A scheme to improve the reliability of buses between Southampton and Eastleigh, and shorten journey times, has been axed.

The Bishopstoke road bus improvement scheme will instead be replaced by a “better value for money” bus route to Fair Oak due to “deliverability” issues.

In March 2020, the Department for Transport (DfT) awarded £57 million to the Southampton City Region from the Transforming Cities Fund to improve walking, cycling and public transport within the Southampton City Region.

This was a joint bid between Hampshire County Council and Southampton City Council.

Most of the investment is on corridors from Eastleigh, Bursledon and The Waterside/Totton, in addition to transport and mobility hubs in Eastleigh and Southampton Parkway.

One was the Bishopstoke road bus improvement scheme that prioritises buses at Riverside and Chickenhall junctions and offers a bus-only lane between the two.

It would have also offered improved facilities for waiting passengers and real-time information facilities, including enhanced bus stops.

However, due to “deliverability” issues, the Bishopstoke Road scheme was removed from the Transforming Cities Programme, Hampshire County Council said.

The updated report said: “With the removal of this scheme, which is to be re-financed and delivered to a new timeline, there remains a need to deliver an alternative scheme along this corridor to meet the objectives of the Transforming Cities Fund bid and subsequent grant award.”

For that reason, the county council now proposes to implement improvements along the Blue Star 2 bus route for the value of £530,000 which will result in a better value for money result than the original bid.

Bluestar’s bus route 2 runs between Southampton and Fair Oak via Portswood, Swaythling, North Stoneham, Eastleigh and Bishopstoke.

The new improvements involve using technology to prioritise buses at signal junctions, such as advanced vehicle location (AVL) provided by bus ticket machines and urban traffic management and control (UTMC) bus priority technology installed after the Transforming Cities Programme bid.

It will also introduce modifications to 14 junctions and several signalised crossings on the route.

The county council said the alternative “low-cost technology” scheme will offer journey time savings of up to seven minutes in both directions.

However, the DfT still must approve the alternative approach so the original Bishopstoke Road bus priority scheme will be refinanced and delivered to a new timeline.

The project update report also includes the latest on the A27 Providence Hill, Bursledon cycle route.

The scheme, identified to connect to the Southampton Transforming Cities Programme Bursledon Road cycle link via the National Highways Windhover Roundabout, has been under review to reduce the cost and respond to feedback from Active Travel England, ensuring a high-quality cycle.

After the “descoping exercise” in autumn 2023, the county council forecasted the total project cost for the final scheme design to be £4.024m from the £2.8 million approved in July.

The decisions to procure, spend, and enter into contractual arrangements for both schemes were set to be made on Monday, January 15, by the executive lead member for universal services, Cllr Nick Adams-King, on his decision day.