Portsmouth: Free weekend bus rides in September

People will be able to travel for free on Saturdays and Sundays

Free weekend bus rides will be offered to people travelling in and from a city next month.

Journeys starting in Portsmouth will be free every weekend in September.

It is part of the national £200m Bus Service Improvement Plan which aims to make public transport more sustainable.

Portsmouth City Council has teamed up with two bus companies and it is hoped the move will encourage people to use public transport more regularly.

First Solent and Stagecoach will be offering the free journeys on Saturdays and Sundays.

The scheme will be available on all services when getting on the bus within the Portsmouth boundary. It does not include return journeys from outside of Portsmouth.

The council is also planning to launch a selection of cheaper fares, including offers for students, people travelling later at night and job seekers.

Gerald Vernon-Jackson, cabinet member for traffic and transportation, said he wanted to encourage residents to use public transport as part of their daily routines.

"If more people use the buses there would be less traffic on the roads, better air quality, and local journey times will decrease," he said.

"Not only that, in a cost-of-living crisis, these initiatives are even more important for our residents."