NEW state-of-the-art buses to help control environmental pollution in the centre of Winchester are expected to be on the road soon.

The environmentally-friendly buses will serve the Bar End park-and-ride site and form part of a new contract which has been awarded to Stagecoach for the operation of the network.

Chief city council engineer David Marklew, said the four new vehicles would be the latest version of low-floor diesel buses with cleaner fuel credentials.

"We expect these buses to be with us shortly after Christmas," he told the Winchester movement and access plan joint members' panel.

The panel has also introduced a 20p "hoppa" bus fare to encourage the wider use of the park-and-ride service in the city centre.

New bus stop posters are currently being designed to help promote the hoppa service and appropriate advertising may also be added to all pay-and-display parking tickets.

The park-and-ride site is used by hundreds of commuters during the week, with the result that spaces for shoppers and other visitors are severely limited after 9am.

However, plans to extend the site have been temporarily shelved pending the outcome of an application for judicial review of the Highway Agency's decision to dispose of former A33 bypass to the county council.

The application has been made by the Winchester Meadows Conser-vation Alliance, which is objecting to the loss of the land to pave the way for an additional 460 parking spaces at Bar End.

Council bosses are aiming to reduce the proportion of trips made by cars in Winchester by a fifth before the year 2020, increase the use of public transport by 50 per cent and increase walking by 40 per cent.

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