Small electric shuttle buses are to be introduced to carry passengers around Leicester city centre free of charge.

Transport officials are drawing up details for a 'hop on, hop off' circular route around the city which it intends to launch in the autumn of next year to help shoppers and commuters get about more easily.

It has been suggested that the route could be around the inner ring road with buses circling every 10 minutes to take people between the city’s main transport hubs - the London Road railway station, and the Haymarket and St Margaret's bus stations.

The city council is also looking to have the shuttle buses serve other key destinations such as the Leicester Royal Infirmary, De Montfort University and Leicester University.

The early thinking for the shuttle network includes it running into the city centre via the pedestrianised High Street.

The initiative will be paid for from a Government grant of £7.1 million from its Transforming Cities Fund - which has also paid for the launch of a fleet of new electric park and ride buses this week.

It is hoped the shuttle service will commence in Autumn 2022.

Deputy mayor councillor Adam Clarke, who is responsible for transport and the environment said: “We are excited by this.

“The broad idea is to provide a way to better connect our main transport hubs with a service that is free of charge.

“It will be useful to everybody but particularly people with mobility problems to help them get about.

“We are some way off with the final details - what exact vehicles we use, the precise route and the frequency of the service but I think it will be a welcome addition to all the measures we have been putting in place to improve transport infrastructure in the city.”

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Shoppers in the city centre welcomed the concept of a free shuttle bus service.

Jane Morris, 50, from Western Park, said: “The word I like about it is free. I could see myself using it sometimes to get across the city centre.

“The distances aren’t huge but if there’s the chance of a bus taking the strain that sounds good to me.”

Paul Brassington, 54, from Highfields, said: “If it is frequent enough people, and it doesn’t cost anything, loads of people will use it.

“Other cities have similar services which I’ve used and they are good.

“If we can replicate that here, great.”