Demand Responsive Transport

[markymark2000]

The "fairly inconvenient" rating will apply in time, once demand builds up even modestly - after a few attempts which don't yield a suitable ride offering, users with more reliable alternatives will return to using those.

Surprisingly like Newport.

Feedback here noted from the South Wales Argus in August 2022 https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/20662467.argus-readers-end-fflecsi-bus-scheme-newport/

Mark Seymour called Fflecsi a "great idea in theory, but booking seemed impossible".

James Richards said he "hardly ever saw people using them" but "every time I wanted one to get home, could never book one due to 'unprecedented demand'".

Emma Young raised a similar point. She said she "only used them once, as whenever I wanted to book them there were none available - what was the point in having them?"

And Ceri Stead said: "Could never book one anyway then would see it drive past the place I need to go [with] no passengers."

But Rich Jones described Fflecsi as being "like a very inefficient taxi service that that tax payer subsidises".

Sarah Williams added: "An 83-year-old friend of mine has had to phone a taxi a few times to the bus stop as they often don’t turn up."

These other few comments back up your point perfectly as well

"It was good in the beginning until more people started using them," said Leanne Cook. "My worst experience, aside from not regularly not being able to book one, was a journey from Bassaleg to the Royal Gwent Hospital early in the morning. Normally a 15-20 min journey, but on this particular day took over an hour."

Liz Urquhart said Fflecsi "worked really well in St Julians" but when it expanded "it was awful".

"I know a lot of people who struggled getting a Fflecsi after it was expanded," she added.

If DRT is to become great, as Bletchleyite says, there needs to be some fixed information here. Can you imagine how good a flexibus system would be between midnight and 4am when there are no buses. Friday and Saturday nights especially, I know in my area, a lot of people go for a night on the town and then stand in a taxi queue for an hour where the basic premise of DRT is already happening in these taxi queues. 'Anyone else going to [area of city], want to share?' Have an hourly DRT from a set point in town leaves each hour. Get your phone out and see if there is space on the minibus and that drops you off in the right area. Have a few vehicles going to the different areas of the city and the taxi queue is them much smaller. People get out to the area that they want to go to. If however you go and do a 'anywhere to anywhere' system, it won't be efficient and people will find it harder to book.

 

[Dai Corner]

If DRT is to become great, as Bletchleyite says, there needs to be some fixed information here. Can you imagine how good a flexibus system would be between midnight and 4am when there are no buses. Friday and Saturday nights especially, I know in my area, a lot of people go for a night on the town and then stand in a taxi queue for an hour where the basic premise of DRT is already happening in these taxi queues. 'Anyone else going to [area of city], want to share?' Have an hourly DRT from a set point in town leaves each hour. Get your phone out and see if there is space on the minibus and that drops you off in the right area. Have a few vehicles going to the different areas of the city and the taxi queue is them much smaller. People get out to the area that they want to go to. If however you go and do a 'anywhere to anywhere' system, it won't be efficient and people will find it harder to book.

Fflecsi was the only provision in Newport after 1900 and on Sundays (except for the Stagecoach routes I mentioned previously). All municipal scheduled services were withdrawn at these times.

The dozens of taxis mostly serviced the queues in the city centre and the four Fflecsi minibuses that were out must have been doing the 'inter-suburb' work as it was very rare to be able to book one in my experience.

 

[Bletchleyite]

If DRT is to become great, as Bletchleyite says, there needs to be some fixed information here. Can you imagine how good a flexibus system would be between midnight and 4am when there are no buses. Friday and Saturday nights especially, I know in my area, a lot of people go for a night on the town and then stand in a taxi queue for an hour where the basic premise of DRT is already happening in these taxi queues. 'Anyone else going to [area of city], want to share?' Have an hourly DRT from a set point in town leaves each hour. Get your phone out and see if there is space on the minibus and that drops you off in the right area. Have a few vehicles going to the different areas of the city and the taxi queue is them much smaller. People get out to the area that they want to go to. If however you go and do a 'anywhere to anywhere' system, it won't be efficient and people will find it harder to book.

Certainly DRT would work fairly well as a night bus service based on a very small number of key nodes. One being the main entertainment centre or centres, where people would simply queue for a bus going to roughly their suburb* and it'd do a dynamic route dropping them all off (with no inbound service, or a very limited one) - that's the classic "jitney" or "matatu" rather than computer driven DRT. Or similarly one based on taking people home from** hospitals, which is a very common need with A&E waiting times as they are and money being tight. (On the other hand, do you *want* the drinkers' market with its bad behaviour and the need to hose the sick out of vehicles on a far too frequent basis?)

That however is a different reason for needing DRT than the present "make it cheaper without there being no service at all" reason for it.

FWIW I do happen to know that one of the community transport companies was seriously looking at a commercial DRT system based at a major hospital in the Home Counties, they didn't do it in the end but it was seriously considered. I can't really name the company nor the hospital because it never got far enough to be public but it does demonstrate that such things are potentially near-viable, certainly with a bit of subsidy, and the person who told me was quite senior in that company at the time so it's not just Forum or Twitter speculation. I seem to recall they considered a fare of around £5 single to be viable (maybe that'd be £6-7 now with higher fuel costs), so more expensive than a bus but cheaper for most than a taxi, and it would have been door to door service (but with one end only being the hospital, so many to one) with assistance where required, so not a rush job but very much customised to potentially infirm people going to/from the hospital, but open to all.

Actually thinking on I think they were considering more than one hospital.

* Using a Milton Keynes example, you'd probably run about 6 routes - covering specific sets of estates on demand and terminating in one of the six main outlying centres of Bletchley, Wolverton, Stony, Newport Pagnell, Kingston and Westcroft.

** People would probably tend to arrive at them either by ambulance or by taxi, because you want to get there quick, but once discharged time is less pressing but money may be.

 

[markymark2000]

Fflecsi was the only provision in Newport after 1900 and on Sundays (except for the Stagecoach routes I mentioned previously). All municipal scheduled services were withdrawn at these times.

The dozens of taxis mostly serviced the queues in the city centre and the four Fflecsi minibuses that were out must have been doing the 'inter-suburb' work as it was very rare to be able to book one in my experience.

It finished earlier in Newport though didn't it, it didn't run through the night?

Certainly DRT would work fairly well as a night bus service based on a very small number of key nodes. One being the main entertainment centre or centres, where people would simply queue for a bus going to roughly their suburb* and it'd do a dynamic route dropping them all off (with no inbound service, or a very limited one) - that's the classic "jitney" or "matatu" rather than computer driven DRT. Or similarly one based on taking people home from** hospitals, which is a very common need with A&E waiting times as they are and money being tight. (On the other hand, do you *want* the drinkers' market with its bad behaviour and the need to hose the sick out of vehicles on a far too frequent basis?)

Granted its much more basic than what the current firms are wanting it to be but anywhere to anywhere is massively inefficient, costs a lot and in the end, does it really bring that many benefits?

Hospital transport should be more included in DRT. I think that is one area that could be more looked at as part of the existing schemes to reduce overlap of non urgent, non medical, patient transport (so the basic taking elderly to/from home. Not including hospital-hospital transfers or of course anyone who may need medical care or attention en route). I am not sure if some places have dabbled in this sort of partnership but it's often promoted by councils that is what they are doing.


As for the drinkers market, its a risk. Same when minibuses get hiried for stag or hen nights etc. It's down to judgement really isn't it. Night buses run in London, Brighton and Manchester already and if there was that many issues, would they still be running?

FWIW I do happen to know that one of the community transport companies was seriously looking at a commercial DRT system based at a major hospital in the Home Counties, they didn't do it in the end but it was seriously considered. I can't really name the company nor the hospital because it never got far enough to be public but it does demonstrate that such things are potentially near-viable, certainly with a bit of subsidy, and the person who told me was quite senior in that company at the time so it's not just Forum or Twitter speculation. I seem to recall they considered a fare of around £5 single to be viable (maybe that'd be £6-7 now with higher fuel costs), so more expensive than a bus but cheaper for most than a taxi, and it would have been door to door service (but with one end only being the hospital, so many to one) with assistance where required, so not a rush job but very much customised to potentially infirm people going to/from the hospital, but open to all.

Depending on the distances served and journeys which people want to make, that price isn't so different to a taxi. In which case, why wouldn't someone pay a very small amount extra to have a private chauffeur rather than getting on a shared minibus which will take longer. Nothing stops people getting taxis now.

For longer distances though, I can see it being much cheaper than a taxi.

That is my opinion based purely of the information that you have given.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Depending on the distances served and journeys which people want to make, that price isn't so different to a taxi. In which case, why wouldn't someone pay a very small amount extra to have a private chauffeur rather than getting on a shared minibus which will take longer. Nothing stops people getting taxis now.

Part of the argument was that taxis are "bare minimum" and so people requiring a level of assistance (but below the level where NHS provided hospital transport would kick in) might prefer it, because unlike most taxis outside of London black cabs it'd be staffed by uniformed, properly paid and professional staff. Your average regional minicab driver does little more than drive and grunt at you (unfortunately from my limited experience of being able to get a journey, MK Connect is no different, it's just a shared minicab service), and sometimes doesn't even do either of these well.

I also take it you've not used a taxi recently, because you can't get far for a fiver now.

For longer distances though, I can see it being much cheaper than a taxi.

If you're familiar with the Home Counties and just how rural it is (I wasn't until I lived here - it's FAR more rural than e.g. the North West despite people having the opposite impression), that is very relevant indeed.

I'm not getting into examples that might give away who/where it was, but to use a way-out example, if it were Southport hospital I suspect those from Southport itself would indeed use a local taxi, but if needing to get there from say Ormskirk that could be quite expensive (I think it'd be around £20). Or were it Yspytty Gwynedd in Bangor, someone in Bangor or Caernarfon might use a local taxi, but if they're in Llanrwst it might be a bit costly to do so.

 

[Dai Corner]

It finished earlier in Newport though didn't it, it didn't run through the night?

Service ended by 2300 Mon-Sat and 1900 Sun.

 

[markymark2000]

Part of the argument was that taxis are "bare minimum" and so people requiring a level of assistance (but below the level where NHS provided hospital transport would kick in) might prefer it, because unlike most taxis outside of London black cabs it'd be staffed by uniformed, properly paid and professional staff. Your average regional minicab driver does little more than drive and grunt at you (unfortunately from my limited experience of being able to get a journey, MK Connect is no different, it's just a shared minicab service), and sometimes doesn't even do either of these well.

I also take it you've not used a taxi recently, because you can't get far for a fiver now.

The level of service offered varies a lot by the specific cab driver so to be fair. As for how far you can get for a fiver, yes for a fiver probably not too far but the £7 which you quoted which could be a current price due to increases in fuel, that one I think the price difference may swing it slightly more towards taxis for some distances.

If you're familiar with the Home Counties and just how rural it is (I wasn't until I lived here - it's FAR more rural than e.g. the North West despite people having the opposite impression), that is very relevant indeed.

I'm not getting into examples that might give away who/where it was, but to use a way-out example, if it were Southport hospital I suspect those from Southport itself would indeed use a local taxi, but if needing to get there from say Ormskirk that could be quite expensive (I think it'd be around £20). Or were it Yspytty Gwynedd in Bangor, someone in Bangor or Caernarfon might use a local taxi, but if they're in Llanrwst it might be a bit costly to do so.

It depends on the overall reach and the area surrounding the hospital really. Your examples are right though, if the charity was looking to cover the Southport Hosp - Ormskirk distances, £5/6/7 isn't horrendous. If they wanted to do a more local scheme around Southports urban area though, it would likely be less successful. That's what I was meaning by my comments.

Service ended by 2300 Mon-Sat and 1900 Sun.

So it probably covered Newports nights out as they normally finish by about 7pm but anywhere else that wouldn't be the case as people stay out till past midnight in most cities

 

[Dai Corner]

So it probably covered Newports nights out as they normally finish by about 7pm but anywhere else that wouldn't be the case as people stay out till past midnight in most cities

Have you ever been to Newport on a Friday or Saturday evening? Most of the city centre pubs are open and busy until at least midnight. I don't do nightclubs but I'm sure they'll be later. The rest of the week is quieter but we're certainly not all home in time to watch EastEnders/Corrie!

 

[markymark2000]

Have you ever been to Newport on a Friday or Saturday evening? Most of the city centre pubs are open and busy until at least midnight. I don't do nightclubs but I'm sure they'll be later. The rest of the week is quieter but we're certainly not all home in time to watch EastEnders/Corrie!

A good number of my colleagues who have worked there say that the town overall is dead after 7pm as most people travel to Cardiff for nights out instead. Not a personal experience though granted.

 

[Deerfold]

Surprisingly like Newport.

Feedback here noted from the South Wales Argus in August 2022 https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/20662467.argus-readers-end-fflecsi-bus-scheme-newport/



These other few comments back up your point perfectly as well




If DRT is to become great, as Bletchleyite says, there needs to be some fixed information here. Can you imagine how good a flexibus system would be between midnight and 4am when there are no buses. Friday and Saturday nights especially, I know in my area, a lot of people go for a night on the town and then stand in a taxi queue for an hour where the basic premise of DRT is already happening in these taxi queues. 'Anyone else going to [area of city], want to share?' Have an hourly DRT from a set point in town leaves each hour. Get your phone out and see if there is space on the minibus and that drops you off in the right area. Have a few vehicles going to the different areas of the city and the taxi queue is them much smaller. People get out to the area that they want to go to. If however you go and do a 'anywhere to anywhere' system, it won't be efficient and people will find it harder to book.

And then of course there are those that wither away.

Service 586 Norland to Sowerby via Marten Heights was replaced years ago with "Sowerby Ring and Ride". It seems almost impossible to find anything out about it. It still appears on lists of routes and was extended a couple of years ago to encompass Dean Head when their route was withdrawn. I think it operates pre-booked between about 11am and 3pm. but I can't find anything online to confirm that. The only think I can find is a booking number, not even the details of the area covered or fares.

 

[MedwayValiant]

I notice that in eleven pages of this discussion, there is no mention of what I think is both the oldest and the largest DRT operation in the country, the one which serves most of rural Lincolnshire (and also a little way into neighbouring counties in the vicinities of Newark and Stamford).

Is that because it's basically impossible to use and everyone in Lincolnshire has given up even trying, or is it because it actually works rather better than - or so this discussion suggests - such operations do elsewhere? If it's the latter, what is Lincolnshire doing right that others aren't, and should it be selling consultancy services to the rest of the country?

 

[TheManOnThe172]

I notice that in eleven pages of this discussion, there is no mention of what I think is both the oldest and the largest DRT operation in the country, the one which serves most of rural Lincolnshire (and also a little way into neighbouring counties in the vicinities of Newark and Stamford).

Is that because it's basically impossible to use and everyone in Lincolnshire has given up even trying, or is it because it actually works rather better than - or so this discussion suggests - such operations do elsewhere? If it's the latter, what is Lincolnshire doing right that others aren't, and should it be selling consultancy services to the rest of the country?

Very good point about Lincolnshire, and your comment has prompted me to check my notes of a very useful discussion I had with the chap running the Lincolnshire scheme a few months ago. Key points (as I understood them):

• Although Lincolnshire run vehicles as large as 20 seats, many vehicles are much smaller (minimum size is 8 seats)
• Lincolnshire buys the vehicles and then lets contracts for operation of them. That increases the field of potential suppliers (and so improves value for money). If you offer a three-year contract that can leave the operator with a vehicle on their hands at the end, you will narrow the field (especially in a rural area) and typically get less good value.
• The vehicles are run as a "Total Transport" approach, shared between DRT, Adult Social Care and School Transport. I got the impression that Adult Social Care carried the heavy end of the fixed costs (set by comparison with the cost of buying the service in from an external supplier, I am guessing). So costs attributed to DRT will be correspondingly lower.
• Most of their DRT operations are multi-vehicle zones (mostly two - one has four), and in these they do manage to get acceptable utilisation (not sure how they define that) with random on-demand scheduling.
• Where they do have one-vehicle zones, they always use human scheduling, nudging people to flex their requests so that they get reasonably efficient schedules - random schedules are just too inefficient.
• All zones have just one major destination hub : their expectation is that with multiple hubs, the vehicles would spend too much time on empty repositioning moves between the towns (he quoted a Northamptonshire trial in Brackley and Towcester that had had this problem)
• They have done a lot of work on adjusting the settings for their ViaVan software to improve efficiency, eg they set the maximum journey length at 1.75 times the "net" journey, to allow a certain amount of meandering, but to keep journey times acceptable. And they will expect passengers to walk a bit to/from pickup/dropoff points, rather than offering door-to-door service.
• They don't expect DRT to cover everything: asked how a DRT user can book a hospital appointment several weeks ahead, the answer was that there are other services for that sort of thing.
• They don't consider DRT as being either easy or cheap - but believed that their costs would be lower than subsidised taxis. (Would that be true if their Adult Social Care was only carrying a pro rata share of fixed costs?)

As to your question whether Lincolnshire should sell consultancy, my suggestion would be Yes - they have been at it longer than anyone else, I believe, and they certainly seem to have taken more effort to get the best from their DRT.

I suggested to the Transport Select Committee (who were asking for evidence for their review of "National bus strategy: one year on") that they should make sure that they heard from Lincolnshire on their experience. (It's depressing - but perhaps not unexpected - that since the Call For Evidence ended on 1st April 2022, there has been no sign of any report, nor even a date when one could be expected. Perhaps difficult feedback is easier to bury than explain!).

 

[PG]

And then of course there are those that wither away.

Service 586 Norland to Sowerby via Marten Heights was replaced years ago with "Sowerby Ring and Ride". It seems almost impossible to find anything out about it. It still appears on lists of routes and was extended a couple of years ago to encompass Dean Head when their route was withdrawn. I think it operates pre-booked between about 11am and 3pm. but I can't find anything online to confirm that. The only think I can find is a booking number, not even the details of the area covered or fares.

I note you previously mentioned this service last year in post #214. The links to the service on the Metro website all now seem to be either broken or null except for the Calderdale route number list. This prompted me to delve a bit further and it appears that the service was withdrawn 3 years ago!

they certainly seem to have taken more effort to get the best from their DRT.

Maybe this is the key? If someone is wanting to make something work then they will put in the effort; well done Lincolnshire.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Maybe this is the key? If someone is wanting to make something work then they will put in the effort; well done Lincolnshire.

Agreed. It seems from that rather detailed account (thanks for posting it!) that Lincolnshire are achieving things Milton Keynes Council claim are impossible using the same VIA software. That makes my view of the Councillors involved even lower, were that possible.

 

[duncombec]

I note you previously mentioned this service last year in post #214. The links to the service on the Metro website all now seem to be either broken or null except for the Calderdale route number list. This prompted me to delve a bit further and it appears that the service was withdrawn 3 years ago!

As the service is only available to pre-booked passengers, does it need to be registered?

I'm wondering if this is one of those 'closed door school service'-type situations where it can still be operating without registration.

 

[ashkeba]

Is that because it's basically impossible to use and everyone in Lincolnshire has given up even trying, or is it because it actually works rather better than - or so this discussion suggests - such operations do elsewhere? If it's the latter, what is Lincolnshire doing right that others aren't, and should it be selling consultancy services to the rest of the country?

People I know in Linc's have given up on "call connect“: it required registration, only basically went to the nearest town, shutdowns at 7pm and the driver was often on a break when they wanted to travel unless booked well ahead. If at all physically able, it seems you're much better off if you cycle to the nearest InterConnect stop with parking. If not able, there are voluntary services and patient transport, depending on where you're going.

 

[RJ]

Well, I gave the scheme in Sevenoaks a try yesterday. Needed to get from the station to a remote place on the A25 near the Westerham area. But the service wasn’t available due to high demand. I queued for a taxi for 25 minutes and in all that time the DRT service wasn’t available.

Will give it another try at some point.

 

[PG]

But the service wasn’t available due to high demand. I queued for a taxi for 25 minutes

Sounds like taxis were also in high demand so they weren't exactly demand responsive either!

 

[Deerfold]

I note you previously mentioned this service last year in post #214. The links to the service on the Metro website all now seem to be either broken or null except for the Calderdale route number list. This prompted me to delve a bit further and it appears that the service was withdrawn 3 years ago!

That's very odd. It originally came in in 2011 and was extended to Dean Head in 2015 and the details were all available in 2021. If it's withdrawn, it's been done very quietly.

 

[Typhoon]

Well, I gave the scheme in Sevenoaks a try yesterday. Needed to get from the station to a remote place on the A25 near the Westerham area. But the service wasn’t available due to high demand. I queued for a taxi for 25 minutes and in all that time the DRT service wasn’t available.

Will give it another try at some point.

I guess it is the Go2 scheme, which runs alongside the timetabled service buses? Thanks for that, I have a relative who lives locally and was going to use it to visit, as they cannot get out, because they have dramatically cut the frequency of the regular buses. I wouldn't have minded waiting a short while but not even to get to the 'the bus will be with you in 20 minutes' stage is worrying. The regular bus would be two hours later, I'll have to walk instead.

 

[Dai Corner]

They have done a lot of work on adjusting the settings for their ViaVan software to improve efficiency, eg they set the maximum journey length at 1.75 times the "net" journey, to allow a certain amount of meandering, but to keep journey times acceptable.

Ah that's interesting. I wouldn't mind betting that few operators have the training or experience to do that or the budget to bring in a contractor to do it and most just use the default settings.

 

[RJ]

I guess it is the Go2 scheme, which runs alongside the timetabled service buses? Thanks for that, I have a relative who lives locally and was going to use it to visit, as they cannot get out, because they have dramatically cut the frequency of the regular buses. I wouldn't have minded waiting a short while but not even to get to the 'the bus will be with you in 20 minutes' stage is worrying. The regular bus would be two hours later, I'll have to walk instead.

I tried it at around 1510 on Friday, maybe I was just unlucky!

 

[PG]

That's very odd. It originally came in in 2011 and was extended to Dean Head in 2015 and the details were all available in 2021. If it's withdrawn, it's been done very quietly.

The wayback machine last saved the timetable on the 23rd of November last year. The fact that the same URL now returns a 404 not found error suggests that the service no longer exists even though it is shown in the list of timetables which I'm assuming hasn't been correctly updated. It wouldn't be the first time that a timetable was available online for a service which no longer exists!

Ah that's interesting. I wouldn't mind betting that few operators have the training or experience to do that or the budget to bring in a contractor to do it and most just use the default settings.

Strikes me that is a classic case of either:
software suppliers failing to explain to the purchaser all the features of the product OR;
buyers failing to explain all the features to product user

 

[Typhoon]

I tried it at around 1510 on Friday, maybe I was just unlucky!

Possibly, school run? (Particularly, say, for those with special needs.)

 

[RELL6L]

I think something like the Lincolnshire model is the most likely to 'succeed' in that each segment is based on an individual town with an hourly service departing (for example) from each town on the hour and going wherever passengers have booked, presumably accepting bookings until the hour gets filled on a complex route between various sources and destinations. That fact that it has lasted as long as it has suggests something is working OK. I used it back in 2013 to travel from Saltfleet to Mablethorpe, its the only DRT I have so far booked, and its still going. I say 'succeed', but I can't believe it covers its costs, but it suits Lincolnshire with lots of small settlements over a wide area with a few towns to base it around. There appear to be 27 of them, some towns with one, others more - eg Louth has three.

The others that seem to work are the fixed route plus booked variations, I have done Chichester to Petworth (99) and Pewsey to Devizes (101/102) which work on this basis, no booking required at certain points (eg the termini) but booking is required to divert off the main road.

 

[RJ]

Possibly, school run? (Particularly, say, for those with special needs.)

I’m pleased to report a better experience. My journey started at Brasted Lodge late morning. I booted up the app and it said 17 minutes, which was fine given the distance from town. The fare was £5.90 to Sevenoaks Station vs £17 for a taxi to either Sevenoaks or Oxted station.

In reality it didn’t take that long to arrive, it was a purple Ford minibus. I did enquire about busy periods and apparently there is a demand spike at schooltimes.

 

[PG]

The Aberdeenshire Ready2Go DRT service centred around Inverurie, that was introduced just over a year ago, is being withdrawn according to AberdeenLive reporter Ciaran Shanks

Aberdeenshire bus service Ready2Go being axed despite serving more than 1,000 passengers per week​

The Ready2Go service had proved popular with residents across parts of Aberdeenshire but timetabled buses are set to be rolled-out in April after the service is withdrawn.

*EDIT*
The council's official statement seems to point towards it being a victim of its own success which seems to indicate that it was being utilised mainly for single occupant journeys (my highlighting).

However a number of issues have been impacting the service including high running costs, relatively low numbers of passengers travelling at the same time on each bus and passengers being unable to book a bus journey.

The recent Insch bus service survey indicated, on balance, a preference in that area for a timetabled service over Ready2Go with customers noting a deterioration in Ready2Go service reliability in more recent months as demand has increased across the service area.

Tenders will now be sought from bus operators for replacement timetabled journeys covering the previously withdrawn fixed routes between Insch and Inverurie and Rothienorman and Inverurie.

 

[GusB]

The Aberdeenshire Ready2Go DRT service centred around Inverurie, that was introduced just over a year ago, is being withdrawn according to AberdeenLive reporter Ciaran Shanks

In order to spare our dear readers from the horrors of that site, here it is from the horse's mouth:

News centre - Aberdeenshire Council

online.aberdeenshire.gov.uk

12 January 2023

Ready2Go Around Inverurie bus service to be withdrawn in April


The Ready2Go Around Inverurie digital demand responsive transport (DDRT) pilot initiative operated by Aberdeenshire Council is to be withdrawn from April.

The Monday-Saturday service involves five minibuses operated by Watermill Coaches under contract to the council covering Inverurie and the surrounding area, including the communities of Insch, Rothienorman, Oldmeldrum, Kintore, Kemnay and Monymusk.

The service picks up and drops off booked passengers at physical or virtual bus stops and, on average, around 1,100 passenger trips are being made each week. Many passengers enjoy the benefits of the service and in response to a recent Insch bus service survey, 60% of respondents who use Ready2Go said they would recommend the service to a friend.

The DDRT appears to be performing well against policy objectives such as encouraging modal shift away from the car and supporting health and wellbeing objectives. People also like the Watermill Coaches vehicles and drivers.

However a number of issues have been impacting the service including high running costs, relatively low numbers of passengers travelling at the same time on each bus and passengers being unable to book a bus journey.

The recent Insch bus service survey indicated, on balance, a preference in that area for a timetabled service over Ready2Go with customers noting a deterioration in Ready2Go service reliability in more recent months as demand has increased across the service area.

Tenders will now be sought from bus operators for replacement timetabled journeys covering the previously withdrawn fixed routes between Insch and Inverurie and Rothienorman and Inverurie.

Although the Ready2Go Around Inverurie service will be withdrawn, given the positive aspects of its delivery, the pilot project will continue building on the lessons learnt to-date and a Rural Transport Project Officer is being recruited, part-funded by Nestrans, to evaluate the service and develop a strategy, including DDRT, for addressing transport connectivity issues in North East Scotland.

The continuation of the pilot will enable Aberdeenshire Council to explore, along with partners, additional funding streams for DDRT which is currently high profile in both national and regional transport strategies.

Ewan Wallace, Head of Environment and Sustainability at Aberdeenshire Council, explained that while it had been a difficult decision to withdraw the service, the wider project would continue to assess the future suitability of DDRT taking into account the evolving smart technology used to manage such services.

He said: “There have been many advantages demonstrated by the Ready2Go service in that it has enabled residents to travel directly between places previously unserved or requiring connecting transport. Within Inverurie, for example, there are Ready2Go virtual bus stops at locations not served by other bus services.

“We know that many customers who have had good experiences of Ready2Go will be disappointed by its withdrawal, however the high cost of running such an extensive service, covering long operating hours and a large geographical area, coupled with ongoing difficulties in accommodating passenger demand have been key factors in our decision.”



Since it was introduced in August 2021, customers have been able to place bookings 24/7 using a free app to request a bus for an immediate ride or for a future departure time. During office hours telephone bookings are also accepted.

The pilot service was introduced to test a revised approach to the provision of supported bus services and came at a particularly apt time given the change in travel needs and travel patterns arising from the Covid pandemic.

Data from the council’s analysis suggested that the Ready2Go service had been successful in helping to reverse ongoing bus patronage decline. Responses from a recent questionnaire for children and young people and a planned survey of Ready2Go customers of all ages will be used to inform the future development of a DDRT strategy for the North-east of Scotland.

 

[PG]

In order to spare our dear readers from the horrors of that site, here it is from the horse's mouth:

News centre - Aberdeenshire Council

online.aberdeenshire.gov.uk

I've edited my post to include part of the council statement, along with my take on what it is actually saying!

 

[Hophead]

The Aberdeenshire Ready2Go DRT service centred around Inverurie, that was introduced just over a year ago, is being withdrawn according to AberdeenLive reporter Ciaran Shanks

*EDIT*
The council's official statement seems to point towards it being a victim of its own success which seems to indicate that it was being utilised mainly for single occupant journeys (my highlighting).

Which is hardly a surprise - as I've said before, these DRT schemes are little more than a heavily subsidised taxi service.

A further apposite point from the article:

"a recent survey from Insch residents saying a timetabled service was preferred."

Perhaps such a survey might have been more usefully conducted before inflicting Ready2Go upon the citizens of Insch?