On-demand bus service to roll out to entire county

The service is set to roll out across Rutland

An on demand bus service is to be rolled out across Rutland following a trial.

The Callconnect service launched for towns and villages in north-west Rutland and north-east Leicestershire on 31 March.

Rutland County Council said the currently free scheme - which sees passengers able to book journeys on a phone app or by calling, with at least an hour's notice - had led to a 20% increase in public transport use.

The scheme will now be rolled out across all of Rutland in August, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service, alongside the introduction of a £1 charge for the service.

In June the council said 1,500 passengers had used the service since March.

Council leader Gale Waller told a scrutiny meeting on Thursday: "The joy of the demand response system is when it is rolled out in August every single villager in Rutland will have the opportunity to have a bus to go somewhere, whereas at the moment, in an awful lot of our villages, you cannot get a bus, as there isn't one."

Every single villager will be able to use the service said leader Gale Waller

But the meeting was told there had been "teething issues" with the service.

Councillor Ray Payne said some people had been booking a bus in advance and then deciding not to travel without cancelling - preventing other users from ordering transport.

Waller added in one instance a villager had booked the whole bus for their community but been the sole person wanting to travel.