Phone ‘n’ Ride

Phone ‘n’ Ride service

Phone ‘n’ Ride is an on-demand bus service with no fixed route or timetable. You make the bookings and tell us where you want to go.

The Phone ‘n’ Ride buses are available to book both in the rural and urban areas of North East Lincolnshire. All vehicles are low floor suitable for wheelchair access but are not suitable for powered scooters.

The service runs from Monday to Saturday between 6:30am and 6:30pm (excluding bank holidays).

The Phone ‘n’ Ride service is changing how passengers book trips, the information below explains how to book trips.

Data Protection

North East Lincolnshire Council take every effort to keep your personal data protected and secure. Customers using the Phone ‘n’ Ride app should keep their login details secure and do not share them with others.

How to book a trip on Phone ‘n’ Ride

For bookings can be made via the Phone ‘n’ Ride app. The Phone ‘n’ Ride app is available to download from the Apple App store and Google Play store.

Service update

Phone n Ride booking system no longer allows re-occurring bookings. You can making bookings up to 14 days in advance.

Apple: Apple App Store

Google: Google App Store

All Phone ‘n’ Ride customers are encouraged to register a mobile phone number with the service and use the app where possible.  By using the app you will be able to track your vehicles route, make bookings 24/7 up to 1 hour in advance, pre-pay your journeys in and have regular notification alerts about your booking. 

On the right-hand side of this page step-by-step guides are available to explain how to set-up the app and how to make a booking.

How to cancel a Phone ‘n’ Ride journey

To cancel your journey, passengers can either cancel the booking on the app or call the friendly team during office opening hours on 01472 324440.

Journeys must be cancelled up to 30 minutes before you are due to travel. Cancelling your journey with advance notice helps us to support other passengers with their travel requests.

If you are travelling outside office opening hours (Monday to Friday between 8.30am to 5pm) and your bus has not arrived, please call 01472 324440. This number will automatically divert to Stagecoach who will be able to assist you. Please note during out-of-office hours, Stagecoach cannot assist with advance bookings, advance cancellations or general queries as these must go through to the team during office opening hours.

Cost of a Phone ‘n’ Ride journey

Under the new national government initiative, the maximum that will be charged for an adult single fare journey on the demand-responsive bus service will be just £2 from Sunday 1 January 2023 to Tuesday 31 October.

Fares are based on zones and are shown on the fare map below. All fares shown on the map are single adult fares.

Holders of a valid National Concessionary Bus Pass can use the Phone ‘n’ Ride service for free in line with the rules governing the scheme.

Phone ‘n’ Ride fare map

Using the Phone ‘n’ Ride service

Journeys booked via the app – At the time of booking, you will initially be given a 20-minute pick-up window on the app. You will also receive a reminder of your booking the night before.  Approx. 30 minutes before your trip you will receive a text message from us providing a more accurate collection time.

The app will count down the minutes to your vehicle’s arrival by showing your buses location in real-time, and you’ll be notified when the vehicle is 10 minutes away, and notified again when the bus arrives at the pick-up point.  Make sure you’re at the pick-up spot when the vehicle arrives!

Journeys booked via a phone booking – You will receive a message to your mobile phone or landline the day before you’re due to travel (around 8pm) with your estimated booking window.

Please be ready at your pick-up point a couple of minutes before you’re due to travel, pay your fare or show your concessionary bus pass and enjoy the journey. If your vehicle has not arrived within your booking window, please contact the team.

Comments and suggestions

The Phone ‘n’ Ride service always welcomes comments and suggestions from passengers about their journeys. We are committed to reviewing the service in line with the passenger’s comments and suggestions.

You can provide feedback on the service or your trip via the Phone ‘n’ Ride app (feature available from Monday 17 April 2023).  Alternatively, if you wish to make comments about the Phone ‘n’ Ride service, please telephone 01472 324440 or email phonenride@nelincs.gov.uk.

For any accidents, incidents or driver feedback, email service operator Stagecoach East Midlands at eastmidlands.enquiries@stagecoachbus.com, alternatively you can call them on 0345 6050605.

Data Protection

We collect and process your personal data to allow you to arrange transport through the Phone ‘n’ Ride service. We will process your personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and only disclose your personal data to the operator of the service. 

For further details about the processing of your personal data please see the Full Privacy Notice below or go to our Data protection page.

Group bookings

All group bookings are to be made via the Phone ‘n’ Ride Team by calling 01472 324440 or by email at phonenride@nelincs.gov.uk. Please make it clear the request is for a group booking when contacting us.

Group booking guidelines:

• At least 5 people travelling together between any two locations within the Phone ‘n’ Ride operation area at the same time during normal operational hours.
• Maximum vehicle capacity is 14 people, and there is also a space for a wheelchair (subject to an assessment). Larger groups may be able to be accommodated on multiple vehicles (please ask our team for advice about this).
• Group bookings can be made in advance of the normal 14 day booking window, so please let the team know in plenty of time.
• One member of the group should be nominated as the ‘group leader’, they will be responsible for making the booking and notifying the service of any changes. The group leader will need to be registered with Phone ‘n’ Ride, there is no requirement for other members of the group to also be registered.

Whilst the Operations Team will make every effort to help with your journey request, the service has limited capacity and there is no guarantee that the request will be successful.

All passengers travelling agree to abide by the guidelines set out in the Phone n Ride Frequently Asked Questions and Service User Information.

Related content

Phone ‘n’ Ride Privacy Notice

Related documents

Phone ‘n’ Ride leaflet – Print out (PDF, 802KB)

Phone ‘n’ Ride – Steps to book a journey on the app (PDF, 361KB)

Phone ‘n’ Ride – Steps to set up the app (PDF, 237KB)

Phone ‘n’ Ride Frequently Asked Questions (PDF, 323KB)

Phone ‘n’ Ride Terms & Conditions (PDF, 197KB)

Braille leaflets can be requested by email at phonenride@nelincs.gov.uk or by telephone on 01472 324440.

Contact details

Phone ‘n’ Ride, New Oxford House, 2 George Street, Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, DN31 1HB

Email: phonenride@nelincs.gov.uk

Telephone: 01472 324440

Opening times: Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5pm, except bank holidays

Telephone: 01472 313131