Hereford City Council has launched a new, free bus service, operated by Yeomans Travel.
Three new Yutong E9 battery-electric supplied by Pelican Bus and Coach are being used for the Hereford City Zipper service, which went into operation last Saturday (25 November) and will run up to every 15 minutes.
Funding comes via the government’s Towns Fund, which delivered a match-funded £22.4 million the “Stronger Hereford” campaign – a collaboration of 15 projects designed to enhance the town.
The buses will call at Hereford Railway Station, city centre bus stops, Leisure Pool, Asda, Friars Street Temporary Library, The Courtyard, and Hereford Medical Centre. Frequency will be every 15 minutes Monday to Saturday and every 30 minutes on Sundays. The council says the service will “revolutionise commuting” in Hereford.
The 8.94m-long, 2.42m-wide vehicles come with Yutong Electrical Safety Standard (YESS) battery system, full air conditioning, camera monitoring systems, passenger counting systems and passenger information screens supplied by McKenna Brothers. The seats feature bold, bespoke designs from Camira and grass-effect flooring.
The vehicles are the same as those which debuted in UK on Leicester’s Greenlines Hop free service last April. On launch last year, Pelican noted the buses were “highly manoeuvrable and ideal for both rural and urban applications”.
