Residents of west Rushcliffe in Nottinghamshire can now avail of a newly-launched on-demand bus service.
The Nottsbus On Demand service is being trialled in north and south Ollerton and Mansfield, and was established to support journeys in the operating zone that are not served by current routes.
This new pilot for west Rushcliffe is set to provide a service for communities including East Leake, Sutton Bonington, Gotham, Thrumpton, Stanford on Soar and Kegworth, and will run between 7am and 12pm.
Key locations for commuters, such as the Clifton NET Park and Ride, East Midlands Parkway railway station, East Midlands Airport, the University of Nottingham’s Sutton Bonington Campus, the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre as well as the Pegasus Business Park, Segro Logistics Park and the DHL depot, will all be serviced by the new route.
Cllr Neil Clarke MBE, cabinet member for transport and environment at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “This is great news for residents in West Rushcliffe who now have the freedom and flexibility to travel across their local area for work, education and leisure.
“The key concept behind our ‘Nottsbus On Demand’ service is that our buses will go to where passengers want them, rather than a bus travelling on a fixed route often with no passengers on board. It’s still a bus service – not a door-to-door taxi service – but it is far more efficient, environmentally friendly and responsive to public need.”
Journeys can be booked using a smartphone through a new app. Passengers can also book by calling the dedicated Nottsbus On Demand phoneline.
Nottinghamshire County Council will be working in partnership with Kinchbus, which will be operating the west Rushcliffe route.
Tom Morgan, managing director of Kinchbus, said: “Nottsbus On Demand brings with it the opportunity to create and run flexible services which help people in rural locations who do not drive. It can also keep cars off the road and so help decarbonise transport by enabling people to share their rides.
“By connecting with other services and modes of public transport, DRT can help people get where they want to go by bringing them to regular bus routes or railway stations. We look forward to seeing how much the new service is used and valued.”
