Southampton transport chiefs have launched a crackdown on late running buses.

Bus companies have pledged to make sure more of the three out of ten late buses in in the city are on time.

The operators joined forces with the city council in a bid to improve the reliability of services.

It will aim to get five per cent more people on the buses to help ease congestion on the city’s road network.

Only around seven out of ten buses in Southampton are on time – defined as from one minute early to six minutes late.

National guidelines say towns and cities should aspire to have 95 per cent of buses on time.

Under a new agreement, called the Southampton Bus Quality partnership, operators will aim to bring in smartcard ticket machines, speed up boarding times, and reduce major timetable changes to improve reliability.

The council will improve bus shelters and bus stop information, manage road works to give buses priority where possible, and enforce bus lanes and “bus only” restrictions.

The council and bus operators will also promote a new bus station as part of a forthcoming city centre master plan.

Cabinet member for transport councillor Daniel Fitzhenry said: “In the next few years car use will only increase and the strain on our road network will increase. So it is vital that we are doing what we can to give the public confidence in our public transport.

“A good, punctual bus service in the city is important in achieving this. This task force will do everything possible to get more buses on time and consequently more people using our buses.”

Alex Carter, managing director of Go South Coast, said: “The bottom line is we can do much more by working together than we can individually.

This will help buses to be faster and on time.

“With the increased pressure on our network is becoming more important that we do what we can to get buses moving through the city and into the centre without getting held up in traffic.”

Nick Farthing, chairman of the city’s Transport Alliance, said: “This agreement will raise the profile of our bus services. It will allow buses to compete with the real competitors, which is the private car, not other bus companies.”