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.

Five people standing in front of a green shuttle bus with 'Harpenden Hopper' written on it.
A small, lime green and blue bus parked on the street with trees and buildings in the background.

The original buses

Hector and Harriet

Set of four informational flyers about volunteering as a bus driver, including one with a vintage image of a man in a uniform pointing, and others with text such as "Guess the name of the bus," "Become a volunteer driver," and details about Harpenden Hopper community bus service in Hertfordshire.

The original literature

information and timetable

Triptych of pamphlets for Harpenden Hopper, a community shuttle service, featuring a yellow bus and contact information.
A white and green transit van with 'Harpenden Hopper' branding parked on a street next to a silver car. There are other parked cars and trees in the background.

The current buses are

Harold and Holly Hopper

A white van with colorful design and the words 'harpenden hooper' parked on a grassy area near a flower bed filled with various colorful flowers, with trees and a cloudy sky in the background.
A bar graph showing the average number of passenger journeys per month from 2017 to 2025. The data indicates a steady increase, with a sharp rise projected in 2025 to 912 journeys.

Passenger growth since service inception