OXFORD BUS COMPANY’S PICKMEUP SERVICE SCOOPS COVETED BEST USE OF TECHNOLOGY AWARD

Oxford Bus Company’s innovative PickMeUp service has been rewarded at the respected Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce Annual Business Awards.

It scooped the Best Use of Technology Award, following the successful introduction of PickMeUp in Oxford. The award recognises organisations that have fully exploited technology available to them to grow their business. Judges looked at how the use of technology improved business processes and customer experience.

The award was presented by Olympic Gold Medallist Greg Rutherford, at a gala event showcasing the talents, innovation and entrepreneurship of companies from across the region.

Phil Southall, Oxford Bus Company Managing Director said: “The award recognises the vision of Oxford Bus Company and Go-Ahead to embrace technology to innovate and provide an ever-improving customer experience. It is also testament to the great team that have worked together to deliver the new ground-breaking service and strived to develop it over the past year.”

PickMeUp was the county's first transport service of its kind when it was introduced in June last year, enabling passengers to request a mini-bus pick-up within 15 minutes at a virtual bus stop using a mobile phone app.

It has exceeded all forecasts, providing more than 140,000 rides over the last year for the 25,000 passengers who have downloaded the app and registered to travel across Oxford, and is now carrying an average of nearly 4,000 passengers per week.

The Oxford Bus Company backed by parent company the Go-Ahead Group have invested significantly in launching and expanding the PickMeUp service. The fleet has grown from six to nine buses and 26 jobs have been created to date. With nearly 390,000 miles covered by the buses so far, the service actively contributes to reducing traffic, noise and carbon pollution in Oxford by cutting the number of cars on the road and tailoring its service to customer demand.

The service provides flexibility for passengers to choose both the start and end point of their journey within the Eastern Arc of the city and Summertown and Jericho. Passengers are matched with others wishing to make similar journeys to enable ride sharing. It was designed to help reduce congestion and compliment traditional services.

It operates between 6.00am and 11.00pm Monday to Friday, between 7am and midnight on Saturday and 9am to 9pm on Sundays, with an average response time of 10 to 15 minutes.