PickMeUp picks up
Oxford Bus Company’s on-demand ride-sharing service, PickMeUp, has made over 20,000 journeys in the eastern arc of Oxford to date.
The Go-Ahead-owned operator claims this is ahead of expectations. More than 10,000 people have signed up to use the service since it launched on 25 June. It enables passengers in eastern Oxford to summon buses to pick them up on a street corner of their choice, to go to a bespoke destination.
The operator believes the service is the largest scheme of its kind to be launched by a UK bus company. It operates between 6am and 11pm Monday to Friday and between 8.30am and 7.30pm on Saturday and 8.30am to 7pm on Sundays. It has an average response time of around ten minutes, according to the company. Oxford Bus Company invested £850,000 in six 17-seat ultra-low emission Mercedes-Benz Sprinter-based Euro 6 minibuses, with wifi, USB charging points, wheelchair access and high-back seating.
I would have thought that Arrows DaRT operations in Essex were larger than this (14 buses), but well done to Go-Ahead for grasping the initiative with innovative schemes that will bring people back on the buses and stop the present national 3% decline in users.