Two new night-time bus routes and a weekend park and ride could be introduced in Southampton.

City council leaders are looking to use government funding to deliver the additional public transport services.

The park and ride proposal would use a site just off the M271, which is currently only available to NHS hospital staff.

Both projects would be funded through the local authority’s bus service improvement plan (BSIP) allocation from the Department for Transport (DfT).

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Labour cabinet member for environment and transport Cllr Eamonn Keogh revealed the plans at a recent full council meeting.

Cllr Keogh said: “We will be looking at introducing night-time buses on two of our city cross routes, I won’t say which ones they are.

“Also we are looking to introduce a park and ride from the Adanac hospital car park at weekends and hopefully to support Saints match days, probably when they are in the Championship.”

As previously reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Southampton City Council will receive £4.598million for its BSIP 2025/26, which was a large increase on previous years.

The park and ride facility on Adanac Health and Innovation Campus opened in 2022.

Currently the only service operating from the site at Bargain Farm, Nursling, is on weekdays for NHS staff at University Hospital Southampton, running from the car park to the hospital.

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A service to a city centre drop-off point close to St Mary’s Stadium for football fans on match days was trialled two years ago.

Cllr Matthew Renyard, who recently joined the Green Party from Labour, said there had been many promises over the years that Adanac Park would deliver a park and ride into the city centre.

The Coxford ward councillor asked: “Can you reassure myself and residents alike, and with a timetable, of when we can expect to see that?”

Cllr Keogh said the transport team were working on the proposals, adding that the council’s “ambition” in the BSIP was what the DfT was looking for.

He said: “I can’t give you an exact timetable but it is something we are working on and I think it demonstrates that as we get more resource from government through bus service improvement grants, we will deliver an improved bus service.”

The cabinet member said the local authority was also looking at opportunities to introduce a park and ride on the east of the city, but this was a “work in progress”.

Meanwhile, Cllr Keogh said he was “delighted” that the new half hourly 19a Hill Lane bus service was up and running.

He thanked the work of officers and operator Bluestar on launching the route, which runs from Thornhill to Lordshill via Ocean Village, the city centre, Hill Lane and the General Hospital.

“We do have one of the most successful bus operations outside of London in the area,” Cllr Keogh said.