Go-Ahead teams up with TfL and ViaVan to roll out demand responsive service in London
London, 20 February 2019 – The Go-Ahead Group is working with Transport for London (TfL) and ViaVan, Europe’s leading provider of on-demand transport, to launch a year-long trial of a new responsive transport service across the borough of Sutton.
From this Spring, passengers will be able to summon a minibus service through a smartphone app in real-time and make mobile payments for their journey – with Freedom Passes also accepted.
- One-year pilot in South London will be Go-Ahead’s first on-demand service in the capital
- Passengers can summon vehicles using the app, with mobile payments and Freedom Passes accepted
- Hailing a ride will offer passengers access to Wi-Fi and USB charging points
Each minibus will have the capacity to carry up to 14 passengers at one time, with services running from 06:30 to 21:30, seven days a week.
Sutton was selected for the pilot due to a combination of high car dependency and challenges to traditional methods of public transport.
Go-Ahead is keen to use the borough as an example of how communities can make greater use of more sustainable shared transport options.
The service will run a fleet of dynamically routed, on-demand vehicles to give consumers a service that is both time and cost efficient.
Go-Ahead has operated the UK’s largest demand-responsive bus service in Oxford since June 2018, with PickMeUp providing passengers with more than 75,000 journeys since launch.
Customers will be able to book their journeys in real time via an app, with updates on arrival time, driver and route details, as well as an estimated time of arrival. Summoning a shuttle guarantees customers free Wi-Fi and USB charging points.
David Brown CEO of The Go-Ahead Group said: “As the operator of PickMeUp, the largest demand responsive service in the UK, we are delighted to work with TFL and VIA to help deliver this service to Sutton.
As London’s largest bus operator, we understand how an 'on demand' service can provide further journey opportunities to complement the capital's extensive network of bus routes. The Sutton service will help customers with the first and last mile of their trip and fits well with Go-Ahead's vision of a world where every journey is taken care of.”
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