Solent Transport
Solent Transport is a UK local authority partnership coordinating innovative transport initiatives across the Solent region, including the UK's first multi-city MaaS app, e-scooter trials, micro logistics hubs, drone medical logistics, and transport modelling, funded primarily by the Department for Transport.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2007
- HeadquartersHampshire, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Solent Transport does
Solent Transport is a public-sector partnership between Portsmouth City Council, Southampton City Council, Isle of Wight Council and Hampshire County Council, originally established in 2007 as Transport for South Hampshire and rebranded in June 2014. The organisation provides strategic leadership for transport policy and infrastructure across the Solent region in southern England, serving a population of approximately 1.3 million across Portsmouth, Southampton, South Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, and Winchester.
The organisation delivered the £28.8 million Department for Transport Future Transport Zone programme (2020–2025), which funded a portfolio of operational products and trials. The flagship was Breeze, the UK's first multi-city Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) app, integrating buses, trains, ferries, e-scooters (via Voi), e-bikes (via Beryl and later Voi), car clubs, walking routes and hovercraft into a single journey planning, booking and payment platform — built on technology from Trafi with smart ticketing from Unicard. Other products included e-scooter rental trials (1,400+ scooters, 180,000+ riders, 12.4 million km travelled), micro and macro consolidation logistics hubs for sustainable last-mile delivery, drone medical logistics trials between mainland and Isle of Wight NHS hospitals (in partnership with Windracers, Skylift UAV and Apian), Dynamic Demand Responsive Transport, and a mobility credits programme. Underpinning the operational portfolio is the Solent Sub-Regional Transport Model (SRTM), a WebTAG-compliant multi-modal model operated by SYSTRA since 2010 that supports transport strategy and funding bids through scenario modelling to 2046.
Solent Transport does not generate commercial revenue. Its business model is grant-funded: the £28.8m DfT FTZ grant is distributed across delivery partners (Voi, Beryl, Delivery Mates, Decarbon Logistics Solutions, Trafi, Unicard, SYSTRA, and others) to operate services and trials, supplemented by contributions from the four partner local authorities. The organisation has 11–50 employees, is governed by a Joint Committee of partner authorities, and acts as a coordinating body rather than a direct service operator. The Breeze trial concluded on 31 October 2025, with the app platform taken offline despite exceeding key performance indicators including 50,000+ downloads and a 3% reduction in car use among surveyed users.
Solent Transport firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Solent Transport
- Legal name
- Solent Transport
- Website
- https://solent-transport.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2007
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Solent Transport is a UK local authority partnership coordinating innovative transport initiatives across the Solent region, including the UK's first multi-city MaaS app, e-scooter trials, micro logistics hubs, drone medical logistics, and transport modelling, funded primarily by the Department for Transport.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Solent Transport industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Public Transport Partnership Services
- NAICS
- Bus and Other Motor Vehicle Transit Systems (485113), Support Activities for Transportation (488)
- SIC
- Local & Suburban Transit & Interurban Hwy Passenger Trans (4100)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Managed Transportation Programs (Health Plans/MCOs/TPAs) (TLAFAKAF)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Accessible Shuttle & On-Demand Paratransit (Microtransit for Riders with Disabilities) (TLAFAKAK)
Keywords
Where Solent Transport is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Hampshire
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Solent Transport business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Department for Transport Funding: Solent Transport is funded through government grants from the Department for Transport, primarily through the £28.8m Future Transport Zone programme. The organization does not generate commercial revenue but rather distributes funding to deliver transport projects and trials.
- Local Authority Contributions: Partner local authorities (Portsmouth City Council, Southampton City Council, Isle of Wight Council, Hampshire County Council) contribute to the partnership and co-fund transport initiatives.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | E-scooter rental pricing through Voi |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Bike share rental pricing through Beryl |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
Solent Transport product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Solent Transport is a sub-regional partnership between Portsmouth City Council, Southampton City Council, and Isle of Wight Council that delivers transport projects and innovation programmes across the Solent area. It runs the Breeze multimodal journey planner app, which lets users plan and pay for journeys combining rail, bus, ferry, e-scooters, bike share and demand-responsive transport, and it administers concessionary travel schemes for disabled residents in partnership with the councils.
Product overview
Solent Transport is a regional transport partnership between Portsmouth City Council, Southampton City Council, and Isle of Wight Council that delivers improved transport infrastructure, networks, and systems across the Solent area. Its public-facing portfolio centres on the Breeze Mobility-as-a-Service app (the UK's first multi-city MaaS platform), supplemented by bike share, e-scooter rental trials, micro and macro logistics consolidation hubs, drone medical logistics, dynamic demand responsive transport, mobility credits, and the Solent Go smart ticketing system. Supporting infrastructure includes the Solent Sub-Regional Transport Model (SRTM) for transport planning and the My Journey travel information portal. These offerings are coordinated under the Solent Future Transport Zone programme, a £28.8m DfT-funded initiative that concluded its five-year trial period in October 2025.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Breeze: UK's first fully integrated multi-city Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) transport app providing journey planning, booking and payment across buses, trains, e-scooters, e-bikes, ferries and more.
- Breeze for Business
- Solent Future Transport Zone
- Micro Consolidation
Products and services
- Breeze multimodal journey planner app A mobile journey planning and ticketing application that lets residents and visitors plan, book and pay for travel across rail, bus, ferry, e-scooter, bike share and demand-responsive transport in the Solent region. Available on iOS App Store and Google Play.
Quantifiable outcome
- Breeze users reduced car use by 3%
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Solent Transport
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Solent Transport technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration11 records
Feature4 records
Solent Transport partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
21 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- WightlinkminorFerry operator whose services were added to Breeze app, allowing users to include ferry travel in journey planning.
- Delivery MatescoreOperator for Portsmouth Micro Logistics Hub, receiving and sorting up to 1,000 parcels daily from national couriers and local businesses.
- University of PortsmouthcoreResearch partner leading quantification of logistics impacts, development of simulation platforms for micro hub routing and site selection, and monitoring evaluation.
- University of SouthamptoncoreResearch partner engaging businesses for participation, conducting shared-fleet model studies, drone technology development, and logistics research.
- Skylift UAV LtdcoreDrone operator for BVLOS trials between Portsmouth and Isle of Wight, operating CAA-approved VTOL drones.
- Decarbon Logistics Solutions (DLS)coreVolofleet Portfolio Company providing sustainable urban logistics expertise. Supports micro consolidation hub planning, site selection, operator procurement, and operations management.
- BerylcoreBike and e-bike share operator providing 800+ bikes across 250+ locations in the Solent region.
- TraficoreApp developer providing technical expertise for Breeze MaaS platform development, journey planning, and ticketing integration.
- UnicardcoreProvides smart ticketing and payment solutions for Breeze app. Enabled rail accreditation allowing sale of rail tickets through the platform.
- Behavioural Insights TeamminorResearch partner testing how MaaS product changes travel behavior relative to control groups of non-users.
- Voi TechnologycoreE-scooter rental operator providing 1,400+ e-scooters across Portsmouth, Southampton and Isle of Wight trials.
- WindracerscoreDrone technology provider developing ULTRA UAV platform capable of carrying up to 100kg payloads for medical supply deliveries.
- Isle of Wight CouncilcoreJoint data controller partner since March 2013. Key partner for e-scooter trials and drone medical logistics connecting island to mainland.
- SYSTRAcoreTransport consultancy operating the SRTM model under contract, supporting transport strategy development and funding bids.
- Portsmouth City CouncilcoreCore joint data controller and founding partner of Solent Transport. Provides governance through Joint Committee membership and hosts headquarters at Civic Offices.
- Southampton City CouncilcoreCore joint data controller and founding partner of Solent Transport. Key contributor to FTZ projects including bike share and home library service.
- Hampshire County CouncilcorePartner authority providing strategic direction through Joint Committee. Contributed to e-scooter and bike share schemes across the region.
- TRLminorTransport research consultancy providing independent assessment of drone logistics operations.
- HovertravelminorHovercraft operator providing crossings included in Breeze app for Isle of Wight access.
- King's College LondonminorAcademic research partner contributing to drone logistics research for medical deliveries.
- Portsmouth Hospital University NHS TrustcoreNHS partner receiving medical supplies via drone delivery network between hospitals.
Scale indicators15 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Solent Transport competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Zipline: Drone delivery company providing medical supply deliveries to hospitals and health facilities in multiple countries. Directly comparable to Solent Transport's drone medical logistics trials connecting mainland NHS hospitals to the Isle of Wight.
- Moovit: Multi-modal journey planning app integrated with public transport, micromobility, and ride-hail across many cities. Directly comparable to Breeze's journey planning across buses, trains, ferries, e-scooters, e-bikes and walking.
- Matternet: Drone delivery company focused on medical and healthcare logistics with hospital BVLOS operations. Comparable to Solent Transport's drone medical logistics trials and BVLOS capabilities with NHS Trusts.
- Whim: MaaS subscription service in Helsinki and other cities offering integrated multi-modal transport booking and payment. Most directly comparable to Solent Transport's Breeze MaaS app in product offering and target use case.
- Citymapper: Multi-modal urban transport app providing journey planning across public transport, walking, cycling, micromobility and ride-hail. Directly comparable to Breeze's journey planning, though commercially rather than publicly driven.
Broad incumbents
- Transport for London: UK's largest public-sector transport authority, coordinating buses, rail, cycling, and active travel across London. Comparable to Solent Transport in multi-modal public-sector governance, though at substantially greater scale.
- Transport for Greater Manchester: Regional UK transport authority coordinating buses, trams and active travel across Greater Manchester. Similar public-sector partnership structure with multi-modal integration comparable to Solent Transport.
Regional players
- Sustrans: UK charity focused on sustainable transport, walking and cycling infrastructure. Comparable mission to Solent Transport around modal shift and active travel across UK regions.
Others
- WSP: Global transport planning and modelling consultancy providing WebTAG-compliant transport modelling services. Comparable to Solent Transport's SRTM modelling capability used for transport planning and funding bids.
- SYSTRA: Global transport engineering consultancy that operates Solent Transport's SRTM model under contract. Provides comparable multi-modal transport modelling capability relevant to Solent Transport's SRTM operations and funding-bid support.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Solent Transport social profiles
Digital presenceSolent Transport financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Solent Transport leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Solent Transport funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Solent Transport M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Solent Transport
What does Solent Transport do?
Solent Transport is a sub-regional partnership between Portsmouth City Council, Southampton City Council, and Isle of Wight Council that delivers transport projects and innovation programmes across the Solent area. It runs the Breeze multimodal journey planner app, which lets users plan and pay for journeys combining rail, bus, ferry, e-scooters, bike share and demand-responsive transport, and it administers concessionary travel schemes for disabled residents in partnership with the councils.
Is Solent Transport a public or private company?
Solent Transport is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was Solent Transport founded?
Solent Transport was founded in 2007. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Solent Transport based?
Solent Transport is headquartered in Hampshire, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Solent Transport make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Department for Transport Funding is the primary driver. The others are local Authority Contributions.
Who are Solent Transport's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Zipline, Moovit, Matternet, Whim and Citymapper. Broad incumbents are Transport for London and Transport for Greater Manchester. Sustrans is listed as a regional player. Others are WSP and SYSTRA.
Does Solent Transport have an API?
No public API is recorded for Solent Transport.
What industry is Solent Transport in?
Solent Transport's product category is Public Transport Partnership Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is TLAFAKAF, Managed Transportation Programs (Health Plans/MCOs/TPAs), with a secondary code of TLAFAKAK, Accessible Shuttle & On-Demand Paratransit (Microtransit for Riders with Disabilities). Its NAICS code is 485113 and its SIC code is 4100.