A COLOURFUL pink and lime green bus - that's the look of Basingstoke's new trailblazing alternative bus service.

The Centre Shuttle is a daily service, running every 8-15 minutes from early morning until late at night, taking a route linking West Ham Leisure Park with Basing View, via the railway station.

Starting next Monday, it will cost the borough council £400,000 a year to run. And to encourage the maximum possible use of the bus, it will be free to use up until January 6.

The park-and-ride service is partly aimed at the business community, especially those working on Basing View.

Buses start running from 7am and with an all-day pass, costing £1.50, workers can get a bus to and from town at lunchtime then back to the Leisure Park at the end of the working day.

The three buses will also benefit youngsters and families wanting to use the facilities at the West Ham Leisure Park, shoppers visiting Festival Place, and pensioners going to bingo.

"We are the first borough in the whole of the country to launch this type of facility and we're very proud of it," said Cllr Ron Hussey, Cabinet Member for Environmental Sustainability.

He added: "We were not just looking at the price, but the quality aspect as well. For example, we had one operator who could not fulfil the evening services as well."

When the contract first went out to tender, only one response was received.

The council decided to make the contract less restrictive to encourage more bids. Three bids, including two different ones from the same company, came in.

Courtney Coaches were finally awarded a three-year contract in August, with an option to extend it for a further two years.

Aware that it will take a long time to change people's attitudes to use a park-and-ride service, and that the council will always have to subsidise it, Cllr Hussey said: "Our objective is to provide a service, to reduce congestion and be environmentally friendly.

"Imagine having 30 people on a bus rather than in cars. That will be a measure of success."

The way the service is operating will be reviewed in six months.

Although the council has a very limited role with regard to bus routes and timetables, it currently gives £100,000 to Hampshire County Council to subsidise Stagecoach buses on the evenings and weekends, almost the same amount to Dial-a-Ride, £20,000 to run the Harriet Costello School service, and hands out £1.2m in travel tokens.