New Name and New Look for CityLink Bus Service

The Red Funnel Ferries funded service, operated by Go South Coast subsidiary Bluestar, connects Southampton Central Station with the ferry terminals on Town Quay. The new name Quayconnect is part of an investment package to improve the integration between the ferries and trains and to handle increasing passenger numbers.

The buses have been given a striking new external livery which matches the look of Red Funnel’s new Red Jet 6 Hi-Speed catamaran which enters service between Southampton and West Cowes in July.

 Highlights

• More comfortable seating
• Free Wi-Fi
• USB charging points
• Real-time ferry and rail connection information
• Improved reliability
• Striking new livery

Buses deployed on the Quayconnect route are also being fitted with a clever real-time travel information system which will show passengers onboard where the bus is on its route and the status of connecting train and ferry departures. The new system will also improve the tracking of the buses position so it can be shown to passengers onboard Red Funnel’s Red Jet services that are inbound from West Cowes.

Murray Carter, Red Funnel’s customer services director commented “We have been a long standing advocate of integrated public transport and Quayconnect provides an essential link between the city’s ferry and train services. Journey times between London and the Isle of Wight are shorter via Southampton and the new livery will make it easier for cross Solent travellers to quickly identify which bus to catch.”

Ed Wills, operations director for Go South Coast said “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Red Funnel in the delivery of the newly branded Quayconnect service. This service is incredibly popular with customers and I know they will be pleased that the service is going from strength to strength.”

Quayconnect provides quick and reliable connections between Red Funnel’s Red Jets and South West Trains London Waterloo services. It operates 7 days a week with departures every 30 minutes between 06:45 and 20:30 hrs on weekdays. Departures from Town Quay are at 15 and 45 minutes past the hour with departures from Southampton Central station on the hour and half-hour.

The service is FREE to Red Funnel ticket holders including those with through-tickets purchased from any rail or National Express outlet. For non-Red Funnel customers, the cost is £1 per journey.

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