Hereford’s City Zipper gets fruity

Saturday 9th December 2023

It’s not only Leicester City Council running a free circular bus service around the city centre with electric buses; Hereford also started giving it a go a couple of weeks ago, on 24th November, with its new City Zipper.

Operated on the City Council’s behalf by Yeomans Travel, the 15 minute frequency timetable (30 minutes on Sundays) between 08:00 and 18:16 (fewer hours at weekends) uses three brand new Yutong E9 electric buses purchased by Hereford City Council especially for the route using funding from the Stronger Towns Fund.

The Council received £22.4 million earlier this year following a successful bid to the Government’s £3.6 billion Towns Fund for fifteen “trailblazing” projects across the city including a Digital Culture Hub, an Encore Music Hub, a skatepark, a cycle track, a Digital Skills Centre along with nine other worthy escapades and the City Zipper.

I’m told operating costs for the service have confirmed funding until 2026 so plenty of time for residents and visitors to enjoy the convenience of a free sightseeing tour of this popular city as well as providing easier access to some of the key destinations in the city centre.

Hereford’s somewhat sprawling central area has always presented a bit of a challenge for access, with the railway station a 10 to 15 minute walk from the city centre and two separate locations for bus stations used by either country buses or city buses.

Strangely the new City Zipper’s route doesn’t serve the city bus station which might have something to do with not wanting to abstract passengers making short journeys on local bus routes (which I can’t see is really an issue) but it does provide a link to other destinations including the hospital, cathedral, library, theatre and half a dozen other bus stops for centrally located shops and the city’s large Asda.

I was in Hereford on Tuesday to give the route a try out from the railway station and two passengers were already on the bus when it arrived at 13:00 who alighted at the next stop at the hospital.

No one else travelled on the circuit as far as Asda where I hopped off to catch the bus behind. That arrived with one passenger on board who alighted at the library and two who’d boarded with me at Asda alighted at the theatre. The third bus had a couple on board as it passed through the station 15 minutes later. So small beginnings for numbers travelling, but if Leicester is anything to go by, as awareness increases, numbers travelling with soon increase.

The reason I did a bus change at Asda was to savour the unusual interior decor and moquette deployed on the three buses.

Each bus is named and carries a different design of apples, pears or hops which are all connected to local cider, champagne and lager making (respectively) as explained in a rather large leaflet (A3 folded to A4 size) available to pick up from a box on each bus.

It’s certainly eye catching and will surely be a talking point with those travelling for the first time.

When I posted some photos on X it drew a large number of responses across a wide range of views from the hideous to the appreciative. But the serious point was also made the design doesn’t meet accessible standards.

The flooring has also been given a makeover with a fake grass type of look.

I travelled on Green Horse followed by Pilot.

Sadly the third bus, Handsome Norman (featuring apples), was off the road due to a broken door on Tuesday and was being substituted by a standard Yeomans Travel Optare Solo which doesn’t quite have the same effect.

Three buses for a PVR of three with a journey time of 41 minutes for a circuit (including three minutes pause at Asda) makes it look a bit tight and on Sundays one bus aims to get round in half an hour providing a half hourly frequency. But, in the event, the times seemed reasonable with a few pauses as we passed around the circuit. I can imagine it might get tight if traffic builds up in Herefore which I know it can do.

My journey wasn’t initially helped by some odd traffic light phasing to exit the country bus station where a green light coincided with the road ahead being blocked by traffic queuing at the lights on the junction to the right. We eventually managed to get out on the third green cycle.

As in Leicester the buses are dual door and come with usb sockets.

There are two screens showing upcoming stops with one forward facing for anyone using the wheelchair bay.

Also as in Leicester, the Yutong interiors have a rather higgidy piggledy interior layout as you can see from the following photos.

Bus stops around the route are all designated with special plates but no timetables are displayed anywhere.

While I was at Asda an employee from the Council arrived to stick the A4 leaflet up on the shelter and I asked why it doesn’t include the timetable.

Apparently the times shown online (which are themselves not easy to find) are just a first stab and may change with operating experience, but she felt the 15 minute frequency means people may not need a timetable pointing out buses leave both the station and Asda on the hour and every 15 minutes thereafter.

Personally I think you need a ten minute frequency for a true turn-up-and-go experience with passengers needing to know first and last bus times. On Sundays the half hourly timetable is definitely not turn-up-and-go.

If you’re in Hereford any time over the next three years do take a free ride and admire some of the city’s landmark sites from a fruity seat, because I can’t see City Hopper surviving beyond its current 2026 funding deadline.

Roger French

PS: Phil Tonks has also been out on the City Zipper and blogged about his similar experience and conclusions.

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