Our History

The Harpenden Hopper community minibus service started almost by accident following a casual conversation between Harpenden Connect’s chairperson, Andy Buchanan and Rosemary Farmer (Mayor of Harpenden at the time).

Andy and a colleague bought two old second-hand minibuses in 2015 to 2016 and set up the concept of the service.

They “recruited” a few volunteers drawn from people they knew, worked out a route, and the service was born in 2016.

The service was limited; it ran Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays only.

The drivers were trained to MiDAS (minibus training scheme) standards.

The old buses were difficult to handle and drive, often didn’t start in the mornings and were always breaking down. They were also very expensive to repair and one bus always seemed to be off the road.

This meant that the service was sporadic and sometimes unreliable. This meant that passenger numbers were a little patchy.

The drivers were also unhappy.

Eventually in 2018, Andy Buchanan, Harpenden Connect Chair, persuades Harpenden Town Council to purchase two brand new minibuses and provide them to the Charity to run as the Hopper under a lease agreement. This was on the basis that with a reliable service, passenger numbers would grow.

The benefits would be:

• Helping the older community to get out and about

• Combating loneliness for people as a “Hopper” community develops

• Reducing car journeys into the town centre and alleviating parking constraints

• Reducing congestion and pollution

• Inclusion and diversity

The buses were ready in Spring 2019 and with a schools competition to name them - Harold and Holly Hopper were born.