Essex County Council (ECC) will receive £2.5m from the UK Department for Transport (DfT) for two Rural Mobility Funded (RMF) projects in mid Essex and south Braintree.
In February 2020, the DfT launched a £220m package called ‘A better deal for bus users’ that included the £20m RMF.
The primary objective of the RMF is to trial on-demand transport solutions in rural and suburban areas, which work better for residents than conventional transport services, such as timetabled bus services.
ECC will now run two pilot schemes that encompass the principles of digital demand-responsive transport (D-DRT), a passenger-focused form of public transport characterised by flexibility and the operation of smaller, shared vehicles.
D-DRT operates when and where a passenger requests a journey, unlike a conventional bus that runs to a fixed timetable and route.
It uses smaller vehicles such as minibuses, with bookings made via a smartphone app, which is also supported by a telephone booking line for those without access to a smartphone.
Bookings can be made on-demand or in advance, with payment made via the app, a guaranteed seat and real-time tracking of the vehicle available.
According to ECC, both schemes will deliver a vital, modern and forward-thinking solution to connect and level-up areas in Essex that currently have little or no provision of public transport and will be supported by a fleet of fully electric minibuses.
Furthermore, the two pilots will enable ECC and the DfT to collect evidence and assess the efficacy of D-DRT services to inform development of future local transport offers in Essex and across the UK.
Learn more about demand-responsive transport in this CiTTi webinar sponsored by ioki:
