Researchers at the University of Bath are looking for commuters in Bath to help them in a study investigating door-to-door transportation that could reduce congestion and pollution in the city.
The system, called Demand Responsive Transportation, would be a cross-between a taxi and bus service, where the bus route and schedule changes depending on demand.
The system would be cheaper than a taxi, but more convenient than a bus, allowing users in rural areas to be transported from door-to-door when they decide, rather than being restricted by the normal bus timetable. Users of the system would book their journey via the internet or phone and the system would schedule a bus, minibus or taxi to pick them up depending on how many others were doing the same route.
Researchers Professor Chris McMahon and Tim Paice, from the University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, are asking people living in the Bath area to help their study by taking part in an online survey about their travelling habits.
They will compile a database of people’s journeys to see how they could schedule buses to meet demand.
Professor McMahon said: “Demand Responsive Transportation is a much more efficient way of organising public transport. Currently, on some bus routes you’re lucky to get a seat in the morning peak times, but the same buses are almost empty at other times of the day.
“With this system, the type and frequency of transport would be determined by the number of users, making it much more efficient in terms of fuel and reducing pollution and congestion by lowering the number of cars on the road.
“It could also decrease journey times for users. People living on the outskirts of the city would be able to travel straight to their destination rather than having to take one bus to the centre and a second one to their final destination.
“In some areas, older or less mobile people who are unable to use a conventional bus and can’t afford a taxi use a similar system to book a minibus that picks them up from their house and takes them to their destination. With this study we want to investigate whether this can be done on a larger scale.”
The online survey takes around five minutes to complete and can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/BathDRT