Morebus will continue to operate the fleet of university buses following the award of a ten year contract to provide the service across Bournemouth and Poole.
The buses, instantly noticeable from their distinctive designs, run between Bournemouth Town Centre and the University’s Talbot Campus, with further services stretching into Poole town centre.
The contract between BU and morebus will allow for a greater development of bus services to benefit university staff and students, as well as members of the local public who are also encouraged to use the service.
The partnership between the university and morebus has seen a significant growth in passenger numbers, with bus users on the route up 140% since 2009/10 and it is expected that almost one million passenger journeys will have been completed in this academic year.
The new bus fleet will comprise of 12 double deck Low Carbon Emission Buses. These buses will be equipped with some of the most advanced technology available to reduce emissions and improve fuel economy.
The new bus contract, which is also in collaboration with Arts University Bournemouth, will create a number of benefits and improvements for passengers including increased frequency of services running, including a seven-day-a-week provision to access the university campuses, and a range of measures to encourage students and staff to travel more sustainably through public transport.
Jim Andrews, Chief Operating Officer at Bournemouth University, said, “The University Bus Service provides an essential public transport solution for students, staff and the community. The University has invested heavily in the service and passenger numbers have grown significantly over the last five years. We expect the new service to provide over a million passenger journeys in the first year, and we anticipate greater growth in passenger numbers over the life time of the contract.
“The new service will offer a high quality high frequency public transport option for the local public, as well as university passengers”.
Andrew Wickham, morebus Managing Director, said, “We are privileged to be awarded this tender and are excited to be working in partnership to further develop and grow the success of the University bus network over the coming 10 years.”
For more information about the University’s bus service, visit the Bus for BU website.