On-demand bus service launched
A new on-demand bus service is being launched at the University of Warwick promising staff, students and the local community convenient services to order.
The West Midlands On Demand service, starting in April, offers the convenience of a taxi but with the environmental benefits of a traditional bus service helping to reduce car use and traffic congestion on our streets.
Powered by an app to coordinate routes and journeys based on customer demand it will offer a pick up and drop off service in an area of travel. To book a journey, passengers download the “Bus On-Demand” app (powered by Via) , which allows them to request a pick up from a virtual bus stop.
The service is being trialled for the first time in the region as part of the Future Mobility Showcase – a two-year partnership between Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), part of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and the University of Warwick to pilot innovative transport modes and technology designed to reduce private car use.
Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street, who chairs the WMCA, said: “This is a pioneering new type of bus services which uses the latest app technology to offer a bus where you want it and at the right time within the zone, rather than restricted to set routes and timetables. It is just the kind of innovation we in the West Midlands are famed for.
“We are piloting these new services for those commuting between the University of Warwick campuses – but if successful and sustainable we will look at expanding it to other areas across the West Midlands.”
The on-demand services are operated by Via and CoachScanner with funding from TfWM and the university.