RAIL and bus tickets will soon be a thing of the past as Stagecoach has launched its integrated Bus-Rail smart ticketing initiative

Passengers will be able to travel by bus and rail on a single commercial smartcard and the pilot scheme joins up journeys on South West Trains and Stagecoach South buses – across parts of Hampshire,

The latest Stagecoach project follows publication of the Department for Transport rail strategy in March.

The announcement came just days after Transport Secretary Justine Greening, launched the Government's rail strategy, which critics claim could lead to commuters being charged even higher fares to travel at peak times in the morning rush-hour.

For full story, see this week's Liphook Herald.