RATP Dev-owned Slide operates a shared ride on-demand service in and around Bristol at peak periods, but the service is to be withdrawn later this month due to competition from Rapid Transit routes
On 26 November RATP Dev announced that it would be closing the shared ride-to-work service, Slide Bristol. Having launched during July 2016 as a pilot project, Slide has now been in operation for over two years.
An app-based service, it was designed to allow commuters traveling on a similar route to share a ride to and from work. The service operates Monday to Friday between 0645 to 0945hrs in the morning peak and 1530 to 1730hrs in the evening between. This formula has seen more than 40,000 passenger journeys made since July 2016.
Coralie Triadou, Microtransit Director at RATP Dev, said in the announcement to customers on the Slide website: “Slide Bristol was the first microtransit service to be launched in the United Kingdom, and we are proud to have worked with the local community to provide this service to its commuters.
“Slide has proved to be extremely popular, covering more than 210,000 kilometres over a two-year period and receiving an average 4.9 out of 5 rating from customers for its drivers and service.
“Our experience in Bristol has shown us that micro transit services in large city centres can only operate smoothly when they are fully integrated with the public transport network, and this is where we want to focus our efforts.
“As these conditions became challenging to meet in Bristol and with increased competition from two new Metrobus Rapid Transit routes, we decided to end the service.
“We are proud to have transformed what was initially planned as a short pilot project into a full two-year operation and remain committed to investing in micro transit services and in developing new creative transport solutions which benefit commuters throughout the UK and beyond.”
