• Expanded minibus services for West Yorkshire were Launched this
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week in a spectacular laser light show by Yorkshire Rider, the area's biggest bus operator. New services starting in Bradford, Leeds and Calderdale will boost the number of minibuses in daily service to 120. They are backed by 50 reserve vehicles to face any new competition which may start in the area. The Yorkshire Rider minibus fleet, marketed as MicroRider', is based on Freight Rover Sherpas, including some six-month-old vehicles bought from West Midlands Travel.
The improved network was launched by Yorkshire Rider's managing director Bill Cottham and is to be heavily promoted with the Slogan MicroRiders are Magic'. The decision to expand minibus operations was taken following research with Leeds University which revealed favourable attitudes to small buses, with the main complaints being inadequate luggage accommodation and buses running in bunches.
These criticisms have been addressed by specifying a tipup front seat on new vehicles to increase baggage space, and by appointing more minibus controllers to improve service reliability. Where overcrowding has occurred conventional big buses will be used to augment peak-period services.
MicroRider services have carried five million passengers since they started five months ago. "We want to add a sense of excitement and fun to the benefits of using these services," says Cottham.