England’s only island city goes electric

Over the last few months an electric and low-emission bus revolution has quietly been transforming the air that the city’s 208,100 residents breathe. Richard Sharman takes a look at the current situation and Portsmouth City Council’s future plans

The south coast of England is well known for being blessed with hot and sunny weather for a good proportion of the year when compared to other areas of the country, but it now has something else to boast about: its public transport system.

Whilst Southampton and Bournemouth have seen further investment in Euro VI vehicles for bus companies’ fleets in recent months, Portsmouth has gone one step further and committed to transforming how the public travels through a large investment in electric buses, with Portsmouth City Council, Hampshire County Council and FirstBus working together to deliver a large fleet of Wrightbus GB Kite Electroliners.

To find out more, CBW spoke to a man who is very qualified to comment on all things bus on the South Coast: Peter Shelley was the co-founder of Solent Blue Line in Southampton in 1987, which today trades as Bluestar as part of Go-South Coast. Peter went on to become Head of Passenger Transport at Hampshire County Council and his current role finds him as the Transport Development Manager of Portsmouth City Council.

Where it all started

“Portsmouth is the UK’s only island city and it is the most densely populated place outside of parts of Central London, with lots of Victorian terraces due to the Royal Navy dockyards, which were the city’s main employer,” Peter explained. “We only have three roads on and off the island, and only one railway line. This means that traffic speeds are quite slow and congestion is quite heavy. Air-quality is an issue.

“We have had a series of air quality directives from the Government due to the poor air quality, so in November 2021 Portsmouth became only the second city in the UK to introduce a chargeable Clean Air Zone (CAZ) that covers taxis, private hire vehicles, coaches, buses and heavy goods vehicles.

“As part of that scheme we got funding that delivered the retrofitting of 105 buses with improved exhaust systems to ensure that the exhaust emissions of all buses serving the CAZ area complied with Euro VI standards. Coach operators could also apply for the funding to upgrade vehicle if they had regular services. Funding was also available for taxis.

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“So 2021 was really where the journey began to make public transport greener and help improve air quality in the worst-affected areas. In the case of the 105 buses retrofitted, many of these would serve those affected places, the areas that wrap around the bottom of the M275, which becomes the A3, then goes around the corner to The Hard Interchange and also picks up the city centre.

“Unfortunately, some of the affected areas are the least affluent in the city and many residents don’t actually own a car but have to suffer with the effects of exhaust fumes. However, this scheme now means that 97% of the taxis operating in the CAZ are now either Euro VI, hybrid or fully electric, and all local buses are now a minimum of Euro VI.

“There are no plans to extend this scheme to private cars,” Peter stressed.

Arrival planned

Whilst Portsmouth City Council was already rolling out exhaust conversions at pace with both First Bus South and Stagecoach South, it, along with Hampshire County Council, was already thinking ahead and applying for ZEBRA (Zero Emissions Bus Regional Areas scheme) funding to introduce a fleet of 34 brand new electric buses to the region, to be operated by First Bus South and be based at its Hoeford depot in Fareham.

At the time of the submission the vehicles chosen for the application were to be built by Arrival at its ‘micro factory’ in Bicester. This was at a point where First had already announced its commitment to purchase no diesel buses after 2022 and to operate a fully zero-emission fleet by 2035.

The single-deck Arrival Bus featured a single front door with a passenger seating capacity of 36 across the fully flat floor, allowing greater accessibility. It was equipped with up to 310.8kWh of energy storage capacity with the option of both an AC and DC charging. Arrival estimated the bus to be up to 40% lighter than other battery-electric buses in the market at the time.

However, the partnership between First Bus and Arrival was not to be as Arrival decided it needed to concentrate on van production instead and ultimately announced the appointment for administrators for Arrival UK Limited in February 2024.

Peter explained: “First Bus had a plan B when it came to this bid, so it was a smooth transition to changing the vehicle sourcing to its long time vehicle supplier, Wrightbus.”

The idea of the initial application was to electrify a number of core bus routes: route 1 from Portsmouth’s The Hard Interchange via Fratton and Eastney to Southsea South Parade Pier, with a daytime frequency every 10 minutes; route 3 from Fareham via Portchester and the city’s Queen Alexandra Hospital to The Hard Interchange and Southsea at a daytime frequency of every 10 minutes, and route 9/9A from Fareham to Gosport, running every 20 minutes. The 1 and 3 have a combined peak vehicle requirement (PVR) of 26 buses, whilst the 9/9A requires 6.

“The initial application was successful for the 34 electric buses in 2021, but that bid was increased to 62. The funding was awarded by Department for Transport, with Hampshire County Council and Portsmouth City Council securing £12.7m of ZEBRA funding and FirstBus South investing £15.9m,” Peter said.

“The additional buses have led to further services being converted to electric, namely the X4 and X5 that link Portsmouth and Fareham with Southampton, meaning that Southampton also gains its first electric bus service.

“A joint bid by Portsmouth City Council and First Bus for a further 20 buses as part of ZEBRA 2 funding was to convert services 2, 7 and 8, but we were conscious that ZEBRA 2 funding was designed for rural applications and those who had not been successful before. Hampshire County Council also put a similar bid in with Stagecoach, and that would have seen even more electric buses coming into the city on routes the 23 and the 700. So we were very much aiming for an electric bus city.

“We were not successful in this bid, and neither were Hampshire County Council and Stagecoach. However, we were told that both were eligible bids and that if all of the ZEBRA 2 funding was not used, there is still a possibility that we may see some of what may be left over.”

Electrifying the Eclipse

The First-operated Eclipse service has been utilising a disused railway line, made into a guided busway, that runs parallel to the A32 linking Fareham and Gosport to delivery faster journeys. It celebrated its 10th birthday in April 2022 and is now on its fourth new fleet of buses in just a decade. In agreement with local authorities the fleet must be changed every five years, with the fleet first starting out with Wrightbus Eclipse Urban 2-bodied Volvo B7RLEs in 2012, then Alexander Dennis Enviro200MMCs in 2016 and Wrightbus StreetLites in 2022, which are currently being replaced early with the new Wrightbus GB Kite Electroliners.

“Not only do passengers on the Eclipse route benefit from brand new buses every five years, or in this case, they have been upgraded to electric with the Euro VI StreetLites only being two years old, but the route’s infrastructure is also getting an upgrade,” Peter told me.

“A brand new bus station is currently being built at the Gosport end of the route using TCF (Transforming Cities Fund) funding. Currently buses run down the southern side of the town centre, but they will soon be routed through the pedestrianised town centre, with stops added there to help the High Street recover and flourish. The new terminal will also be in sight of the Portsmouth-Gosport ferry, which the current one isn’t. Integrated bus and ferry tickets will also be introduced to boost the service even further.

“The Eclipse has achieved 65% passenger growth due to its reliable journey times by using the busway and using high-specification vehicles with USB ports, wood effect flooring and WiFi.”

New ‘super depot’

As well as the current electrification of First Bus South’s Hoeford depot, the company is also creating a new ‘super depot’ in Portsmouth after it secured the purchase of the former Daily Mail Group news centre. The new site is opposite its current Hilsea Depot and is part of an expansion to reinforce its commitment to the future of bus services in the local area.

The new depot will become a purpose-built ‘electric bus depot of the future’ within two years, with the capability to run a fully electrified bus fleet of up to 90 vehicles.

Talking about the project, First Bus South Managing Director Simon Goff explained: “We are thrilled to have secured this new site and to share the good news with our customers and our colleagues. This will have a massive impact for the better on the daily working lives of our hard-working staff and we cannot wait to share the improvements with our customers as well.

“This represents a significant investment and future commitment to providing zero-emission bus services in Portsmouth and the surrounding areas.”

Bus priority

“Visitors to Portsmouth at the moment will notice a lot of roadworks going on in the city,” Peter continued. “Outside the rail station the roundabout has been replaced by traffic lights to get the buses through quickly. In Marketway we are creating a brand new link so that buses are no longer on the main traffic route, but will be on a priority route that goes straight past the Cascades Shopping Centre to the main stops at the top of town. That will really be a time saver at peak times. This has been made possible thanks to a £55m TCF investment that will still be delivering on the ground until at least September this year.

“Another major investment has been The Hard Interchange. We had a ministerial visit to that facility the year before last and the Minister commented that it was nice to see a prestige building that was not a vanity project.

“The Hard Interchange was used by nine million people pre-pandemic, and is building back up to that number now. It represents a good flagship for public transport and allows simple changes between bus, coach, ferry and train.

“It was transformed by both government and Portsmouth City Council funding and we maintain and run it day to day. The site has security 24/7 to ensure users always feel safe and First Bus also has a travel shop on site. Bus operators pay to use the bays, and this goes a long way towards maintaining the upkeep of the building.

“Transformation of bus services in Portsmouth in 2023 included the introduction of tap on, tap off technology on First Bus routes, as well as early morning services providing workers with an easy way to get to work, and later night bus services which support Portsmouth’s thriving night time economy. The ‘Pompey Young Person’ ticket range providing child discounts to adults up to age 19 was also introduced. Funding came from Portsmouth’s £48.3 million BSIP (Bus Service Improvement Plan) – the city won the country’s largest per capita award.

“Residents were invited to try out the bus, with free buses offered on weekends last September, resulting in over 100,000 extra journeys by bus. Bus services also ran on Christmas day so families could stay connected over the festive period.”

In addition, Portsmouth City Council is extending real time information displays to virtually every bus stop in the city.

Park & ride scheme

“In April 2014 we introduced a park & ride service for the city,” Peter explained. “It has saved 1.6 million car journeys since it opened. This has not only switched car users to the bus, but has also meant less traffic in the city centre, allowing buses to move more freely and speeding up journey times.

“Parking is free at the terminal site, which has passenger facilities, and we have kept the bus fare low, £4 per car including up to 5 people. That is the return fare, so it offers much better value for money than paying car parking. The PR1 drops at the city centre first, then at The Hard Interchange for access to the large Gunwharf Quays harbour shopping centre and the Portsmouth Historic Dockyards.

“For a few years now we have offered an additional park & ride PR3 service which also serves Southsea; this has proved a big success and allows passengers a quick and easy way of visiting the seafront without the need to try and find parking spaces there, as they are limited. We have 11 million visitors to Portsmouth a year, and many of those are heading for the seafront.

“The PR3 is a seasonal service for when the roads get busier and when there is high demand for travel to the seafront, especially in the long summer school holiday period. Whilst there is some demand out of season, it is not enough to justify the extra bus service.”

Cllr Peter Candlish, Cabinet Member for Transport at Portsmouth City Council, added about the park & ride facility: “The park & ride service offers visitors a seamless way to enjoy Southsea’s vibrant events, attractions, and beautiful seafront without the hassle of traffic and parking. By choosing this convenient travel option, visitors not only save time but also contribute to reducing air pollution and easing congestion in our city.”

Peter continued: “We are currently going through a retendering process for the park & ride service, and there is an option there for the service to go fully electric, but that is obviously cost dependant and that would be a five or eight year contract. We recognise that if we are going to get an operator to invest in electric buses, we need to make the contract length longer.”

Tendered and 24/7 services

“Portsmouth City Council has, for a long time, supported five non-commercial bus services, although this has recently increased to six from March last year,” Peter said. “We also support routes 12, 13, 14, 18, 22 and 25. These are services that wouldn’t be fully commercially viable without some sort of funding. For example, the 18 used to be run commercially by First until March last year, but figures showed it didn’t stack up for them so it went out for tender. Stagecoach won it and sees a commercial future for it on weekdays, and we support evening and weekend journeys through our BSIP funding because we think there is potential to get that service to a point where it is much better used.

“Another recent improvement has been the introduction of two 24/7 services to the city. Stagecoach’s 23 operates from Leigh Park, through Havant to the city centre and The Hard Interchange; Portsmouth was badly damaged during World War II and so much of the post-war housing is off the island, meaning that although Leigh Park is actually in Havant in Hampshire, it is predominantly Portsmouth City Council housing. Many families have close ties between the city and Leigh Park, so this is a key service for residents of both areas.

“The other 24/7 service is the First-operated service 2, and that mainly serves the island, but also the large Paulsgrove estate that sits above it. Both routes serve The Hard Interchange, city centre and all four of the large shopping centres and the city’s main hospital. So between the two services it likes a figure of eight but with open ends, it covers all the major places in the area.

“BSIP funding has made the 24/7 services happen. We worked with the bus operators to find out the best changes we could make to improve services and then went through a sifting process of all the ideas. The 24/7 idea came out on top as these routes were already running late into the night so it was only really a few hours gap that needed filling to make them operate around the clock. These services are secured with BSIP funding until March 2026, but the operators have agreed to keep them running commercially until December 2026 to give them the maximum chance of being able to continue to run commercially.”

A bright future ahead

Peter concluded: “We are very fortunate in Portsmouth, as the cabinet and council are very much behind what buses can do for the city, and this has been a result of the council working with the region’s bus operators for many years. You don’t get that everywhere.”

Commenting on the new buses, Councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson, Portsmouth’s Deputy Lord Mayor said: “These are thrilling times with 62 electric buses set to take passengers around Portsmouth and beyond. We have made it clear in our transport strategy, that we want to reduce emissions and get more people back on the bus and our new electric bus fleet will help us to do just that.”

In 2021 Portsmouth City Council announced in its Transport Strategy, with a plan that by 2038, ‘Portsmouth will have a people-centred, connected, travel network that prioritises walking, cycling and public transport to help deliver a safer, healthier and more prosperous city. We have developed an ambitious vision to deliver transformation in transport and travel within the city and wider city region.’

Just two short years on and it has already transformed many aspects of public transport, and is well on the way to achieving its other goals.

Full details on Portsmouth’s Bus Service Improvement Plan can be viewed at: https://travel.portsmouth.gov.uk/public-transport/

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