MyMiltonKeynes calls time on its MyBus Service

A dramatic drop in passenger numbers and a lack of demand for pick-ups since the COVID-19 pandemic, has led MyBus operator MyMiltonKeynes BID to call time on the service.

Originally introduced in November 2018 when parking spaces were hard to find, the MyBus was a first of its kind service that gave city centre employers and employees the ability to move freely and easily around the city centre.

More than 3,500 journeys were made every month in its first year of operation.  Two 15-seater red buses ran on a continuous loop along Avebury and Silbury Boulevards, clockwise and anticlockwise.

In March 2020, when the country was put on lockdown, the bus service was redeployed to deliver medical supplies to the local community.  Services resumed in April 2021, however demand for the MyBus had significantly declined, with many previous regular passengers now working from home and high levels of parking space availability.

In May 2023, the two 15-seater buses were replaced with a nine-seater electric vehicle and an ‘on-demand’ service launched for non-peak times.  By November 2023, only 312 journeys were taking place each month and only eight individuals were using the on-demand service, with prospects for improvement looking unlikely with Milton Keynes City Council now offering subsidised bus travel around the city centre to everybody, not just employees, and plans to introduce a driverless shuttle service in Autumn.

As such, MyMiltonKeynes has agreed the MyBus service no longer represents value for money for the BID businesses that fund it.  The BID levy income used to fund the MyBus Service will now be redeployed on new BID projects that will benefit more levy payers.

Jill Farnsworth, chief executive of MyMiltonKeynes BID said, “It’s a great shame that we’re having to say goodbye to our MyBus service and our lovely bus driver Brian, but we have to be responsive to what city centre businesses now need, in 2024. Our recent BID business survey showed us there is appetite for more events and marketing of the city centre, more public realm improvements and a tougher stance on business crime and those that make the area look and feel unsafe.  This is what we’ll be looking at as we plan for the next three years of the BID, ensuring we deliver value for money to the businesses that fund us.”

MyBus has unfortunately experienced some maintenance issues over the last couple of months, so the ending of this service is with immediate effect.

MyMiltonKeynes BID is a non-profit organisation fully funded by businesses in Milton Keynes City Centre. The BID has been operating since June 2017 and delivers much valued projects including the Christmas lights, switch-on event, and landscaping of the public walkways.

For further information about MyMiltonKeynes please visit www.mymiltonkeynes.co.uk and keep up to date with all of the latest information from the BID by following @MyMiltonKeynes on Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn.