A SOUTHAMPTON bus company has announced the launch of a new route to serve the city centre.

Bus passengers will find it easier than ever to travel between Southampton city centre, Woolston and Thornhill - when the Bluestar 19 service begins in September.

The brand new route will serve the eastern side of the city every 15 minutes between 7am and 7pm on Monday to Saturday, and every 30 minutes on a Sunday.

“Bluestar 19 will provide an essential service for local people – whether they are commuting, shopping or visiting,” said Bluestar managing director, Andrew Wickham.

“We developed the route based on customer requests and travel patterns - and early feedback indicates that the service will be warmly welcomed when we launch it on 22 September.

“Customers travelling to-and-from the city centre via Woolston and Thornhill will be able to hop on to the number 19 up to every 15 minutes - with plans to add journeys and increase frequency to every 10 minutes next year.

“And, to ensure extra comfort for our customers, the route will be served by our brand new British built single decker buses - with free WiFi, USB chargers and each sporting the very latest low emissions Euro 6 engine.

“The aim is to encourage more people to make the Bluestar Promise and travel by bus because we believe it is the perfect solution for reducing congestion and improving air quality in Southampton.”

Bluestar 19 falls within the operator’s promotional city fare zone, so passengers are eligible for a weekly ticket of just £8 - which gives them access to other Bluestar routes including the 7, 16, 17 and 18.

Single, returns, day and and monthly tickets are also available.

Timetables for the new service will be available on Bluestar’s website shortly.