Stagecoach South, part of the UK’s leading bus operator, has officially launched a range of improvements to local bus services, which went live on June 8.

Developed in partnership with Hampshire County Council and Surrey County Council and funded through their respective Department for Transport (DfT) Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) grants for 2025/26, the enhancements aim to improve connectivity and make public transport more accessible for local communities.

The launch was celebrated with a public event on Saturday, June 14 at The Shed in Bordon, where residents met the Stagecoach South team, received travel information, and picked up free travel tickets. While town councils were present for the celebration, the improvements were made possible by direct funding from Hampshire County Council and Surrey County Councils through BSIP grants.

Service 18, connecting Whitehill and Bordon with Farnham and Aldershot, has doubled in frequency. Buses now run every 30 minutes on weekdays and Saturdays, and hourly on Sundays—making connections more convenient and supporting smoother links to rail services at Farnham.

Stagecoach South and local council leaders at The Shed

placeholder image — Stagecoach South and local council leaders at The Shed

Stagecoach South has also revised its local routes within Bordon to better serve new housing developments and improve access to the town centre. An updated route map has been made available to highlight the changes.

In addition, a brand-new Sunday timetable for Service 13 has launched, connecting Bordon with Alton and Basingstoke. The service now runs six return journeys every Sunday, with free travel available on 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th June as part of the celebratory launch, with over 200 people a day taking advantage of this offer.

Rob Vince, Business Development Manager at Stagecoach South, said: “We’re committed to supporting our local communities by improving access to sustainable transport. These changes will provide residents with more frequent, reliable, and accessible travel options, helping more people make the switch to bus travel.”

Councillor Lulu Bowerman, Hampshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways and Passenger Transport, said: “We want to encourage more people to get on board a bus in Hampshire as every extra journey helps to support commercial services and reduce car journeys which is good for the environment. These latest enhancements to two bus routes linking Whitehill and Bordon with Aldershot, via Farnham, where onward rail connections are available towards London, and with Basingstoke, via Alton, is great news for passengers, supporting our shared aim of making bus travel a more convenient and attractive option for local people.”

Steve Bax, Deputy Cabinet Member for Highways at Surrey County Council said:“I’m delighted that Surrey residents will benefit from these extra Stagecoach services which will increase the frequency of buses significantly in the Farnham area.”

“Surrey County Council has allocated £174,000 of Department for Transport funding to these improvements, as part of our county-wide programme to enhance and protect local bus services.”

“Our Surrey LINK card gives young people half-price bus travel and we’ve expanded our on-demand Surrey Connect bus services to cover areas where there are limited fixed bus routes, giving more options to travel by bus for all residents right across Surrey. We’ve also invested £6.3m in more ultra-low and zero emission community transport minibuses, £9m in bus priority measures to ensure Surrey buses turn up on time, and £1.4m in improving information for passengers at bus stops.”

To ensure residents can make the most of the changes, travel information leaflets and free travel tickets were distributed locally, with support from housing developers to reach new households through their Travel Plans.