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JustGo North Lincs, the Demand-Responsive Transport (DRT) service connecting communities across North Lincolnshire, has added an extra bus to its fleet to increase capacity as COVID-19 restrictions ease.
The on-demand service, operated by The Go-Ahead Group subsidiary East Yorkshire, in partnership with North Lincolnshire Council and technology provider Liftango— launched in September 2020.
To meet the increased demand seen since schools and colleges returned, and the expected increase with the opening of non-essential retail and outdoor hospitality, an extra bus has started operating, taking the total number of vehicles used to seven.
“We are delighted with how popular JustGo has been since it started in September, and are looking forward to carrying even more people over the months to come,” says Ben Gilligan, East Yorkshire’s Area Director.
“Adding an extra bus will allow more people to travel for work, school, shopping and leisure, helping kick-start the region’s post-COVID-19 recovery.”
The extra vehicle is another part of a range of improvements which have been rolled out in the last sixth months, aiming to enhance the customer experience even further and offering better integration with the wider transport network.
Liftango, the company behind the App, booking and operations platforms, has been an integral part to JustGo’s ongoing success.
“It’s been a tough period for transport in the UK. To see the growth in demand triggering the addition of another vehicle in the fleet is an extremely positive sign. As lockdowns ease, we’re looking forward to serving members of the public that have been caught at home and wanting a convenient way to get out and about the county,” says Kevin Orr, CEO and Co-Founder of Liftango.
As well as 24-hour booking, live bus tracking and updates about the passenger’s journey, the JustGoNorth Lincs App now lets users know where regular bus services would be more suited for their journey, taking them to the relevant operator’s website for timetable and ticketing information. This alleviates capacity for those travelling where a regular bus service is not an option.
“We’ve been impressed by how Liftango has responded to the challenges of modifying service to meet the needs of a country in and out of lockdown. We’ve been able to provide much needed transport for essential workers as well as members of the public travelling to vaccination centres for their jab,” says Ben Gilligan.
JustGo uses a fleet of minibuses offering free WiFi, USB charging ports and luxury seating, providing a quality all-round experience on every ride. Buses are safe and clean, with hand sanitiser available and enhanced cleaning, plus social distancing measures on board.
Running Monday-Friday 7am-7pm and 8am-6pm on Sundays, buses can be booked at any time via the JustGo North Lincs App, then tracked in real-time to the selected pick up point. Passengers can also book via the JustGo hotline on 01482 592959. The service operates across North Lincolnshire where there are no existing regular bus services. For more information, see justgonorthlincs.co.uk
You can hear from members of The Go Ahead Group, and Liftango in our webinar on Data-Driven Service Design for Demand-Responsive Transport.
About East Yorkshire
EastYorkshire operates local bus services in and around Hull, East Yorkshire and into North Yorkshire, as well as JustGo North Lincs in North Lincolnshire. The company, which was founded in 1926, became part of The Go-Ahead Group in summer 2018. For more information, visit eastyorkshirebuses.co.uk
About Liftango
At Liftango, we believe access to transportation is a fundamental right for people in modern society. Yet we still rely on transportation networks that are expensive, rigid and ultimately inconvenient to many parts of the community. By creating better access to personalised transport through a single technology platform we enable organisations to manage and optimise vehicle movements in amore sustainable way. The result is a climate-positive, convenient & affordable demand-driven transport system that provides better coverage, catering for all members of society.
