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The below terms and conditions apply to the issue and use of the Solent Go travelcard. Please read these terms and conditions to ensure you understand them fully. Solent Transport reserves the right to amend these terms and conditions from time to time and to post any amendments.

  1. Solent Transport is a partnership between Southampton and Portsmouth City Councils, Hampshire County Council and the Isle of Wight Council. Its principal place of business is Civic Centre, Southampton, SO14 7LY.​​​

What is Solent Go?

  1. Solent Go is a transport smartcard that customers can load electronic travel tickets on to. The Solent Go travelcard is issued by Solent Transport for use on participating operators' services (participating operators may not include all services).
  2. The Solent Go website has been developed specifically to support small local bus operators and ferry operators.
  3. By applying for a Solent Go travelcard you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions and agree to be bound by and adhere to the conditions of travel applicable to the operator whose service you are travelling on.

Who can apply for a Solent Go travelcard?

  1. Solent Go is available to anyone of any age, to complete the application process an email address must be supplied together with your name, address, post code, date of birth and a daytime contact telephone number.
  2. If you predominately use First Bus, Unilink or Stagecoach services, we strongly recommend that you buy your tickets from one of their websites.
  3. All payments and recurring payments, if selected, must be taken from a debit/credit card registered at the address provided.
  4. When making a new application for a Solent Go travelcard, you will be able to purchase one bus and one ferry ticket. If you wish to add tickets for a different bus zone or ferry operator in the future these will need to be purchased on bus, at a travel shop, or at a participating ferry operator ticket office. This does not affect your ability to top-up your original tickets online using the Solent Go website.

How to apply

  1. The Solent Go travelcard application process can be found at www.solentgo.co.uk and Solent Transport reserves the right to alter the application process without notice. By completing the online application you request Solent Transport to process your application and we agree to forward your Solent Go travelcard to you upon approval of your application, which will be at Solent Transport's sole discretion, within five working days. On your initial online application, you are required to purchase a ticket before we will issue a Solent Go travelcard.
  2. Solent Transport will post your Solent Go travelcard to your home address and it will be valid for travel from the date of issue. Bus tickets will expire after one year if unused.
  3. The Solent Go travelcard will remain the property of Solent Transport at all times and may be withdrawn or cancelled or blocked if you fail to comply with these terms and conditions or if we believe the Solent Go travelcard has been altered, tampered with or misused.
  4. Solent Transport reserves the right to charge an administration fee for the re-issue of a Solent Go travelcard if your travelcard is lost, damaged or stolen. Solent Transport will not charge an administration fee if your Solent Go travelcard is faulty unless the fault(s) are as a result of misuse or the travelcard has been tampered with so as to make it electronically or visually unreadable.
  5. If Solent Transport replaces your travelcard in line with these terms and conditions we will transfer any remaining tickets (subject to clause 8, How to apply) on your travelcard to a new travelcard, or, where Solent Transport refuses to provide a new travelcard in line with these terms and conditions, we will refund to you an amount equivalent to the balance on your Solent Go travelcard within 30 days.
  6. Solent Transport will only provide a refund where the electronic travel tickets have not been used. All refunds shall be subject to the payment of a £10.00 administration fee.
  7. You must notify Solent Transport of any change of name or address or other contact details provided on the application form by updating the details using your online customer account. Failure to notify Solent Transport could result in Solent Transport being unable to replace or return your travelcard if it is lost, damaged or stolen, or to refund any travel tickets to you under these terms and conditions. If you have selected the recurring payment feature you will also need to notify us of any changes to your bank account details.
  8. The Solent Go travelcard scheme maybe withdrawn at any time at Solent Transport's sole discretion. The customer will be entitled to a full refund of any remaining value or season ticket validity on the Solent Go travelcard when purchased via the Solent Go website.  No administration fee will apply where the scheme is withdrawn by Solent Transport.
  9. All refunds will be issued by cheque and will take up to 30 days to issue.

Using your Solent Go travelcard

  1. You must have your travelcard available for inspection when travelling at any time.
  2. You may only travel with your Solent Go travelcard if you present your travelcard at the time of travel. If you are not able to present your travelcard when travelling you will be required to pay for your journey separately even though you may have valid travel tickets on your travelcard.
  3. You will need to place your Solent Go travelcard on the card reader when you travel.
  4. You will not be able to use your Solent Go travelcard on the following services:
  • All services for which no fare is charged
  • All Park and Ride services
  • All rail replacement bus services
  • All football specials
  • All night services for which a premium fare is charged and which commence journeys between the hours of 0100 and 0359 inclusive
  • All locally registered long distance, National Express, Megabus or similar services
  • All sightseeing tour bus services
  • Stagecoach 737, 747 and Peter Symonds service
  • First S3, S4 and S5
  • College buses

Topping up your Solent Go travelcard / Loading online tickets to your travelcard

Topped-up or newly added tickets

You can top up or add new ticket types to your Solent Go travelcard by accessing the Solent Go website.

Topping up your Solent Go travelcard means buying the same types of tickets online that were previously on your travelcard. 

Adding a new ticket means adding a new ticket type online to the travelcard which was previously not on your travelcard. 

Buying tickets online does not automatically load them to your travelcard – this is a separate process.

There are a variety of collection methods available to upload top up or newly added tickets to your existing Solent Go travelcard. Here is a list of where and how tickets can be uploaded to your existing travelcard.

1) Solent Region or Southampton City Bus Tickets

You can upload New Tickets to your existing Solent Go travelcard: 

and

You can upload Top Up Tickets to your existing Solent Go travelcard: 

  • On Wheelers Bus
  • On Xelabus
  • On Bluestar Bus
  • Through the Solent Go NFC Android App
  • At point of boarding or ticket office at Gosport or Hythe Ferry

Please note that you will not be able to buy bus tickets from a ferry ticket vending machine. The above bus companies are the only ones which can upload top up tickets. When uploading a ticket on a bus, the time period of the ticket starts from the time it is uploaded. After the ticket is uploaded it can be used with other participating operators.

2) Portsmouth City Bus Tickets

You can upload New and Top up Tickets to your existing Solent Go travelcard: 

There are no bus services operated by participating bus operators in Portsmouth City Zone and it is therefore not possible to collect top up tickets on buses.

3) Hythe Ferry

You can upload New Tickets to your existing Solent Go travelcard: 

You can upload Top Up Tickets to your existing Solent Go travelcard:

4) Gosport Ferry

You can upload New Tickets to your existing Solent Go travelcard: 

You can upload Top Up Tickets to your existing Solent Go travelcard: 

5) General information about uploading tickets

Please note that top up bus tickets purchased through www.solentgo.co.uk and which you have selected to be uploaded onto your Solent Go travelcard on a bus can only be uploaded using the following participating operators:

  • Xelabus
  • Wheelers
  • Bluestar

If you have access to an Android Smartphone with Near Field Communication (NFC) you can download the Solent Go application to collect your ticket(s) and add them to your Solent Go travelcard.

A range of travel tickets are also available to purchase directly from participating operators - details of the operators can be found under the travel information section.

You can also buy Solent Go tickets at the First Travel Shop

The Hard Interchange, Portsmouth

Tel: 02392 863 353

Opening times:

0830-1700 Monday to Friday, 0900-1530 Saturdays Travel Shop.

Staff travelcard: When the recurring payment facility is selected, the monthly pro-rata cost of the three-month travel ticket will be taken automatically from the nominated debit/credit travelcard. The nominated debit/credit travelcard must be registered at the billing address and sufficient funds must be available whenever a recurring payment is requested. Bank travelcard details should be changed or updated promptly via the customer's online account. A reminder email will be sent 5 working days prior to any payment being taken.

The recurring payment facility is only available for customers who have a Solent Go travelcard linked to a business account.

If you have selected to use the Solent Go smartphone app to load your topped up or newly added tickets, they will be available within minutes after being purchased  from http://www.solentgo.co.uk/. Please note that you must collect your ticket using the collection method selected during the purchase process. You will not be able to change the route of collection for your ticket.

If you have selected to upload top ups on the bus or at the ferry boarding point/ticket office we recommend leaving 24 hours between topping up online and travelling, however in most cases you can top up by 9pm the night before you want to use your ticket and it will be ready to load and use the next day.

Solent Go NFC Android app 

The Solent Go NFC Android app allows you to load tickets purchased through the online Solent Go account to your Solent Go Travelcard.

The Solent Go NFC Android app does not give you the right to travel. A Solent Go travelcard loaded with a valid ticket or credit must be carried at all times in accordance with appropriate Conditions of Carriage. If a valid Solent Go travelcard cannot be presented at the time of travel the Customer will be required to pay for the journey or will be liable to pay a penalty fare.

 The Solent Go NFC Android app requires an Android-enabled device running Ice Cream Sandwich (version 4.0.x) or later, capable of using Near Field Communication (NFC).

The Solent Go NFC Android app is available for download at the Google Play Store.

By downloading the Solent Go NFC Android app, you agree to the terms of the End User Licence Agreement which is available here.

Online purchases

It is the Customer’s responsibility to ensure that tickets are collected and loaded to the Solent Go Travelcard using the method that has been chosen when purchasing the ticket online.

Solent Go will not be liable for any travel costs incurred as a result of the failure to collect and load tickets to a Solent Go travelcard when purchased online.

What to do if your Solent Go travelcard is lost, damaged or stolen

  1. In order to replace a lost, damaged or stolen Solent Go travelcard you must have registered your travelcard at www.solentgo.co.uk.
  2. You agree to notify Solent Transport immediately by reporting your Solent Go travelcard as lost, damaged or stolen using your online customer account. Solent Transport is unable to log a lost, damaged or stolen travelcard via email or the telephone support number.
  3. Once reported using your online customer account, your original Solent Go travelcard will be cancelled on our systems and a replacement travelcard will be produced and posted to your delivery address.
  4. If there is a valid travel ticket on your Solent Go travelcard, you will only be liable for any usage up to the point at which you notify Solent Transport that your travelcard is missing or has been stolen.
  5. Solent Transport will only reissue travel tickets where there is remaining validity greater than ten days. This is due to the time taken to produce and post a replacement travelcard.
  6. Subject to clauses 1,2,3,4 and 5 above, any remaining tickets will be transferred to your replacement Solent Go travelcard. Solent Transport may charge an administration fee to replace your travelcard as provided in the How To Apply section, point 4.

What to do if you no longer want your Solent Go travelcard

  1. If you no longer wish to use your Solent Go travelcard we strongly recommend you use any remaining travel tickets before returning your travelcard to Solent Transport to Civic Centre, Southampton, SO14 7LY. Any unused tickets will be refunded, minus an administration fee. 
  2. If you have not provided us with updated contact details as required in point 7 of the How To Apply section above, Solent Go accepts no responsibility for any loss you may suffer as a result of us being unable to inform you of the intended cancellation of your Solent Go travelcard.

Our liability to you

  1. Solent Transport’s liability to you is limited to the value of any remaining ticket validity at any given time to the extent permitted by English law.
  2. Solent Transport shall not be responsible to you if your travelcard fails to reach the registered holder by post.
  3. Solent Go is not liable to you for any indirect or consequential losses or damage arising from any failing or fault of your Solent Go travelcard or the smartcard system generally.
  4. Solent Go accepts no liability to you for any loss or damage suffered as a result of your failing to inform us of any change of details under point 7 of the How To Apply section above, or any failure to inform us that your Solent Go travelcard has been lost, damaged or stolen under as provided under the section above titled What To Do If Your Solent Go Travelcard Is Lost, Damaged Or Stolen.
  5. Solent Transport shall not be liable to you for any loss suffered as a result of any ticket being purchased where a service fails to run for any reason.

Complaints procedure

  1. In the first instance any complaint in relation to the administration of the scheme should be submitted thought the online support page of the Solent Go website, or in writing to Civic Centre, Southampton, SO14 7LY. If your complaint cannot be resolved, or has not been resolved to your satisfaction please see Southampton City Council’s published complaints policy at www.southampton.gov.uk.
  2. Any complaint about operator provided services should be sent to the operator directly and cannot be considered by Solent Transport.

Data protection and your personal information

  1. Solent Transport is a data controller for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998 (the Act). Solent Transport will process your data in accordance with the Act and will use your data for the following purposes:
  • To provide you with the service you applied for and for ongoing administration of the service;
  • To allow us to improve products and services we offer to our customers;
  • For research and analysis including travel patterns;
  • To enable us to provide anonymous data to the Department for Transport if requested by them;
  • To enable us to conduct surveys;
  • For the prevention and detection of crime including fare evasion;
  • To enable us to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations; and
  • To ensure that we follow your instructions correctly and to improve customer service, we may monitor and/or record any communication between you and Solent Transport.

2.    We may use your information for marketing purposes as follows:

  • To let you know about related products and or services; and
  • To send you offers on behalf of selected third parties which we believe to be appropriate.

3.    We may contact you for the above purposes by post, email, telephone or text messaging to SMS enabled devices depending on the information you have provided to Solent Transport.

4.    If you do not wish to receive such information you may choose not to do so by opting out using your online customer account. You may change your mind about your contact preferences at any time.

5.    We will retain your information for the period that you have a Solent Go travelcard registered in your name in order to comply with these terms and conditions.

6.    We will only disclose your information to others in the following circumstances:

  • When we are legally obliged to do so;
  • When there is a duty to disclose in the public interest;
  • Where disclosure is necessary to protect Solent Transport’s interest (i.e. to detect crime or fare evasion); and
  • Where you give us permission to do so.