Thousands climb aboard extended bus service to New Milton

THE wheels on buses to and from New Milton will be going round and round twice as often after a recent route extension drew thousands of passengers.

Yellow Buses 1a service, which started calling in the town in May hourly Monday to Friday, is now running every half-hour. The bus travels to and from Bournemouth town centre, stopping at Christchurch, the Somerford Sainsbury’s, Highcliffe, the centre of New Milton and the town’s Tesco.

Since its launch in May, the service has carried nearly 40,000 passengers, and Yellow Buses has said the numbers have been continuing to rise.

The firm, which was bought out by its management from its French owners in July, was welcomed to New Milton by mayor Cllr Alvin Reid, and spoke of its contribution towards encouraging a greener lifestyle.

“New Milton is delighted to welcome new shoppers, workers and visitors by the bus-load,” he said.

“And we very much value the closer connection we now have with our neighbours in Christchurch and Bournemouth. A big thank-you has to go to the great team at Yellow Buses for recognising the opportunity in New Milton.

“As a town council, we are working to improve health and wellbeing, and this service is another opportunity for people to leave their cars at home.”

New Milton’s town development manager, Suna King, enthused about the benefits of having the increased bus service, as well as the features the area offered for passengers travelling there.

“We have a huge variety of independent traders in the town centre, wide tree-lined pavements, gorgeous flower displays and a host of cafés,” she said.

“So having a half-hourly Yellow Bus is just fantastic news for traders and shoppers.”

Yellow Buses commercial director Simon Newport said: “Those who use the service particularly enjoy the ability to get to supermarkets and also to have days out in towns other than their own.

“We will continue to listen to our passengers to hear what they want and whether we can provide it.”