A Leicestershire demand-responsive transport scheme is to be expanded, reports the Leicester Mercury, along with a new direct shuttle service to the city centre. The on-demand service was launched in 2019 as Arriva Click to serve the New Lubbesthorpe area. Three years on, the scheme is to be expanded as it moves to a new operator.
A new regular shuttle service into Leicester city centre will also be rolled out following the take-over by Vectare from August 1. The service currently covers New Lubbesthorpe, Leicester Forest East, Enderby and Narborough, but new destinations will be added including Narborough and Leicester railway stations and Leicester Royal Infirmary.
Vectare also confirmed it will operate a new direct bus route between New Lubbesthorpe and Leicester city centre, with expected journey times of less than 30 minutes.
Councillor Ben Taylor, Leicester CIty Council’s portfolio holder for Planning Delivery and Enforcement and Corporate Transformation, told the local newspaper: “This is fantastic news for residents in New Lubbesthorpe and the surrounding area. It is great to see Go Travel Solutions and the Drummond Estate working so hard to provide regular, long-term sustainable public transport giving residents a reliable service with choice.
“Arriva has shown since the launch of its Click service that innovation in public transport is popular with the public. We’d like to thank them for providing this service for the last three years during the Covid-19 pandemic. We’re now very excited to see the new Vectare service in operation from August and look forward to hearing feedback from residents.”