Norfolk County Council has secured £700,000 from the UK government to introduce an on-demand bus service, which will cover 85 square miles and has stops in Swaffham as well as 20 villages and hamlets in the surrounding area.
The investment will allow the scheme to be set up and run for four years, in which time it is hoped that it can become self-financing and continue to run for years to come.
Cllr Martin Wilby, cabinet member for highways infrastructure and transport, Norfolk County Council, said: “We know how important good public transport is and this scheme will bring good quality, modern and reliable public transport to more than 7,700 people who live to the south of Swaffham. Securing better public transport for Norfolk, particularly in rural areas can be challenging, but this is a big step towards a key aim in our ambitious bus service improvement plan.
“I’m proud that this scheme will now provide a service where sadly there hasn’t been a regular service for many years. This takes the best elements of flexibus travel and updates it with the latest technology offering the choice of using a smartphone app to book and pay and get live travel information.
“The scheme is set to not only improve public transport links between Swaffham and nearby villages but also open up connections to onward journeys to King’s Lynn and Norwich. If successful, this could be a model for schemes elsewhere in the county in the future.”
The service will be operated by Vectare, a UK-based provider of specialist public transport solutions. While, the smartphone app for this new service will be provided by Via.
Chris Snyder, Via’s European CEO, added: “Via is proud to partner with Norfolk County Council to launch flexibus+ to provide convenient, sustainable, and affordable public transport to residents and visitors in Swaffham.
“Tech-enabled public transport services are revolutionising the mobility experience in rural communities across the UK, and flexibus+ will offer a flexible and dynamic solution for the Swaffham community to get where they need to go. We look forward to seeing other councils in the UK follow Norfolk County Council’s leadership in innovative public mobility.”
