HertsLynx Dacorum ‘Life Changing’ Bus Service Celebrates First Anniversary

HertsLynx bus

The uber-style on-demand bus service HertsLynx, just celebrated its first year operating in Dacorum.

HertsLynx offers a flexible way to travel; unlike traditional bus services, it doesn’t follow a timetable or have any set routes, instead passengers can choose from a wide variety of pick up and drop off locations within designated operating zones. Passengers can select where and when they would like to travel by using the HertsLynx app, booking website or by calling the HertsLynx team.

The number of passenger trips have been growing steadily since the service began operating and now averages 2,400 trips per month. In its first 12 months of operation it has carried over 22,000 passenger journeys’ and a fourth bus is being added to the fleet in early 2025.

Jennifer from Potten End has been a regular customer since last December: ‘It’s been life changing. I’d struggle to have my job if I couldn’t rely on HertsLynx, and I also use it to care for my mother who lives in Berkhamsted. I’d be lost without it.’

Mrs C. Britto, who lives in Little Gaddesdon, has been using the service since the beginning of the year: ‘The HertsLynx bus provides our village with a practical and friendly service which I use four or five times a week. The drivers are fantastic.’

The service is designed to improve connections between rural villages and larger town centres, making it easier for people to get to work or school, go shopping, or travel to appointments, without needing to use a car or taxi. It was introduced using Rural Mobility Fund support, part of Hertfordshire County Council’s plans to improve transport in the county and has been fully funded from the original £29.7m Bus Service Improvement Plan.

Phil Bibby, Executive Member for Highways and Transport at Hertfordshire County Council, said: ‘For HertsLynx Dacorum to have achieved over 22,000 passenger trips in its first year of operation shows what an important and valued service it has quickly become to residents living there. Providing a flexible and frequent bus service in rural areas enables residents to access healthcare, employment, education and leisure activities, as well as reducing the risk of social isolation.

‘It’s pleasing to see that the Department for Transport have recently announced a further £11million of additional funding for Hertfordshire’s Bus Service Improvement Plan through to 2025/26, which will allow service developments such as HertsLynx to continue.’

For more information about the service, or to book a journey, visit www.intalink.org.uk/hertslynx-dacorum.