LCB's little Trippits
Page 20
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• Leicester City Bus has launched a new town service network in Loughborough with eleven Optare Midibuses. Through its subsidiary Loughborough Bus and Coach Company the former Municipal bus operator challenges both Trent and Kinch which provide hourly town services, by introducing high-frequency routes into a number of housing estates.
Eleven Optare City Pacer midibuses, with 25-seat bodies on Volkswagen LT55 chassis have been acquired. They are finished in a livery of green and yellow and marketed as "Trippits". The vehicles have been purchased through a 2338,000 five-year finance lease arranged with Lombard North Central. The company will then have the option of disposing of the vehicles or retaining them for a nominal sum.
The Pacers, powered by the standard six-cylinder turbocharged engine, are equipped with a five-speed manual gearbox which will be replaced by Chrysler Torquethte automatic transmission when available later this month.
Three routes are operated and cross the town centre near the Market Place. They operate on a 15-minute frequency from 07.00 lirs to 18.30 hrs on weekdays and pick up passengers on the "Hail and Ride" system. A flat fare of 30p with a reduced fare of 20p for children and OAPs is charged. Journeys across the centre cost 50p and all concessions are operatorfunded as Charnwood District Council does not fund these.
The vehicles are housed temporarily at the Tourmaster premises of County Travel. City Bus intends to move into an appropriate industrial unit this autumn, when the size of the required fleet is known. The business is run by a Traffic Manager and his assistant, with seventeen drivers on the books. Servicing is undertaken by Cossingtons (a local VW dealer) under a three-year extended warranty.
City Bus Managing Director Bob Hind believes that the town has not been well served away from the main roads and is convinced that his Operation's "rural" image will fit in well.
Initially a 15-minute frequency will be tried, although new routes and higher frequencies will be provided if there is sufficient demand. A fourth route to the University will start in September and there have been requests for service from other parts of the town.
Speaking at the service's launch last Friday, Hind said: "We've come to Loughborough to succeed with a new type of service. If it proves popular we will not hesitate to expand."