LibertyBus


LibertyBus is a bus operator on the island of Jersey. It is a subsidiary of the HCT Group.

History

In February 2012 HCT Group was awarded a contract by the States of Jersey to operate the island's bus services from January 2013 for seven years with a three-year option taking over from MyBus. The operation was branded LibertyBus after a public vote. LibertyBus also won the Jersey Chartered Institute of Marketing Award, for Best Brand Campaign 2013 for the LibertyBus brand.

AvanchiCard

A smart card payment system named AvanchiCard was introduced in 2013. The name AvanchiCard comes from avanchi, which means advance or move forward in Jèrriais – Jersey’s traditional language. The name was chosen by Jersey’s children and young people through a competition organised with local schools.
LibertyBus have a range of AvanchiCards to suit individual travelling needs: AvanchiCard Concession, AvanchiCard Visitor, AvanchiCard Unlimited, AvanchiCard Student and AvanchiCard PAYG.

Bus tracking

An active vehicle tracking system is being implemented and tested for use in providing live bus information.

Fleet

LibertyBus purchased a fleet of 33 Optare Solos of 9.7m in length for the start of operations. These are used on most services, supplemented by four Bluebird Orion minibuses and six Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 double deckers. In 2015 five Scania OmniCity double deckers were transferred from CT Plus in London and an open-top Dennis Trident was acquired from Lothian Buses in summer 2017. Two further Solos were also purchased in 2017 for services where the longer Solos are not practical. As of April 2019, 37 Dennis Darts, acquired from the previous operator, remain in service with a number of them used solely as school buses. The four Bluebird Orion minibuses transferred to Derbyshire Community Transport in 2018.
As of April 2019, the Liberty Bus fleet consisted of: