£1m in bus station upgrades with new passenger information screens and CCTV set to be installed
The £950,000 programme will fund upgrades at bus stations, transport hubs and railway stations across the county, with Havant set to benefit from new passenger information screens and CCTV
Bus passengers across Hampshire are set to benefit from new shelters, live departure screens and CCTV after nearly £1 million of improvements.
The money will be spent on new real-time passenger information screens, replacement shelters and seating, improved signs, refreshed road markings, better lighting and CCTV.
The £950,000 programme will fund upgrades at bus stations, transport hubs and railway stations across the county after Hampshire County Council officers said some facilities had “not seen much investment over recent years”.
In a report, officers said a number of bus stations and transport hubs do not provide “a welcoming or attractive waiting environment” for passengers.
The report describes bus stations and transport hubs as the public transport “shop window” in town centres and other busy locations.
It said: “These waiting environments are in visible high footfall areas in town centres or other busy locations and are part of the ‘shop window’ of travelling by bus and need to be invested in and to look appealing.”
Havant is among the biggest beneficiaries. Plans include new passenger information screens, upgraded shelters, CCTV, improved lighting and wayfinding signs to help people move between the town centre and public transport links.
Winchester and Eastleigh bus stations are also set to receive new real-time departure screens.
Improvements are also planned at bus facilities in Fareham, Gosport Andover, Basingstoke and Romsey. Other locations due to benefit include transport hubs in Waterlooville, Aldershot, Alton, Farnborough, Hythe, Lymington, Ringwood and Totton.
The council has approved £600,000 for improvements at bus stations and bus hubs, with a further £350,000 earmarked for projects designed to make it easier to switch between buses and trains.
That work will include better passenger information, improved signs between railway stations and nearby bus stops, and upgrades to waiting areas.
Stations set to benefit include Havant, Fareham, Portchester, Brockenhurst, New Milton, Chandler’s Ford, Winchester and Basingstoke.
The report argues that improving waiting areas is just as important as improving bus services themselves. Officers also warned that failing to invest in passenger facilities could make bus travel less attractive and encourage more people to travel by car.
The funding comes from the government’s local authority bus grant programme, through which Hampshire has been allocated more than £27 million in capital funding between 2026/27 and 2029/30.
The latest investment forms part of the county council’s wider ambition to increase bus use, aiming to double annual passenger journeys from 21 million in 2023/24 to 42 million by 2034/35.