13 / 14 Bus Route Frequency

A local resident asked one of our councillors, "Chatting to neighbours who have given up their car, I got inspired to write to you about bus 13.  Unfortunately we only have 1 bus every hour in one direction BUT used to have a bus every half an hour.  Is this not something which could be achieved? If we want to reduce car usage we have to offer more public transport. "

We thought the response from the council transport development manager, Peter Shelley, would be of wider interest so here it is:

"It might be useful if I provided some background. Most bus services are provided commercially paid for by the fares collected. How often the buses run is generally determined by the number of people wishing to travel. The routes and timetables for commercial services are not set by the Council. Where a bus service is not provided commercially, but a need is determined, the Council can invite tenders and provide funding for a service to meet that need.

In the case of the 13, and the 14 which provides the service in the opposite direction, the operator decided to operate each of these hourly from 2019 on a commercial basis, with the Council funding journeys on Sundays and public holidays which otherwise would not have run.  From April 2023, the Council stepped in to fund the full seven day a week service when the operator declared that the route was no longer covering its costs and was to be withdrawn.

In 2022, Portsmouth City Council was successful in winning £48.3 million over three years for its Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP), the largest per capita award in the country, with the first funding being received in 2023.  The award was not intended to replace the Council's own funding, which allows the operation of services such as the 13 and 14, but has enabled, in partnership with the bus operators, the introduction across Portsmouth of cheaper fares for under 19s, a new 90 minute hopper, evening and group tickets and a large range of timetable enhancements from early morning to late at night.

The timetable enhancements are those seen to have the greatest prospect of attracting sufficient extra passengers to become commercially sustainable by the end of the funding period so, as you might expect, these have started with the busiest routes, for example the 1 and 3 now run every ten minutes and the 2 and the 23 which now operate 24 hours a day.

In the case of the 13 and 14, as noted, the Council has provided funding support since 2019. As well as the fares initiatives to increase passenger use outlined above, from January 2024, BSIP funding has been used to increase the evening service on the 13 and 14 with last journeys around 10pm, seven days a week, and to improve the Sunday daytime timetable.  

The success of the various measures is being monitored with the bus operators and the Department for Transport and where further timetable improvements are considered sustainable in the longer term these will be introduced subject to funding being available. Your request for the 13 to become every 30 minutes will be considered as part of this process."