Passenger transport company Go-Ahead Group has announced plans to operate a demand responsive bus service from Tuesday 27 September in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, which will allow passengers to request a bus ride from a ‘virtual bus stop’.
The group’s Carousel Buses brand has partnered with Buckinghamshire Council to operate the pick-up service, which has been established to disincentivise the use of private vehicles in the county.
A recruitment campaign has already started to recruit minibus drivers and customer service controllers for the PickMeUp service, which will reportedly come into service later in 2022.
The idea operates around the idea of a virtual bus stop, with the ride picking up and dropping off passengers close to a start and end point for their journeys, without the limits of physical infrastructure.
A previous version of PickMeUp was run by Go-Ahead’s Oxford Bus Company between 2018 and 2020, as part of a two-year trial. It was reportedly the UK’s largest demand responsive bus service, but lacked local authority funding to continue service beyond the two-year period.
Martin Dean, managing director of Go-Ahead, said: “We’re always looking for new ways to get people onto buses.
“This is an innovative idea which uses technology to bring buses to people when and where they want them.
“We’re delighted to be working on the initiative with Buckinghamshire Council.”
Funded by the council, with support from the UK government’s Rural Mobility Fund, the service will be run by Carousel, which manages about 45 buses in High Wycombe and the wider Buckinghamshire area.
