Arriva launching Uber for buses in Liverpool

[syorksdeano]

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/arriva-launching-uber-buses-liverpool-14823911

Arriva is launching an on-demand bus service which will allow passengers to "order a bus via an app" just like with taxi service Uber.

The national bus network operator has selected Liverpool to become the first UK city to host their ArrivaClick service.

The innovative scheme combines the features of a taxi ride and a bus journey.

How it works

Passengers can ‘order’ and track a vehicle from the app, which will also tell them the name of the driver, and allow them to choose their pick-up point, and reserve a seat.

Powered by the sophisticated technology of global ride sharing transportation firm Via, algorithms match passengers traveling in the same direction, routing vehicles in real-time to find the best route for their trip....

I'm not quite sure that this will work

 

[507021]

There are to be six vehicles initially, these will be based at Speke depot.

 

[158756]

I've never used such a service, but it just sounds like Uber with a minibus (and only six of them) to me? Why would you use it rather than Uber - is it somehow cheaper, are Arriva bus tickets valid or something?

 

[spuddie]

Could this be where some of the Mercedes minibuses from Hemel are heading after the failed attempt to use tiny buses on the majority of town routes?

 

[daikilo]

I've never used such a service, but it just sounds like Uber with a minibus (and only six of them) to me? Why would you use it rather than Uber - is it somehow cheaper, are Arriva bus tickets valid or something?

It will be a shared ride, presumably at a predetermined fare, but will use a route calculated to best match origins and destinations. As such, it may not be the shortest route for individual passengers.

It is certainly pushing technology and I wish them well.

 

[ag51ruk]

As a guide to what it might look like, the existing service in Sittingbourne offers single fares based on distance and time of day, or a weekly pass for £22 (2 rides per day) or £29 (unlimited rides) - buses operate between 06:00 and 22:00 Monday to Saturday.

https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/arrivaclick/about-arrivaclick/what-arrivaclick-costs/

It's been running since April 2017, but I don't know how successfully (or more important, how reliably)

 

[Tetchytyke]

Good luck to them.

Go-Ahead are doing the same thing in Oxford. £2.50 fares to start with.

I agree with Roger French on how viable these things will be, mind.

https://busandtrainuser.com

 

[Typhoon]

As a guide to what it might look like, the existing service in Sittingbourne offers single fares based on distance and time of day, or a weekly pass for £22 (2 rides per day) or £29 (unlimited rides) - buses operate between 06:00 and 22:00 Monday to Saturday.

https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/arrivaclick/about-arrivaclick/what-arrivaclick-costs/

It's been running since April 2017, but I don't know how successfully (or more important, how reliably)

The Sittingbourne service was developed in conjunction with the Kent Science Park*. So it had a core business of station to/ from Science Park on which to build. The initial operating area was fairly restricted to the town and Science Park - since slightly extended to some surrounding areas. The town/ Science Park service covered a comparatively small area so it would be comparatively easy to carry passengers to their desired destination without taking others out of their way to any great extent. Also, employees of the Science Park are likely to be entirely happy with method of booking the journey.

How this will translate to part of a city with less clear boundaries (city centre to airport - fair enough but how far inland does this stretch, there will be a map but there are likely to be adjacent roads - one in the scheme, the other not) is less obvious. I would have thought that basing the service round airport to wherever would have been a good start.

* - From their website :-
'Kent Science Park is a national centre of excellence and a developing cluster for R&D, life sciences, environmental technology, food security, high-tech engineering, ICT and knowledge-based service industries. … Set in 65 acres of beautifully manicured grounds, Kent Science Park is one of the largest in the South East, boasting high specification laboratories and business accommodation in 47 buildings.'

 

[Typhoon]

Included on 'You and Yours' (Radio 4) today (2nd July) - right at the end of the programme. The reporter travelled from Kent Science Park to, er, Sittingbourne Station!

(Bus travel was also featured on 'Mind the Gap: Britain's Transport Divide' today, also Radio 4. You wait ages for a programme on bus travel then two come together.)

 

[Wirewiper]

Included on 'You and Yours' (Radio 4) today (2nd July) - right at the end of the programme. The reporter travelled from Kent Science Park to, er, Sittingbourne Station!

(Bus travel was also featured on 'Mind the Gap: Britain's Transport Divide' today, also Radio 4. You wait ages for a programme on bus travel then two come together.)

Could be to do with it being Catch The Bus Week.

http://catchthebusweek.co.uk/

 

[Typhoon]

Could be to do with it being Catch The Bus Week.

http://catchthebusweek.co.uk/

Almost certainly! Thank you.

So I can expect to hear a radio analysis of how well the Liverpool scheme is doing in 12 months time! Ah, well!

The fact that it is the middle of the week, I travel primarily by bus and I have not seen any publicity for the week says something about the impact the week has had in this area (Kent).

 

[Hophead]

As far as I've ever been able to work out, Catch The Bus Week is only ever promoted by operators who market their bus services the other 51 weeks of the year in any case

 

[edwin_m]

Here's an American perspective on the same idea.

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2018/06/26/the-story-of-micro-transit-is-consistent-dismal-failure/

The pitch to public agencies is that micro transit can be a more cost-effective way to provide service in some travel markets than fixed-route buses.

Years after micro transit started grabbing attention — CityLab reported on the crowded start-up scene back in 2015 — we’re still waiting for the first significant success story.