Britain's first dog bus service launches in Yorkshire market town

Every day for the past seven weeks Billy's Bus has picked up around 15 'pawsengers' waiting at stops in West Yorkshire to take them on a bark-worthy walks.

After finding their seat each canine licks goodbye to their human before they are buckled in tight by founder Laura Mohan, 44.

They lucky mutts are then driven to her 'Bark Park' in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, for at least three hours of fun.

And after a good play they are loaded back into the converted school bus, given a doggy biscuit and a 'puppychino' - which is whipped cream in a cup - before being driven home listening to Classic FM, ready for a good nap.

The mum says she came up with the idea for her business after she was struggling to find care for her own pup - a three-year-old Cavapoo called Billy - which the company is named after.

Billy's Bus now has over 500 members who book their dogs in for walks - which are a minimum of three hours and start at £23 per dog.

Laura, from Rawdon, said: "It is a dog lover's dream and I still can't believe it is my job. I think we have had every breed possible onboard over the past seven weeks since we started.

"I never in my wildest dreams thought it would blow up like it has - people just love the idea I think. When we pick the dogs up, they are running to get on board which is lovely to see - they know what to expect when they bound onboard ready for their pack walk to our Bark Park.

"I find pawrents love our service, we don't walk on lead, they are let onto a secure dog field for us to play.

"Then after a paw wash, they get back onboard to be dropped home by their volunteer driver, happy, content, socialised, and ready for a huge dog nap. We are just dog walkers with a lot of love to give."

Laura said the idea has been in the works for 10 months since Boxing Day 2024 before its launch in October 2025.

She said: "When looking for dog care I found there were only two options really, a one hour dog walk or a full day in daycare which I wasn't a fan of. I found myself thinking what is the dream day out for my dog and I got silly with it and it is working.

"I took inspiration from an American Tik-Toker called Canine Convoy who drives dogs around in traditional yellow American school buses before taking them for a walk and play. I wanted to do the same over in the UK.

"I spent several months researching to see if it is possible then once I figured it out I bought the bus, which is a council school bus, and spent two months renovating it so it is safe for the pawsengers and also redesigning it.

"There was also setting up the website and social media pages as well as figuring out the marketing strategy which took a while."

Laura has four different daily routes which see her pick up pups in her bus - affectionately known as a 'K9 Konvoy' - across different locations in West Yorkshire including Leeds, Ilkley, and Guiseley.

On a typical day Laura meets one of the 12 dedicated volunteer drivers at the bus for 9:50 am which they then prep before setting off to collect the dogs at the several designated pick up points.

She says she also does home pick-ups for elderly and disabled people who aren't able to reach the pick up points.

They then drive for around 20 minutes to Laura's very own play park at Cow and Calf Moor, in Ilkley, West Yorkshire.

She said: "When they arrive we let them off and lead and have a good play with them. At the park we have swings, trampolines, and lots of tennis balls. It is just play play play for a couple of hours which is a dream for me as I love dogs."

Laura says her favourite part of the job is watching the dogs 'doze off' when dropping them off back home.

She said: "By the end of the day at around 3pm they are knackered. We give their paws a clean and load them back into the bus.

"We then give them a dog biscuit and a puppychino and drive them back home. Classic FM is playing and you can see them all dozing off in their seats. It's nice seeing them happy after having a good run around."

Laura says alongside helping dogs she also set out Billy's Bus to look out for her local community.

She does free-of-charge drive-bys for care homes, schools, and nurseries.

And she sometimes takes the dogs to local cafes on the way home to enjoy a puppychino.

Alongside the volunteer drivers she also invites people who have special needs, or are lonely, or are struggling with their mental health to have fun with the canines at the dog park.

Laura said: "It is half dog bus and half community bus which is what I wanted it to be. When the bus drives by you can just see people's faces light up.

"It is raising smiles and distracting people from what is going on around them which I have seen create massive improvements in people's lives."

Laura hopes to one day have a Billy's Bus in every town across the UK. She is also in the process of setting up a CCTV streaming system so owners can watch their dogs whilst they are in the bus.

She said: "There is so much I want to do and I am only just getting started."