On-demand bus service launches in Worcestershire
Worcestershire’s second ‘on-demand’ bus service has launched in Malvern following the success of a pilot in Bromsgrove.
Worcestershire County Council is one of the first authorities in the country to pilot Demand Responsive Transport (DRT), a public transport service where vehicles travel on demand rather than using fixed routes and timetables.
Malvern now has two DRT buses, operated by Malvern Community Action (in conjunction with Worcester Wheels) and LMS Travel.
The service which is funded by Worcestershire County Council and Malvern Hills District Council, will initially focus on South Malvern Hills (Upton/ Kempsey) and passengers will be able to travel to points of interest (e.g. Malvern Hospital or Malvern Train Stations) outside of the zone.
Councillor Mike Rouse, Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Highways and Transport at Worcestershire County Council said: “It’s fantastic that we’re launching the second on-demand bus service in Worcestershire following the success of the pilot service in Bromsgrove.
“We’re confident the buses will be well used in Malvern as they provide a sustainable and efficient service in a rural setting.
“We want to make public transport more attractive to our residents and demand responsive transport is the way forward and we hope to extend the service to other areas in the future.”
Councillor Tom Wells, Leader of Malvern Hills District Council added: “I am confident that this new service will prove to be extremely popular with our residents in the Upton area and I am keen that we roll the project out to other parts of the district.”
The buses run from 7am until 7pm Monday to Saturday.
The service in Bromsgrove launched in July 2021 and has completed 1,250 journeys per month on average in the past few months.