albans, HMS Lancaster, HMS Iron Duke, HMS Westminster; HMS Richmond; HMS Tyne; HMS Severn; HMS Mersey; HMS Ledbury; HMS Cattistock; HMS Brocklesby; HMS Chiddingfold; HMS Atherstone; HMS Hurworth; HMS Quorn; the Mary Rose; HMS Victory and HMS Warrior.

The Star’s livery was designed to represent each of the vessels, with a silhouette of the relevant ship and a list of its vital statistics on each bus’s exterior and for the interiors, some popular naval slang explained in light-hearted layman’s terms.

The 11.5 Wright Streetlite Max buses in the fleet was a £4.2 million investment by First which underlined the company’s commitment to providing an efficient and attractive public transport option for people in Portsmouth and Hampshire.

Each of the Star buses can carry up to 41 seated customers plus 28 standing. There is also room for two wheelchairs/four buggies. They all have leather seats, free Wi-Fi, on-screen BBC news updates and next stop announcements.

They provide a combined frequency of ten buses an hour between Waterlooville, Cosham and Portsmouth city centre.  Service 7 operates from Wecock Farm to Southsea via Waterlooville, Crookhorn, Cosham and the city centre.  Service 8 operates from Clanfield to Gunwharf via Cowplain, Waterlooville, Cosham and the city centre.

FirstGroup plc is the leading transport operator in the UK and North America with revenues of more than £6.7 billion a year. We employ approximately 117,000 employees and transport around 2.5 billion passengers a year.

Our vision is to provide solutions for an increasingly congested world… keeping people moving and communities prospering.

UK Bus: FirstGroup is one of Britain’s largest bus operators with around a fifth of bus services outside London. A fleet of some 6,400 buses carries approximately 1.6 million passengers a day in a huge number of communities including 40 of the UK’s largest towns and cities. We operate Greyhound UK providing regular intercity coach services linking South Wales and Bristol Airport, and we also operate some US-style yellow school buses and have a fleet of coaches available for charter. We also operate the Aircoach network in Ireland.

First Hampshire is a major provider of local bus services. It is part of the wider First Hampshire, Dorset and Berkshire business area, There are depots and outstations in Southampton, Portsmouth (Hilsea), Fareham (Hoeford), Weymouth, Bridport, Yeovil, Dorchester, Poole, Bracknell, Reading, Chertsey and Slough. It operates 472 vehicles and also has a fleet of 23 yellow school bus vehicles.  More than 1,200 people work for the business in Hampshire (688 employees), Dorset (185) and Berkshire (292).

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