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From bus to beach in one easy trip

Heading to Southsea over the summer holidays? Why not take the bus to the beach and save time, money and stress.

Portsmouth City Council is launching additional bus services and extending others to make it easier than ever before to explore the seafront and leave the car at home this summer. The services launch on Saturday 23 July, running daily until the close of summer holidays on Wednesday 31 August.

The Southsea Coaster 50 service open top bus makes a welcome return, offering a hop-on hop-off service from The Hard to South Parade Pier in partnership with First Bus Solent. Tickets may be bought on the bus and will be valid all day and family/individual options. You can view the timetable and ticket prices here.

The PR3 service is also launching for the season, running from the Park and Ride in Tipner to The D-Day Story in Southsea, via family-favourite Clarence Pier. The service runs every 30 minutes and costs £4 for the day for a car of up to five people. Information and the timetables for Park and Ride services is available here.

The Southsea Skipper 25 Service, that runs between the Hayling Ferry to The Hard via South Parade pier is also extending its summer timetable to run later in the evening in line with the Hayling ferry schedule, with the last bus departing from the Hayling Ferry at 8:05pm and terminating at The Hard at 8:45pm. For the updated timetable visit First Bus Solent.

These new and extended routes mean the popular destination of Southsea has become more accessible by public transport than ever. Offering a simple, family-friendly and sustainable option for spending quality time over the summer along miles of seafront featuring The D-Day Story, Blue Reef Aquarium, Southsea Castle and Portsmouth Pyramids plus Canoe Lake, Live at the Bandstand, and the funfairs, arcade, and crazy golf at both South Parade and Clarence Pier.

The seafront can also be accessed via other regular bus routes. First Bus Solent's 1 service runs from The Hard – Southsea, 3 service from Fareham – Southsea, and the 18 service Paulsgrove – Southsea. For timetables visit First Bus Solent.

Stagecoach's 20 and 21 services run from Havant via Leigh Park to The Hard, 23 service runs from Leigh Park – Southsea via The Hard, and the Coastliner 700 from Bognor Regis via Chichester and Havant to The Hard. For timetables visit Stagecoach.

Cllr Lynne Stagg, Cabinet Member for Traffic and Transportation, said “It's never been easier to get to the seafront by bus and it will be a delight to see visitors and residents alike creating new and recurring memories on the open top bus. The hop on/hop off ticket opens up so many options for people to walk, cycle and scoot around the whole of our beautiful seafront. We are looking forward to welcoming everyone to Southsea and Portsmouth this summer season and beyond.”

The council is offering the open top hop-on hop-off bus service in support of our transport strategy for a healthier, greener and better connected future. You can find out about all the services by visiting travel.portsmouth.gov.uk/bustobeach

Get to the Great South Run with Park & Ride Portsmouth

Visitors to the Great South Run will be able to catch a direct double-decker shuttle bus between Park & Ride and Clarence Pier on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 October, getting people to the heart of the action in just 15 minutes.

Tickets are £4 for a standard car and up to 5 passengers.

The service will operate on Saturday 16 October between 7am and 4pm and on Sunday 17 October between 6.30am and 4pm. This will enable participants and their supporters to get to and from the event in good time for the start of the run. Buses will run every 20 minutes on Saturday and every 10 minutes on Sunday.

Between 10am and 12pm on Saturday and between 9.30am and 12pm on Sunday a less frequent bus service will operate to the Hard or city centre only.

Read more about travelling in Portsmouth this weekend.

Park & Ride Portsmouth has now reopened

We thank you for your patience and understanding while the Park & Ride site was temporarily closed this week.

We are pleased to tell you that the site has now re-opened and the service is operating as normal.

Extend your expired smartcard pass for another year for free

Smartcard passes expire one year after purchase. If your smartcard pass has expired and you haven't already contacted us, please email your 18 digit smartcard number (beginning with 633597) to us at parkandride@portsmouthcc.gov.uk and we will extend the expiry date of your passes by another year for free.

If you've already requested a refund on your smartcard, please note that your smartcard will no longer work and you will need to purchase a new one.