Post by lundnah on Feb 20, 2019 8:17:09 GMT
Here's something very very different, coming to a large area of Sutton (from St Helier down to Carshalton and Belmont) for 12 months starting in May.
Here's some of the detail on the consultation webpage...
In line with the commitments in the Mayor’s Transport Strategy (MTS) we want to explore how demand responsive bus services could complement conventional public transport services and enable good growth - particularly in harder to service areas of outer London.
We want to explore whether these services can improve public transport while improving accessibility and air quality (by reducing car use) in an area of outer London where car dependency is high and other forms of public transport have limited availability.
To achieve this we are delivering a small-scale 12 month research trial in the London Borough of Sutton, with the potential to extend into a small part of the London Borough of Croydon. This trial would operate, in addition to the existing local transport network.
To achieve this we are delivering a small-scale 12 month research trial in the London Borough of Sutton, with the potential to extend into a small part of the London Borough of Croydon. This trial would operate, in addition to the existing local transport network.
The consultation opens on 20 February 2019 and runs for four weeks. We will then report on the outcome ahead of the launch of the 12 month trial.
Following a competitive procurement process we awarded a 12 month contract to ViaVan Technologies B.V who will operate in partnership with London General Transport Services Limited (Go Ahead London). There will be similarities to a demand responsive bus service that is currently operated by Go Ahead and ViaVan Technologies in Oxford - PickMeUp.
The service will run using up to eight Mercedes Cityline Low floor Sprinter 14 seater vehicles. The vehicles will be Euro VI compliant bringing them in line with the Ultra Low Emission Zone vehicle standards, and will be fully wheelchair accessible. Buses will operate from the Sutton Bus Garage, located within the service area.
The current trial proposal is for the vehicles to operate between 06:30 and 21:30, seven days-a-week.
To provide the highest level of customer experience, this service is primarily designed to be booked through an app. To book a journey on this trial service, passengers will use a free downloaded app obtained through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. For those users who don’t have access to a smartphone; the service can be booked by phone via an operator.
This is a trial service that does not have a fixed route or schedule, but ‘responds’ to the request to be picked up by the customer. It can be booked at the desired time of travel, primarily through an app, and provide real time updates to customers of vehicle arrival time and guarantees a seat for confirmed bookings.
It is expected the average wait time for a vehicle would be 10 minutes. During the journey to the customer’s destination, other customers will be picked up if they are travelling in a similar direction, with minimal impact on journey time.
It is expected the cost of the fare would be more than a standard London bus, in recognition of the enhanced level of service. We do not propose to integrate the trial service with the TfL Oyster card payment system.
This research trial will run for 12 months to collect the data required to meet our trial objectives. It is expected the service will launch in May 2019 and run for 12 months from the launch date. Advanced notice will be provided to customers ahead of launching and closing the service.
(A lot more information is given on the consultation site, including a map)