A NEW bus service connecting the Avenues to east Hull is set to bring more party people to the city's night-time hotspots. The Linq service runs every Saturday at ten-minute intervals, joining Sutton Road with Princes Avenue and Old Town.
It is an effort by Stagecoach to help services better complement the city's changing nightlife.
Commercial manager Jon Donnelly said: "Traditionally, Hull's bus network tends to be very much focused on journeys from main corridors into the city centre.
"To go from one side to the other, you would generally change services.
"Historically, Hull city centre is where you would go for a night out but Hull has changed a lot – there's a big focus on the Old Town now, which has a lot to offer, and it's very popular down Princes Avenue and Newland Avenue."
The service will cost £1 per journey and runs from 6pm until about 9.30pm.
Stagecoach is hoping to attract 600 travellers in the first few weeks of operation and would consider Linq sustainable if 1,000 people eventually use it each night.
At the moment, the company's managers feel drinkers are too reliant on taxis to get around and would like to offer a cheaper but equally safe alternative.
Mr Donnelly said: "It's not necessarily convenient on an evening out to catch a bus from the east of the city to the interchange and then find a bus to the Avenues.
"It's not just about Princes Avenue, it's about the Old Town as well.
"This is about making it accessible to a larger audience so plenty of people have access to these areas.
"Hopefully, it will help them grow in the long term."
Normal evening services run every 30 minutes and the hope is east Hull travellers will catch regular buses to stops where they can join the Linq route.
It also passes several pubs where drinkers are likely to be starting their evenings.
Mr Donnelly said: "You've got to be able to get there easily and get home safe.
"The taxis are doing as much as they can but getting a taxi in Princes Avenue isn't easy.
"People drive, walk and get taxis but if you want volumes, public transport has the ability to do that.
"People will choose how they want to get home and the more choices, the more people."
The idea first developed after Stagecoach put on a special service for New Year's Eve in 2009.
It was packed with 1,200 passengers and hailed a success.
As well as giving customers more options, the company hopes its new route will increase revenue in the Avenues.
Assuming an average spend of £20 per person in bars and restaurants, Mr Donnelly said an extra 1,000 visitors could make a real difference.
He said: "It's an awful lot of revenue for the evening economy and a lot of businesses would snap our hand off for that.
"Hull used to have a reputation of being the stag weekend of the North.
"It's struggled over the past ten years but we are where we are, so what do we have to do to get it working again?
"Transport has to play a part in that. To create new businesses you need more people, and we can help."
The service will keep going until at least the start of the new year, with the aim of making it a permanent fixture.
For now, Linq is only running on Saturdays but if it proves successful, it may be expanded to other nights.
Mr Donnelly said: "It's very much a tester.
"I think having something that connects east Hull to Princes Avenue will be very successful."
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