Grant Palmer Limited, Bedfordshire's family-owned bus company since 1999, launched a new direct busway service for residents in the Bidwell West development.
From 28th March 2022, the new "Hi" service operated 7 days a week, with an hourly service Monday to Saturday and a two-hourly service on Sundays and Bank Holidays. This innovative service had been developed in partnership with Central Bedfordshire Council to provide a service from Houghton Regis North to Dunstable and Luton via the guided busway. The service was funded by housing developer funding.
The guided busway provided smooth and comfortable journeys with congestion-busting relief for customers- avoiding Luton's busiest roads by using the longest urban guideway in the world.
Customers could benefit from capped weekly and monthly travel- a week's bus travel was capped at £14.00 when paying using a contactless card. The Grant Palmer app had bus times, journey planning, and live bus tracking to give customers reassurance and up-to-the-minute information.
Thomas Manship, Executive Assistant for Grant Palmer Ltd, said, "Our current network of busway services has been extremely popular- indeed since 2016 we grew passenger numbers by 300%. Our simple approach of clean buses, friendly drivers, and punctual service accelerated our reputation as the busway's premier operator.
"We have proudly operated on the Luton and Dunstable guided busway since its opening in 2013. Our new busway service will provide connections to education, leisure, and healthcare for our customers in Houghton Regis. We couldn't wait to say Hi and meet our new customers."
The new bus service used Section 106 developer contribution money, and Central Bedfordshire Council awarded the new service contract to Grant Palmer, a long-standing bus service provider across Central Bedfordshire.
Councillor Ian Dalgarno, Executive Member for Community Services, said at the time, "We are thrilled to provide a new bus service to the residents in the north of Houghton Regis.
"Public transport is an important service to many people, and despite the impact the pandemic had on passenger numbers, we remain committed to prioritizing bus services and new routes across Central Bedfordshire."
