Demand Responsive Transport: Your Flexible UK Ride

Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) represents a significant evolution in how people get around, particularly in areas where traditional public transport struggles to meet diverse needs. This innovative and flexible service is rapidly gaining traction across the UK, offering a dynamic solution that can adapt to individual travel requirements, rather than adhering to rigid, pre-set schedules. Imagine a transport option that comes to you, when you need it, taking you exactly where you want to go, all while sharing the journey with others heading in a similar direction. This is the promise of DRT, and it's reshaping the landscape of local mobility, making travel more accessible, efficient, and environmentally friendly for communities nationwide.

What Exactly is Demand Responsive Transport (DRT)?

At its core, Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) is a flexible, shared transport service designed to provide journeys to users who specify their desired pick-up and drop-off locations and times. Unlike conventional bus routes with fixed timetables and stops, DRT operates on demand, making it highly adaptable to the real-time needs of passengers. It leverages advanced technology to group passengers with similar travel requests, optimising routes and reducing journey times, all within a designated operational zone.

DRT services typically utilise smaller vehicles than fixed-route buses, offering a more personalised and often door-to-door or near-door service. This flexibility makes DRT an ideal complement to existing fixed-route public transport services, particularly in low-density rural areas or during off-peak times of day when demand for traditional services is insufficient to justify a full bus route. By filling these gaps, DRT significantly improves mobility and connectivity for communities that might otherwise be underserved.

A traditional example of DRT is a 'dial-a-ride' service, where bookings are made in advance. However, modern DRT schemes, often referred to as Dynamic DRT (D-DRT), take this flexibility a step further. D-DRT services adjust their routes in real-time, accommodating new pick-up requests made just minutes in advance. This dynamic routing is powered by sophisticated algorithms and mobile applications, creating an agile and responsive transport network that can react instantly to changing demand. The government’s Future of Mobility Strategy highlights D-DRT as a key component of future transport systems, with various pilots, such as those funded through the Rural Mobility Fund, currently exploring its practical application across England.

The Many Faces of DRT: Different Service Models

DRT is not a one-size-fits-all solution; it encompasses a diverse range of service models, each tailored to specific purposes and community needs. These schemes can include a variety of transport providers and vehicle types, ensuring flexibility in their implementation:

• Flexible bus services (registered bus routes that are able to deviate from fixed routes)
• Community transport minibuses
• Licensed taxis or private hire vehicles (PHVs)
• Social services transport
• Non-emergency patient transport

The objectives behind implementing DRT schemes are equally varied, addressing different transport challenges:

Addressing Suppressed Travel Demand

Many DRT services are designed to provide access to essential destinations or services for individuals who lack other transport options. This includes journeys for employment, education, healthcare, or retail, as well as connecting to a transport hub for onward travel. DRT effectively fills the gap where walking, cycling, or conventional public transport is not viable, and a private car is unavailable. Examples include MK Connect in Milton Keynes and Callconnect in Lincolnshire, both successfully linking residents to vital services and opportunities.

Transferring Existing Bus Users to a DRT Service

In some instances, DRT services replace conventional fixed routes that have become unviable due to low ridership. By offering a more flexible service, operators can maintain coverage while optimising efficiency. Fflecsi Wales is a notable example, demonstrating how a flexible service can effectively replace a conventional fixed service, as detailed in research by Transport Focus.

Acting as a Feeder Service to Existing Bus Services or Rail

DRT can play a crucial role in enhancing connectivity by linking rural areas to main transport corridors. This involves transporting passengers from dispersed locations to a fixed bus route or a train station. Bwcabus in Wales and Connecting Communities in Suffolk are excellent illustrations of this model, feeding passengers into broader public transport networks and facilitating multi-modal journeys.

Consolidating Existing Bus Services

Some DRT schemes aim to consolidate multiple transport needs into a single service, thereby improving efficiency and reducing duplication. This could include combining home-to-school, home-to-healthcare, and home-to-work journeys, as piloted through the Total Transport projects, which sought to optimise public sector funded transport.

Providing an Alternative to Private Car Journeys

A key objective for many DRT services is to encourage modal shift away from private cars by offering a more attractive and flexible shared transport option. These schemes often target 'choice users' – those who have a car but choose DRT for convenience or environmental reasons. 'Hop on, hop off' services can also cater to tourists, providing access to rural attractions or walking routes. Tees Flex, Essex DaRT, and Connect2 Wiltshire are examples of services designed to offer a compelling alternative to private vehicle use.

Who Uses DRT? Captive and Choice Riders

Understanding the target users is fundamental to designing an effective DRT scheme. Research, such as that by the Knowledgebase on Sustainable Urban Land use and Transport (KonSULT), identifies two main groups of DRT users:

• Captive Users: These are individuals who do not have a car or other viable transport options available for their journey. DRT services primarily targeting this group often have strong objectives related to social inclusion and accessibility, ensuring everyone has the opportunity to travel.
• Choice Users: These users have a car available but opt for DRT. Attracting choice users is crucial for relieving congestion, reducing the number of private cars on the road, and contributing significantly to decarbonisation efforts.

The purpose of the DRT scheme and the intended user group will dictate many operational aspects, including the type and number of vehicles deployed, typical trip patterns, booking processes, and the revenue generation model. For example, a service for captive users might prioritise accessibility features and lower fares, while a service for choice users might focus on speed, convenience, and seamless integration with other digital services.

Driving Towards a Greener Future: DRT and Decarbonisation

Beyond its social and economic benefits, DRT holds significant potential in the UK's journey towards decarbonising transport. By optimising routes and encouraging shared travel, DRT can play a vital role in reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions:

• Substitute Car Journeys: A single DRT vehicle can replace multiple, single-occupancy car journeys. This is particularly impactful in commuting areas where demand might not justify a fixed bus route, or for those working flexible shifts. The emission reduction is further enhanced when switching from a petrol or diesel car to an electric DRT vehicle.
• Encourage Active Travel: DRT services can be designed to integrate better with active travel modes like walking and cycling. This might involve allowing bikes on board, providing external racks, or ensuring secure cycle storage at stops. Some booking systems can even decline very short trips that can easily be walked, unless there’s a specific need like a mobility impairment, thereby promoting healthier and greener travel habits.
• Replace a Fixed-Route, Diesel-Fuelled Bus Service: Because DRT services only run when there is demand and on an optimised route, they often travel fewer miles overall compared to a fixed route service. This directly translates to reduced fuel consumption and lower emissions. Furthermore, the vehicle size can be precisely matched to the anticipated number of passengers, enhancing carbon efficiency (CO2 emissions per passenger per kilometre). While more trips might occur due to unlocking suppressed demand, the emphasis remains on reducing vehicle emissions through electrification and increasing passenger numbers to lower the per-passenger environmental footprint.

The government's Transport Decarbonisation Plan underscores the commitment to making quantifiable carbon reductions a fundamental part of local transport planning. Local authorities are increasingly asked to outline actions in their Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs) to transition their bus fleets, including DRT vehicles, to zero-emission. The increase in the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) green incentive for Zero Emission Buses (ZEBs) to 22p per kilometre further supports this transition.

Beyond the Ride: Broader Benefits of DRT

The introduction of DRT services delivers a wide array of advantages that extend beyond mere transport, impacting communities, individuals, and the broader transport network:

Benefits for Local Authorities

DRT offers local authorities a powerful tool to achieve multiple policy objectives:

• Reducing congestion through modal shift to shared transport from private cars.
• Increasing connectivity for rural communities, for example, by extending public transport into areas where population densities and usage do not support a timetabled service.
• Supporting health and wellbeing by enabling easier access to services, facilities, social networks and community initiatives.
• Economic benefits through increased access to employment, leisure and for visitors.
• Supporting the promotion of active travel as DRT reduces reliance on cars and may help to grow receptivity to alternatives to single occupancy vehicles.
• Promoting community cohesion through providing more opportunities for people to interact.
• Forming part of land use planning strategies, DRT services are increasingly used to provide access to new developments, such as employment sites and housing developments.

Benefits for Users

For the individual passenger, DRT offers tangible improvements to daily life:

• Provide access to a wider range of destinations, increasing personal mobility and reducing social isolation.
• Enable travel at a more convenient time compared to a fixed timetable with limited frequency.
• Provide an almost door-to-door service that can support individuals with limited mobility and cost less than other similar services, such as a taxi or PHV.
• Act as a feeder service to connect to high frequency bus or rail corridors, or even remove need to interchange, reducing journey length and time, depending on the service.
• Help individuals and communities to access job opportunities through a direct service or services better suited to shift patterns.

A prime example of DRT’s user benefits is the HertsLynx service, launched by Hertfordshire County Council. It connects rural areas with six hub towns, offering bookings via app or online and real-time vehicle tracking, making travel more convenient and accessible. Similarly, Essex DaRT operates flexible services in rural Essex, with one route even achieving commercial viability without subsidy, demonstrating the long-term potential for user satisfaction and operational success.

Benefits for the Bus Service Provider or Operator

Operators also gain significant advantages from implementing DRT:

• Enhancing data collection to aid understanding of demand for services.
• Enabling operators to run services only when there is known demand, reducing fuel costs (and empty running).
• Providing access to a greater choice of ultra-low or zero emission vehicles, such as electric minibuses, which may have lower upfront costs than Zero Emission Buses (ZEBs).
• Enabling adaptation of poorer performing conventional bus routes to maintain coverage.

Navigating the Implementation: A Local Authority's Guide

Establishing and procuring a DRT service requires careful planning and strategic decisions by local authorities. DRT is most effective when integrated with the mainstream transport network and is not a universal solution; it's generally not suitable for replacing frequent urban and inter-urban routes where demand is consistently high.

1. Devise a Demand Responsive Transport Scheme

The initial phase involves defining the core objectives and operational parameters:

• Defining the Zone of Operation: The area a DRT service covers is crucial. Zone size varies based on the scheme's purpose, population density, fleet size, and desired maximum wait or journey times. It should encompass main residential areas and significant destinations such as employment zones, hospitals, town centres, and transport interchanges. Consideration must be given to existing passenger transport services to ensure DRT complements, rather than competes with, them, adhering to competition law and subsidy control rules. For instance, Breng Flex in the Netherlands demonstrated how DRT can complement existing modes, with a high percentage of trips connecting to train stations.
• Estimating Demand for a DRT Service: Accurate demand estimation is vital for a robust business case and assessing potential carbon emission reductions. Local authorities can utilise various data sources, including census data (2011, 2021), National Travel Survey data, UK labour market statistics (nomis), council transport modelling, and information from public bodies like NHS trusts. Academic research, such as a study in Melbourne, Australia, identified factors increasing DRT likelihood, including age (15-24, 55+), gender (female), not being in the workforce, low vehicle ownership or income, and lack of nearby public transport, enabling tailored service design and communication strategies.

Regulation

Local authorities must navigate the specific regulatory frameworks depending on the chosen service model. Flexible bus services, for example, require registration with the Office of the Traffic Commissioner, while taxi or PHV-based services fall under different licensing regulations. Driver licensing requirements also vary. Ensuring compliance with relevant regulations at all stages is paramount.

Funding for DRT Schemes

Most DRT services currently rely on subsidies. Sustainable funding is critical to avoid service withdrawal and maintain user trust. Local authorities in England have several options to explore:

• Section 106 funding: Secured from new housing developments to link residential areas to essential facilities.
• Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL): A charge on new developments to fund infrastructure.
• Local Economic Partnership (LEP) funding: Suitable for DRT schemes targeting employment locations to stimulate economic growth.
• Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG): A grant helping operators recover fuel costs, with an increased green incentive for ZEBs.
• Existing local authority bus funding: Redirected where DRT offers a more effective public transport solution.
• Local business or employers: Contributions for schemes serving commercial areas not well-served by public transport.
• Central government grants: Past schemes like the Rural Mobility Fund and Total Transport pilots have provided significant funding.

The Essex DaRT service illustrates a mixed funding model, with one route commercially viable and others benefiting from council subsidies, including a new electric fleet supported by the Rural Mobility Fund.

The Procurement Process: Crafting a Successful DRT Service

When tendering a DRT service, the local authority's specification should be comprehensive, covering key operational and quality aspects:

• Zones and Hours of Operation: Clearly define the operational area and consider hours that complement other public transport, perhaps focusing on evenings and weekends to avoid competition.
• Criteria for Stops: Establish guidelines for safe and accessible pick-up/drop-off points, considering potential infrastructure upgrades.
• Vehicle Specification: Detail vehicle type, seating capacity, fuel type, and emissions standards.
• Technology Requirements: Specify integrated ticketing and booking systems, ensuring they are not overly restrictive to foster innovation and avoid vendor lock-in.
• Accessibility: Mandate provision for accessible services, including wheelchair users, at all stages of the journey from booking to vehicle design and customer service.
• Service Performance: Include quality criteria such as target maximum journey times, pick-up response times, and user satisfaction metrics.

It’s important to recognise the trade-offs in DRT operations, balancing driver costs, vehicle size, fleet size, and service standards. The optimal balance will depend on available funding and passenger expectations. Contracts should also allow for adaptation after launch, as demand patterns may evolve. For example, HertsLynx continuously adapts its service based on demand within its large rural zone.

Vehicle Specifications: Powering DRT with the Right Wheels

Vehicle specification is a critical component, particularly in light of decarbonisation goals. Local authorities are encouraged to specify or include as evaluation criteria the fuel type of vehicles (e.g., electric, hybrid, or diesel) and to set targets for transitioning to zero-emission fleets within their BSIPs.

The government's commitment to phasing out new diesel buses and consulting on non-zero emission coaches and minibuses means authorities should increasingly prioritise electric or hydrogen fuel cell options. This could involve specifying a minimum proportion of zero-emission vehicles, increasing over time, or setting maximum permitted tailpipe CO2 emissions. Specifying a minimum Euro emissions standard for petrol or diesel vehicles can also help reduce air pollution.

Consideration must also be given to specialist conversions for wheelchair accessibility and, for electric vehicles above 3.5 tonnes, conversion to minibuses. The Crown Commercial Service offers procurement frameworks for these needs. Careful specification of minimum seating capacity, including wheelchair spaces, is vital, as this impacts the feasibility of using certain electric minibus models and influences regulatory frameworks.

The Tech Behind the Journey: Leveraging Technology in DRT

Investing in a robust technology platform is fundamental to the efficiency and user experience of modern DRT services. Whether an off-the-shelf or bespoke system, technology can:

• Optimise journeys and efficiency.
• Maximise passenger numbers.
• Make booking by users quicker, often online or app-based.
• Track key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Track vehicle locations.

While online booking is efficient, it's crucial to offer multiple booking options, such as a telephone service, to ensure inclusivity for users who may lack IT skills, smartphone access, or reliable mobile signal. Go2now Sevenoaks, for instance, successfully uses an app-based system while also offering concessionary pricing to broaden accessibility.

Spreading the Word: Effective Communication Strategies

Attracting a sufficient number of passengers is paramount for the financial viability and carbon efficiency of any DRT service. A clear and ongoing communications strategy is essential to build understanding, encourage uptake, and foster confidence in the service:

• Clear Communications Strategy: Work with the DRT provider and stakeholders (employers, community groups) to publicise the launch and continually attract new users. Targeted promotions, such as a Christmas campaign for shoppers or an autumn campaign for students, can be highly effective.
• Organise Face-to-Face Events: Events, like CallConnect in Lincolnshire hiring a pitch on market days, allow potential users to engage directly, ask questions, and even board a bus, building trust and familiarity.
• Produce Online and Printed Materials: Materials should clearly explain how the service works, including the booking process, zones, fares, and any constraints. HertsLynx uses animated videos, dedicated webpages, and comprehensive FAQs to provide clarity and set realistic expectations.
• Communicate the Benefits of a Flexible Service: Highlight the convenience and spontaneity that a sophisticated booking system can deliver, even if some advance planning is required.
• Consider Ticketing Solutions: Fare structures should be transparent, and local authorities should work towards simplified, integrated multi-modal ticketing to increase public transport uptake. Introductory offers can generate initial interest.
• Encourage Feedback and Adapt: Regularly solicit feedback from users (and non-users) to refine the service and address concerns, ensuring continuous improvement.

Frequently Asked Questions about Demand Responsive Transport (DRT)

What is Demand Responsive Transport (DRT)?

DRT is a flexible, shared transport service where users book a ride for a specific pick-up and drop-off time and location, rather than following a fixed route or timetable. It's often used to complement traditional public transport in areas of lower demand.

How does DRT differ from a regular bus or taxi?

Unlike a regular bus, DRT doesn't have a fixed route or schedule; it adapts to passenger requests. Unlike a taxi, it's a shared service, meaning you might travel with other passengers heading in a similar direction, making it typically more affordable than a private taxi ride.

Who benefits most from DRT services?

DRT particularly benefits residents in rural or low-density areas with limited public transport, individuals without access to a private car, and those needing flexible travel for work, education, or healthcare appointments. It also benefits local authorities by improving connectivity and reducing congestion.

Can DRT help reduce carbon emissions?

Yes, significantly. By optimising routes, consolidating multiple individual car journeys into one shared vehicle, and increasingly using zero-emission electric vehicles, DRT can reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions per passenger per kilometre.

How do I book a DRT service?

Most modern DRT services offer booking via a dedicated mobile app or an online platform. Many schemes also retain a telephone booking option to ensure accessibility for all users, particularly those without smartphones or internet access.

Are DRT services accessible for everyone?

A core principle of DRT is accessibility. Local authorities and operators are expected to provide accessible vehicles, including provision for wheelchair users, and to ensure the booking process and customer service are inclusive for all.

How are DRT services funded?

Many DRT services are subsidised by local transport authorities, often through a combination of local government funding, grants from central government (like the Rural Mobility Fund), and contributions from local businesses or new developments (e.g., Section 106 funding).

DRT at a Glance: Comparing Transport Options

To better understand where DRT fits into the broader transport landscape, here's a comparative look at its key characteristics versus traditional fixed-route buses and private hire vehicles (PHVs)/taxis:

In conclusion, Demand Responsive Transport is poised to become a cornerstone of sustainable and inclusive mobility in the UK. By offering flexibility, efficiency, and a commitment to decarbonisation, DRT addresses critical gaps in the existing transport network, empowering individuals and communities with greater access and choice. As technology advances and local authorities continue to innovate, DRT will undoubtedly play an increasingly vital role in shaping a more connected, greener, and responsive transport future for everyone.

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