Pulhams Coaches launches with Passenger as Go-Ahead invests in latest digital technology

Passenger and Go-Ahead have launched a new Pulhams Coaches app in the Cotswolds as part of their effort to make travelling easier for passengers.

Pulhams Coaches’ app allows passengers to plan their journeys, purchase tickets in advance, and research ‘things to do’ in the Cotswolds. It provides a comprehensive view of travel across multiple bus operators in the region, including Stagecoach.

Passengers can now validate their journey by scanning their phones on the vehicles’ QR code readers. The app can also be used to check real-time travel updates and see the network of services available.

Alex Chutter, area director at Pulhams, said: “We’re committed to making bus and coach travel as accessible and convenient as possible for customers, and our latest investment in digital technology takes our service to the next level.

“It provides customers with access to live travel information, travel planning tools, more ticketing options and convenient ways to pay. We have launched various new services recently, and the app will help customers research all the bus and coach travel options that are available to them.”

The app is available to download for free, and it offers a range of new ticket options.

Emma Battman, Customer Success Manager at Passenger, comments, “The new Pulhams app has been designed with the rider experience in mind. It provides a seamless journey planning experience, which makes exploring the Cotswolds by bus as, if not more, appealing than jumping in the car. We are excited to play an integral part in Go-Ahead’s business strategy, The Next Billion Journeys, supporting the group’s commitment to investing, and expanding, in regional buses in Britain.”

In June 2023, Go-Ahead bought Pulham & Sons (Coaches) Limited, a long-established family-run bus and coach operator in the Cotswolds. The business joined Go-Ahead’s Oxford Bus Company division, which presently comprises Thames Travel, Carousel Buses, and the eponymous Oxford Bus Company. All of these companies already rely upon digital customer experience technology from Passenger.

Pulhams has a fleet of 90 buses and coaches and employs 126 people and is a well-known and respected local business serving communities in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire.

Based in Bourton-on-the-Water, Pulhams is one of Britain’s oldest established passenger transport companies. It was founded in 1880 to transport passengers into Cheltenham from nearby villages by horse and cart.

The acquisition has expanded Go-Ahead’s Oxford business to the west, with improved connectivity between Pulhams’ bus services in Oxfordshire and the wider Go-Ahead network of services.