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Post by stevieinselby on Dec 17, 2017 13:52:29 GMT 1
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/dec/15/local-buses-could-be-replaced-by-uber-style-services-says-graylingThe transport secretary believes the future of local buses could be in app-based on-demand service rather than scheduled buses. Putting aside the rights and wrongs of Uber as a company, and focusing on the technology and principles behind it, what are people's thoughts on this? Is it just a doomed attempt to re-hash the dismal failure that demand-responsive services have generally been (and I do recognise that a few examples of this have been more successful)? Or is it an idea whose time has come, as demonstrated by the take-off of services like Uber and Vamooz? I don't see most core services losing their regular timetables, because the number of passengers makes a bus running at set times very efficient ... but for low volume town and village routes, maybe the technology has now matured to a point where it is worth revisiting. With these services predominantly being used by older folk and possibly more disadvantaged people, we do need to be careful to make sure that people who may struggle with the technology are not excluded from the services. One thing that is critical is that ENCTS evolves to recognise the growing role of DRS. With services that require pre-booking commonly exempt from the scheme, this leaves increasing numbers of people unable to use their passes, and if this is rolled out further then that needs to be addressed so that people living in rural areas can still benefit from the pass.
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Post by davopazza on Dec 17, 2017 18:00:41 GMT 1
Interesting article to read but seems to have a massive political spin on it.
I work in technology and have grown up with computers so here is my thoughts:
1) if people booked journeys stipulating a time to arrive at a destination, maybe this will allow the bus company to create a journey that’s fitting for a number of people and can send out a vehicle size which is fitting.
2) the data collected could be use to create routes that more people would use, for example passengers may prefer a bus service from Ackworth to Xscape as opposed to Pontefract which may result in an existing service being extended.
3) if payment was made on the app, could bus services run quicker as all people need to do is get on.
4) could services be diverted as-hoc into housing estates or work places which may increase passengers?
But on the orther hand, could this be an idea without substance, for example, I want a new house but I don’t know why or how?
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Post by SCH117X on Dec 17, 2017 22:10:52 GMT 1
A system of requesting a bus could benefit some rural services - take the Little Explorer 21/22 which criss cross the B6265 in hopeful search of passengers in the surrounding villages whereas if the driver knew where the custom was / where those on board wanted to go then a better service all round may occur although their would be obvious timetabling issues.
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Post by gooderson1 on Dec 17, 2017 23:15:24 GMT 1
Sounds like a good idea but how much notice would be required to book a journey. At the moment to book an "uber" trip you use an app on your mobile phone and 5/10 minutes later the private hire vehicle turns up and off you go. Can you honestly see any bus operator sending out a bus at a moments notice for one person. I think not. That's why there are timetabled services.
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Post by stevieinselby on Dec 18, 2017 0:09:16 GMT 1
Sounds like a good idea but how much notice would be required to book a journey. At the moment to book an "uber" trip you use an app on your mobile phone and 5/10 minutes later the private hire vehicle turns up and off you go. Can you honestly see any bus operator sending out a bus at a moments notice for one person. I think not. That's why there are timetabled services. No, I think it would be more like SCH117X says - there would be a bus running from A to B at a certain time, but it would have a flexible route, only going into villages off the main road on request. The downside of this would be that the scheduling would still have to allow for the bus to run via most of the villages in each journey, so while you will save some mileage, and passengers will often get a quicker journey, it isn't guaranteed. Presumably, the app would then be able to give passengers down the line an estimated pick-up time based on what other pick-ups the bus will make along the way, and as long as the bus has mobile signal, people could book it pretty much up to the time of departure. This is where the app really could score over the old telephone-based systems - allowing last minute bookings, optimising the route, and keeping passengers informed as to when the bus is due. A few routes in North Yorkshire where this could have a really useful application would be the Little Explorers 22/23, Little White Bus 156, Connexions 492/493, East Yorkshire 195 and 747, and potentially lots more as well.
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jc
Forum Member
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Post by jc on Dec 18, 2017 1:47:11 GMT 1
I get the feeling the proposal will morph into a debate over whether people should be paying the full economical cost of travelling in rural areas. Why should someone be subsidised for taking what is essentially a taxi - and as a follow on from the obvious response - why should people be living in rural areas when they do not have access to private transport? It's already a moot point in many villages with no bus service.
Either you support this or support the principle of ENTCS, you can't have it both ways ... "this village should have a bus service because my parents live there, sod the others"
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Post by deerfold on Dec 18, 2017 14:45:34 GMT 1
When the 900 Hebden Bridge - Huddersfield (re)started it worked a little like this - the bus would divert up to half a mile off route but with a fixed timetable. The downside was you had to ring the driver to check it wasn't going to miss out your bit of normal route if it was diverted (unless you were at one of the timed points). It also used to deliver parcels for 50p (but you had to have someone standing at the pick-up stop to collect it). Both these were dropped as the service grew more frequent.
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Post by martinsfp on Dec 18, 2017 17:18:54 GMT 1
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Post by davopazza on Dec 18, 2017 17:38:38 GMT 1
The Citymapper looks really interesting actually. Would be good to see in Leeds.
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Post by deerfold on Dec 19, 2017 14:07:20 GMT 1
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Post by the110 on Dec 20, 2017 9:59:27 GMT 1
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Post by deerfold on Dec 20, 2017 11:56:26 GMT 1
Looks interesting, but if you want to travel you provide a 30 minute slot, saying when you want to travel. I'm not sure how many people would be that flexible unless it's the only alternative.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2017 13:31:12 GMT 1
Dosen't look as though it would be much use to anyone with an ENCTS pass though from the details on the website
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Post by stevieinselby on Dec 20, 2017 22:59:18 GMT 1
Looks interesting, but if you want to travel you provide a 30 minute slot, saying when you want to travel. I'm not sure how many people would be that flexible unless it's the only alternative. In some places, "some time within the next 30 minutes" counts as normal timekeeping ;-)
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