LinkUp was a demand responsive transport

Demand responsive transport

Demand Responsive Transport or Demand-Responsive Transit or Demand Responsive Service or Dial-a-ride or Flexible Transport Services is "an advanced, user-oriented form of public transport characterised by flexible routing and scheduling of small/medium vehicles operating in shared-ride mode...

 system in Tyne and Wear

Tyne and Wear

Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in north east England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...

, United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. The service was funded and coordinated by Nexus

Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive

The Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive using the brandname of Nexus, is the Passenger Transport Executive for the Tyne and Wear region of North East England....

, the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive. The service replaced the smaller scale U-Call which replaced the yet smaller Western Links. The service carried the tag line "Phone up and go" which was included in the LinkUp livery.

Operation

The service allowed users to telephone the booking office and request a bus to meet them at a 'meeting point' in the same manner as one would use to book a taxi. Meeting points are usually public places, such as health centres and leisure facilities as well as all existing bus stops. Fares were charged at the same rate as the equivalent bus fare.

Fleet

The services utilised a fleet of Optare Solo

Optare Solo

The Optare Solo is a low-floor midibus manufactured by Optare in Leeds, UK since 1997. The name "Solo" is a play on the low-floor status of the bus, the manufacturer believing its vehicle having an entrance that is "so low" from the floor, namely 200 mm with kneeling suspension.The innovative...

 Slimline Minibuses owned and run by Veolia Transportation North East, formally Dunn-Line. All of these carry the distinctive silver LinkUp livery.

Shut Down

LinkUp closed was closed by NEXUS in 2011 as funding was moved to different bus routes as part of the NEXUS Bus Strategy. he Buses Now carry a NEXUS livery with the red NEXUS buses logo and the main bus painted grey. There is a red band running around the top of the vehicle. The new Tyne and Wear Metro livery carries a similar livery but with yellow replacing the red.

External links

• Nexus - LinkUp