The Big Lemon has put in a bid for funding to Innovate UK to explore the question of what community-based public transport looks like in the UK in 2030.
The aim of the funding is to “stimulate high-quality, human-centred design activities at the earliest stages of the innovation journey. These should identify opportunities and generate ideas for new products, services or business models that align with customer demand”.
We have a strong vision at The Big Lemon, that
by 2030 every community in the UK has access to affordable, sustainable transport, using zero-emissions vehicles powered by renewable energy and owned by the local community
We know that this has to become a reality, given the irrepressible desire of people to move around and the imperatives of climate science. To date we’ve met this challenge by developing a network of innovative bus services, owned by the community and powered by renewable energy.
But, given the rapid development of autonomous, low-carbon vehicles, new, digitally-driven on-demand transport options, not to mention a challenging outlook for publicly-funded services, we don’t believe that the traditional scheduled bus service can realise our vision any more than the inefficient, congestion-causing, financially-draining model of private car ownership can.
Through user-centred design, we want to explore, co-create and test new service models with the travelling public, that we can roll-out nationwide to meet our vision – and the needs of the communities we serve. Working with User Experience experts We Are AFK, we are excited about moving beyond a bus company to an innovation leader in sustainable transport.
What do you think is the future? Share your comments below
I wonder about small frequent electric buses in Lewes, going round the estates and into town, including evenings, and whether they could be sponsored by the businesses such as the cinema and pubs and restaurants that would benefit. They would have to be often and easily possible to know where they are as Brighton buses already are, and small because of narrow roads. I think there is a lot of unmet need in older people who live a mile or so out, and who either don’t drive or don’t want to because of the difficulty parking (and objecting to being a polluter!) I am contacting Lewes Living Streets as they have mentioned this too.
Hi Ann
Thanks for getting in touch, we’d love to support other communities so that they can also have zero emission electric buses.
I’ll e-mail you to see how we can move this forward.
Best wishes
Kelly