OXFORD Bus Company’s innovative PickMeUp service, which customers booked via an app, has been axed.

The service will cease to operate on Saturday, June 20 and the move follows the axing of the X90 coach service to London in January.

The company said the decision to axe PickMeUp was not taken lightly and comes at the end of a two-year pilot scheme of the distinctive ride sharing service.

Bosses said they worked hard to establish the service but they have exhausted all external funding avenues to make it viable.

PickMeUp was launched in June 2018 as the largest service of its kind in the UK to improve connectivity in the eastern arc of Oxford by complementing traditional bus routes.

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It allowed passengers in the area to summon buses to pick them up on a street corner of their choice, to go to a bespoke destination.

Oxford Mail:

Phil Southall, Oxford Bus Company managing director, said: “Unfortunately despite exploring every funding avenue available we have been not able to secure the financial support required to maintain the service.

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“We would like to thank everyone who has travelled with the PickMeUp service and our superb colleagues who have worked with us throughout the pilot scheme. It is no reflection on their hard work that we have had to finish operating the service. We are also grateful to everyone who has travelled on the service.

“We are aware that we have many loyal customers who will be inconvenienced, and we are sorry it has not been possible to maintain the service. PickMeUp was a great innovation by Oxford Bus Company, but unfortunately, we were left with no choice but to withdraw the service due to unsustainable losses and not enough support coming forward.”

Oxford Mail:

More than 38,000 people downloaded the app and more than 300,000 journeys were made on the service. However, the service did not reach the commercial milestones required to make it sustainable beyond the two-year pilot, even though not all demand could be met.

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The company needed third party support from local authorities and the business community to make PickMeUp viable as a three-way partnership.

But local authority support was not made available and passenger numbers could not reach required targets as congestion slowed buses down to 9mph just at the time demand was at its greatest.

Oxford Mail:

The bus company announced a review of the service and a customer survey six months ago and further explored all funding options but could not find a solution.

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Any unused credit on customer accounts will be refunded after 20th June. PickMeUp employs 25 people and Oxford Bus Company are actively seeking to redeploy them to other areas of the business where possible.

Mr Southall added: “We have learned a lot from PickMeUp and our parent company Go Ahead Group is looking to introduce the service in other areas of the country where it could prove to be more viable.”