‘Slide Bristol’ is an intelligent and easy travel solution for Bristol’s commuters developed by the international transport operator RATP Dev. It launches exclusively in Bristol today, the first service of its kind anywhere in the United Kingdom.
The ‘Slide Bristol’ app enables Bristolians to book a ride to work from a nearby location at a preferred time during peak commuting hours. The technology offers a convenient pickup point and calculates the optimal route to the passenger’s place of work based on others requesting a similar journey. The app has been developed to give commuters facing one of the nation’s most congested journeys into work a comfortable and stress-free ride.
Sophie Anne Wells, a Bristol local who was one of the first users of ‘Slide Bristol’ said, “I had my first ride with Slide last week. I used to pay up to £20-25 for a one-way taxi ride into the city centre but now I’ll certainly be using the Slide service in future. The driver was prompt and very friendly too!”
The app has been developed with commuters in mind:
Slide goes where the demand is: Bristolians can now book a ride, in advance or just minutes before travelling, without any location or timetable constraints.Pickup and drop off points are within a five minute walk of customers’ homes and places of work.
Slide is commuter-focused: the service runs at key times for those travelling to and from work in Bristol; departing between 7.30 to 9.30am and 4 to 7pm, Monday to Friday.
Slide is comfy:vehicles are comfortable and for eight passengers maximum. It’s possible to book seats for colleagues and friends.
Slide’s fares are fixed and upfront:fares are not based on the number of passengers or demand at the time of travelling. The fares are more affordable than taxi rates and only cost a little more than taking the bus. From Filton to Bristol centre (around 7 miles), for example, it will cost around £7.
Slide is a cash-free service:commuters pay on their phones via a secured system.
RATP Dev developed and launched ‘Slide Bristol’, a Bristol-based on demand transport service run locally. It partnered with Padam, a French start-up which is supplying its unique booking and payment system as well as providing ongoing technical support.
Tim Jackson, CEO of RATP Dev UK, said: “RATP Dev already operates some of the United Kingdom’s best known urban transport in London and Manchester. Knowing that Bristol was one of the most congested cities in the United Kingdom, we wanted to develop an alternative bespoke solution.
“As an international expert in multi-modal transport dedicated to serving local needs, it was important to us to partner with a Bristol-based team, as close as possible to the local community, to develop this service.”
>> To learn more about ‘Slide Bristol’, please visit:www.slidebristol.com