Nottsbus On Demand bus service follows its own route

Nottinghamshire residents will use free app to tell the bus where to go – and when.

The Nottsbus On Demand service will start running in the west Rushcliffe area from May 15, 2023. It will operate from 7 am to midnight, seven days a week.

What makes the service so innovative is that buses won’t follow a fixed route or timetable. Instead, passengers can travel anywhere between designated points and bus stops in a given zone, so long as there’s not already a scheduled service running. 

Passengers simply book their journey through a free app. There is also a dedicated phoneline. 

The operating zone means passengers can easily reach Clifton NET Park and Ride, East Midland Parkway railway station and East Midlands Airport. The University of Nottingham’s Sutton Bonington Campus is also inside the zone, as are the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre, DHL depot, Pegasus Business Park and Segro Logistics Park. 

The zone incudes villages such as East Leake, Gotham, Kegworth, Stanford on Soar, Sutton Bonington and Thrumpton. Several communities will now have connections not previously served by a bus. These include Barton in Fabis, Ratcliffe on Soar, Kingston on Soar, Stanford on Soar, Normanton and Zouch. 

Gary Wood, Head of Highways and Transport at Nottinghamshire County Council, says: ‘The trials in north and south Ollerton and Mansfield have been a real success and we have found that passengers like the flexibility of being able to travel anywhere within the zone whenever it suits them within the zone operating hours.’ 

‘The key concept behind our new Nottsbus On Demand service is that we send our buses to stops where we know passengers are waiting for them, rather than the bus travelling a fixed route past stops where there’s nobody to collect. It’s still a bus service – not a door-to-door taxi service – but it is far more efficient, environmentally friendly and responsive to public need.’ 

‘We hope that this new service will offer residents a reliable, affordable and greener way to travel. By giving passengers the choice as to when they want to travel, we are also able to offer them greater flexibility with their travel plans.’ 

The service is another example of councils using tech to be more environmentally friendly. Last month, Rotherham Council announced a greener fleet of electric vehicles.

Photo: Nottingham County Council