First West of England has extended its newly launched space booking system to its Batheaston to Weston service in Bath.
From today, customers on the 3a service will be able to book a space on the bus ahead of their journey. These services will be renumbered as 3b to denote it is a bookable bus. The route was chosen as one of the first trials as it serves the Royal United Hospital and many key workers remain reliant on public transport to get to and from work.
The pilot launched last week on the Brislington park and ride service and will be further extended on the service between Bristol and Thornbury from 10 August.
The new facility follows recent changes to First’s app, which now enables customers to track the location and seat availability of their bus. Along with social distancing measures on its buses and an enhanced cleaning regime, it forms a package of measures to ensure customers can make informed and safe journeys on First’s buses.
The ‘Book my bus ride’ initiative is being rolled out by First West of England in partnership with the West of England Combined Authority and is believed to be the first system of its kind operating on regular, scheduled bus services in the UK.
Bookings can be made up to seven days in advance of the journey, with users able to reserve a space, subject to availability, up to 15 minutes before departure. Customers will have the option of buying a ticket with their reservation or booking at no extra cost if they already have a pre-paid First Bus ticket or are a concessionary card holder travelling after 9.00am.
With capacity onboard currently reduced due to social distancing, the reservation will secure a space on the chosen bus rather than a specific seat. Bookings will be made on a new, dedicated website, with customers receiving an email confirmation that is either scanned onboard or shown alongside an existing, pre-paid ticket.
Bookings will be possible for all Monday to Friday journeys on the 3b service with just under 50% of the socially distanced capacity being bookable and the remaining seats left available for customers to board and pay as normal without a booking.
Chris Hanson, head of operations for Bath, First West of England, said: “By introducing ‘Book my bus ride’ to selected routes in Bristol, Bath and Thornbury, we aim to reassure customers that they can secure a space on their chosen journey.
“The initiative is in its early stages and, if successful, we hope to integrate the advanced booking technology into the First Bus mobile app, as well as the onboard ticketing software, to revolutionise both the customer and driver experience.”
