On-demand bus service and cheaper fares under Surrey County Council plan

An on-demand bus service which passengers can request an arrival time and cheaper fares are among plans being drawn up by Surrey County Council to encourage more people to use public transport.

Surrey County Council is aspiring to make services “more frequent, reliable, better co-ordinated, cheaper and easier to understand and use”.

It aims to get two million more passengers of county buses by 2025 than in 2019, an increase of 12 per cent and something which “represents a very formidable challenge”, said councillor John O’Reilly (Con, Hersham).

Nearly half of Surrey households had at least two cars or vans in 2011 and, according to a council survey done this summer, 44 per cent of the 544 respondents do not uses buses in Surrey.

The county council’s plan includes rolling out a demand responsive service, piloted in Mole Valley, to Tandridge, Waverley and Guildford.

Instead of the conventional set service times, users can request a leave or arrive time through an app or by phone. The software then groups customer demands together to come up with convenient journey times.

Surrey’s bus service improvement plan, developed in collaboration with bus operators, hopes to secure a share of the £3billion from the Government’s Bus Back Better strategy to bring buses across England up to London standards.

The cpunty council is required by the Department for Transport to send them its plan by the end of this month.

Matt Furniss, cabinet member for transport and infrastructure, said it had been a challenge, “particularly with the guidance changing on a weekly basis”.

In addition Arriva, which operates 16 routes covering Guildford, Woking and Camberley, is pulling its bus services in Surrey this December.

Cllr Furniss said the council survey showed: “Reliability even today remains the number one concern for bus users; it’s not whether the bus is electric, it is actually, is it punctual and is it reliable and on time.”

Bus priority schemes will aim to improve journey times, while £1.4m has been allocated to expanding real-time displays at bus stops.

There is no detail yet about fares or timetables in practice, but there may be reduced fares for under-25s regardless of whether they are in education, and potentially free use for under-20s.

They are also looking to provide better bus shelters, “drawing in other services such as libraries and meeting rooms,” said Cllr Furniss (Con, Shalford).

“They become destinations rather than just a point on your journey.”