BUS travel between Romsey and Southampton is to be massively improved with the introduction of new vehicles and new services - including a late-night weekend service. Bus operator Solent Blue Line is behind the move in partnership with local authority transport bosses.

The company launched the Southampton-Romsey quality bus partnership in Romsey on Tuesday and the new services will begin on May 29th. New low-level floor buses tailor-made for people with disabilities will be introduced on route 15, which will re-branded as Bluestar 4.

It will also mean people in the Romsey area will be able to stay out at night in Southampton much later at weekends, with buses running until 2.15am on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

Evening services will be doubled to hourly and a new hourly Sunday service will be introduced.

And in changes to the weekday time-tables there will be buses every half-hour of the day between Romsey and Southampton.

The route takes in Whitenap, North Baddesley and Nursling and Rownhams.

Hi-tech information boards are planned at bus stops giving passengers up-to-date news on when buses are expected to arrive. Solent Blue Line's managing director Phil Stockley said the partnership was the beginning of a new era in bus travel between Romsey and Southampton.

Mr Stockley said: "This is a big step forward for our services between Romsey and Southampton and it's probably going to cost about £50,000 a year to run. Since we introduced the Bluestar on the Chandler's Ford route there has been a seven to eight per cent increase in passenger numbers."

He added: "We are also exploring the possibility of siting more drivers in Romsey but we don't have any plans to expand our routes into deep rural areas of Test Valley."

He said the Solent Blue Line name will pretty much disappear in Romsey and the Bluestar name will be seen instead. Bluestar buses will have a low floor making it much easier for the disabled to use them.

Hampshire County Council, Test Valley Borough Council and Southampton City Council are all involved in the Southampton-Romsey quality bus partnership and representatives from each authority signed a charter at Tuesday's launch.

County councillor Tim Knight outlined the partnership's role."The aim is to deliver high-quality public transport by co-ordinating our investment in the route. On the route, Hampshire County Council, Southampton City Council and Solent Blue Line has already started to make visible improvements - low floor buses have been introduced, many bus stops have been upgraded in Southampton and a bus departure information system (BDIS) display installed at Romsey bus station. Further bus improvements will follow shortly."

Mr Knight said the Romsey Bluestar route would also benefit from the installation of a real-time passenger information system (RTPIS) which allows passengers to access information on bus arrival times through mobile text messaging, the internet and company intranets, as well as electronic message signs at bus stops.

"Our partnerships with bus operators elsewhere in the county have delivered growth rates of up to 30 per cent on several quality bus partnership routes," said Mr Knight.

"These increases in passenger journey numbers are proof that these partnerships really do provide an attractive public transport product." Test Valley's deputy leader Martin Hatley said the borough was delighted to be linked to the bus partnership.

"We sincerely hope that the new high standards being introduced on the service 15 route from Southampton to Romsey can eventually be repeated on other services within our borough."

He said the improved service would help relieve congestion and was good news for those with mobility problems.

Mr Hatley, adding the partnership was close to his own heart because he's been heavily involved with Romsey's Dial-A-Ride and Voluntary Transport Scheme. Romsey Town Council's Julian Jones welcomed the partnership. He said: "It's a good and excellent example of partnerships working across boundaries. I hope it will be well used. It will be handy for people going to the theatre and cinemas in Southampton."