A new ‘dial-a-bus’ service where residents can call to be picked up at their house is coming to Huntingdonshire.

The scheme will mean passengers can request to be picked up by a bus on a route near them in minutes - benefiting rural communities with fewer regular services.

It was approved by the transport committee of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority on Wednesday (November 4).

Passengers can either call up or go on an app, enter their address and postcode, put in a request to be picked up nearby and have a bus pull up in as little as five minutes.

This new bus service will not replace existing routes but will be an overlay for services that are already running.

In remote villages with only two or three services running a week, it means they will have access to running buses six days a week.

West Huntingdonshire was chosen as the site to trial the demand responsive service first because of its rural villages, which would be benefit from this major boost in transport connectivity.

Mayor James Palmer will also ask for approval to roll out electronic ticketing machines to every bus stop in the region.

This would allow for through ticketing for integrated journeys on every service, the use of contactless payments everywhere and accurate GPS data for bus passenger mobile phone apps for all bus services.

Mayor James Palmer said: “This new ‘dial-a-bus’ style service, which would allow people in the most remote of locations to order a bus, as you would an uber in the city centre, has the potential to transform public transport in our area.

“I’ve long made the point the bus network we have currently is not fit for purpose; this is why we formed the Bus Reform Task Force to help engage local voices in improving services.

“The reforms we are now putting forward show we are serious about levelling up bus services right across the region and embracing innovation to deliver high quality public transport to every corner of the county.”