On-demand bus service trialled in parts of Nottinghamshire

A bus can either be booked in advance or called when needed

An on-demand bus service for parts of Nottinghamshire is being trialled.

Nottsbus On Demand does not have a fixed route but can be booked to visit any location between certain stops.

Passengers in the Retford, Ollerton and Newark areas can choose when they would like to travel by booking a journey through an app or on the telephone.

While trips can be both booked ahead or requested at the time, short notice buses can take between five minutes and an hour to arrive, officials said.

Greener travel

An evening service is also being launched in Mansfield.

The system is designed to match a requested journey with other customers travelling in the same direction, so they can be picked up from a stop or designated point along the way.

It will also connect passengers to other buses if they are travelling out of the on-demand zones.

Neil Clarke, cabinet member for Transport and Environment at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: "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."

Services replaced

Users have also been told that if there is an alternative local bus service that will get them to their destination, the Nottsbus On Demand app will direct them to that option instead.

The new service will replace the current 136, 190, 195, 200, 330, 332, 333, 334, and 335 bus routes.

The funding for the project comes from the government's National Bus Strategy Rural Mobility fund which saw Nottinghamshire awarded £1.5m.

Last week local operator Trentbarton said it was cutting some services due to a fall in passenger numbers.