Alberto Costa, South Leicestershire, has attending the unveiling of a new on-demand travel service for the New Lubbesthorpe housing development, that will enable constituents to select their chosen pick-up point and destination on demand via the simple ArrivaClick app, then pay for their journeys upfront as part of the cash-less service.
Simon Finnie, Area Managing Director for Arriva Midlands South, explained: “Think of ArrivaClick as being like a bus that’s smart enough to come to you, whenever you most need it. It offers a truly bespoke journey experience, putting control back into the hands of the passenger, and allowing them to not only define ‘where’ and ‘when’ but also track their vehicle and communicate with their designated driver all through their mobile phone.
“There are no fixed routes, with journeys determined by where passengers want to go within a predefined area, which in Leicester will cover the train station, both bus stations, University campus’, shopping centres, King Power Stadium, Next Head Office and Fosse Park. Significantly, it is being part financed with Section 106 Funding from the New Lubbesthorpe housing development to ensure that residents who live there have access to a truly sustainable transport solution that really does fit into modern lifestyles at an early stage in the development. We’re really excited to introduce ArrivaClick into Leicester. It has already proven popular with customers in Liverpool and Kent, where our customers wholly appreciate having complete control over how and when they travel. Its arrival in Leicester marks a new era for public transport in the city and we’re confident it will perfectly complement our already comprehensive local bus network, and further encourage more people out of their cars by providing optimum flexibility and convenience.
ArrivaClick goes into service on 29th April and will operate across Leicester every day between 6am and 11pm, with journeys costing from as little as £1 per mile. The five executive mini-buses come complete with 15 leather passenger seats, air conditioning, free WiFi and USB charging points, with space for wheelchairs and pushchairs.
The buses received an excellent reception when revealed for the first time at an exclusive preview event at Leicester’s Marriott Hotel on Friday 26th April. In attendance were partners in the project from Leicester City, and Leicestershire County Councils, Blaby District Council, along with representatives from a number of local businesses and Conservative MP for South Leicestershire, Alberto Costa.
Mr Costa commented: “I was delighted to join the brilliant Blaby District Council and Arriva for the launch of the new ArrivaClick service at New Lubbesthorpe. ArrivaClick is a hugely exciting new service that really has the potential to revolutionise public transport by offering constituents an ‘on demand’ Uber-style service. It means that residents will be able to use the service at their convenience, and provides a much more sustainable, environmentally friendly alternative to using their car to travel to Leicester or Fosse Park. This is only the third service of its kind in the country, but I will be keeping a close eye on how it works in New Lubbesthorpe, as I believe it has the power to make a huge difference to our rural communities who may have infrequent bus services or none at all.”
Operating in an area of 29 square kilometres for a population of 70,000 (as opposed to a conventional service that typically serves 10,000 people), the new service will integrate with existing bus and train networks and provide flexible connections to Leicester City Centre, major employers and hospitals.
Alberto is pictured above with Mr Simon Finnie, Area Managing Director for Arriva Midlands South.
