Bus route fares well (From Hampshire Chronicle)

Bus route fares well

10:50am Wednesday 30th September 2009

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BUS operator, Bluestar, could be set for an award for its service between Winchester and Southampton.

The flagship route for the Eastleigh-based operator received a major makeover at the start of 2009.

The firm spent £1.5m on new Scania OmniCity buses. The vehicles have extra legroom, leather headrests, security cameras, low floors, ramp access, and space for wheelchairs and buggies.

The vehicles have already been saluted as the best in Britain run by the Go Ahead Group, which took over Bluestar four years ago.

Now the Winchester to Southampton route is in the running for the marketing campaign of the year at the UK Bus Awards.

It comes after the firm reported a 12 per cent annual rise in passengers on the route, which also serves St Cross, Compton, Otterbourne and Chandler’s Ford.

The company is one of six short-listed for the award, which will be presented at a ceremony in London on Thursday, November 12.

Andrew Wickham, regional operations director for the Go Ahead Group, said: “We are very optimistic but the real winners are actually the people who use the every 20 minute service on a daily basis thanks to the awareness created by our local management and marketing team.”

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