Demand Responsive buses have stepped into the limelight over the past couple of years. Whilst services have not proved to be profitable, they fulfil important social and economic functions and can be a more cost effective way of providing services that would, in any case, attract public funding.

It’s positive that the Rural Mobility Fund is providing finance for a number of good sized schemes and that the emphasis on trialling demand responsive transport will enable us to learn the optimal use cases.

What’s also good is that the National Bus Strategy has recognised that we’re going to need to revisit the legislator framework that operators work within.

“We will review how legislation that separately covers buses, taxis, private hire vehicles and light rail may be brought together to reflect the blurring boundaries between these forms of travel, within the Future of Transport Regulatory Review. This will give service providers a clear, long-term regulatory framework, which will allow new forms of service to be provided to passengers by removing obstacles to innovation and allowing greater flexibility.”

This is important for passengers (what they can expect from a DRT service that is provided under private hire regulations vs under bus operator regulations) and for operators (for business considerations from the VAT status of fare collection to the length of time it takes to register a service).

In the considerations, we will need to look at how much of our network should be provided through regular employment – with the safety checks, working hours limits and statutory sick pay that entails – and how much through the gig economy.

We see a full spectrum of technology providers and business models – from taxi-sharing provision by Tandem through to public transport based models facilitated by Padam Mobility. Whilst there’s likely to be places for everyone, it’s important to be thinking now where we want to see the balance lie.