“Two’s company, three’s a crowd” the popular idiom goes. But when it comes to MyBus “Two’s company, three’s a group booking!!”
One of the most popular innovations introduced by MyBus in recent years has been our Group Booking scheme which allows groups of passengers going to the same destination to have their trip booked automatically each time.
Prior to the introduction of Group Bookings, given the random order trip requests were received, it wasn’t uncommon for a driver to find himself doing multiple runs to the same lunch club, church hall or social club.
This was frustrating for group members who struggled to understand why on occasion the bus had to do more than one run to or from their club. It was also far from being the most efficient use of running time.
To tackle the issue MyBus trialled a Group Booking scheme where groups of three or more passengers attending the same club or group could apply to have their journey scheduled by us automatically each time.
The trial went well and was soon made accessible to groups in all MyBus service areas.
Some years on the Group Bookings Scheme has been an outstanding success on several counts:-
- Passengers attending clubs have the peace of mind that their trip is in place for them each time without the requirement to call in each week.
- The running time required to convey passengers to their group is reduced as pickups are scheduled in the most efficient order.
- Congestion on booking lines is reduced with less service users requiring to request trips.
Once a service user’s place on a group booking has been confirmed, they need only contact MyBus to advise if for any reason such as illness or holidays they are unable to travel to their group.
Since the implementation of the Group Booking Scheme demand for it has soared with service users, attracted by the benefits the scheme offers, keen to be added to existing group runs or to have new group bookings set up.
Having started on a trial basis for one group now in 2012, over 1300 trips per week are scheduled for customers via the Group Booking Scheme.
Contact us via our 'Getting in Touch' page if you are interested in joining an existing group booking or setting up a new run.
