There was excellent news for HertsLynx this month, as it reached the 50,000th passenger trips mark! This rural service, launched in late 2021, is leading the way in delivering public transport across rural areas. It serves the area around the Hertfordshire town of Buntingford. These areas, where some villages consist of only 30-40 houses, are difficult to serve with fixed line routes and around 40,000 people were more than a 15-minute walk from a bus stop.
When HertsLynx launched, people were quick to adopt the new service, both those people who live near the skeleton network of rural bus routes, but also in villages and hamlets which were not previously on bus routes. Customer surveys show it’s being used by a variety of people with about 25% of ticket sales to young people and 10% to older people. Key destinations include Freman College in Buntingford and stations in Royston and Stevenage. The service notably provides people in the area with a direct link to the Lister Hospital in Stevenage, which was previously only possible on public transport via a very circuitous route. Trip patterns also vary, as its used for a variety of purposes, with one in six passengers using the service 5-20 times a month to make about a third of the trips, and the majority of the others use it less regularly.
Padam Mobility is really proud to be working with Hertfordshire County Council to power this vital service. The service has proved very popular and is being extended to cover the area below Buntingford as far as Ware.
