Totally free bus service is launched for people to travel all over Central Milton Keynes

A free ‘hopper bus’ service’ has today been launched to connecting MK Central Station to other venues in the city centre.

The service is organised by Milton Keynes City Council together with several local bus operators and has been funded with government cash from the Bus Improvement Plan.

People can hop on to go from the station to Unity Place, the centre:mk and the Theatre District along with other CMK venues.

It can be accessed on all bus stops from Station Square to Theatre District and passengers simply need to ask for a ‘hopper’ fare when they board a bus belonging to any of the participating firms.

Bus companies taking part include Arriva, Uno, Stagecoach, Red Rose Travel and Z&S Transport.

The free hopper is available until 31 March 2024 . It’s designed as a partnership between government, bus operators and the council to understand passenger requirements and deliver a better service.

However, the government funding is not designed to save routes at risk, but instead deliver concessionary schemes decided by the Department for Transport.

Last month MK City Council launched a separate campaign to grow passenger numbers on seven bus routes.

The operators have said they will stop running them if passenger numbers do not increase. The council has committed to funding the routes until the end of the year but, in a ‘use it or lose it’ ultimatum, is urging residents and businesses to help if they want them to remain in service after that.

Cabinet member Cllr Jennifer Wilson-Marklew, said at the time: “We’re at real risk of losing routes if people don’t use them... We won’t be able to keep spending public money on routes that very few people want and what the bus companies decide is out of our control."

Today Cllr Wilson-Marklew welcomed the new hopper service, saying: “We hope this initiative will help visitors to the city centre, especially as we approach the festive season, and following the opening of Unity Place – which we know is already very popular.”

She added: “ We fully support the project, but we know this funding will only provide temporary relief. We’ll continue to campaign for the right funding with greater powers on how it is spent to deliver meaningful services.”