Free Hop electric bus service starts in Leicester city centre

Three 21-seat buses have been bought at a cost of £1m

A free electric bus service is to begin carrying passengers round Leicester city centre.

The Leicester City Council-backed Greenlines Hop is being launched on Monday.

It will run between the city's London Road rail station and its Haymarket and St Margaret's bus stations, as well as Leicester Market and the Leicester Royal Infirmary.

It will run for a trial period of 18 months.

The authority, which has council and mayoral elections in May, said the new service will particularly help people with mobility issues get around.

The frog-themed service, which also runs to the Highcross shopping centre, the King Richard III Visitor Centre and Mandela Park, will see three 21-seat mini-buses running every 10 minutes on an anti-clockwise loop with 12 stops.

The buses will run between 08:00 BST to 18:00 BST from Monday to Saturday.

Cutting emissions

Council director of planning, development and transportation Andrew Smith said: "This free, green and sustainable travel option will give many people - particularly those with mobility issues - much easier access to key sites around the city centre.

"We'll be monitoring usage and evaluating feedback during the trial, and hope that people will enjoy using these latest additions to Leicester's growing fleet of electric buses."

The buses cost around £1m and were bought with funding from the Department for Transport's Transforming Cities Fund.

Centrebus will operate the service for the council.

The company's commercial and operations director David Brookes said: "It will not only provide a new and sustainable way to get around the city centre, but will also contribute to better air quality and reduce carbon emissions.

"We hope the service will prove popular with passengers and we're excited to launch these new electric vehicles in the city centre."