WESTlink Demand Responsive Transport services

[whole diary]

[Red Squirrel]

Details of the WESTlink DRT services are now available here:

https://travelwest.info/westlink/

This includes an app, maps of the zones and fares.

I have installed the app, and checked out the zones - they seem pretty huge. The southern zone stretches from Weston S M almost as far as Trowbridge, for example. It’ll be interesting to see how this works out..!

[Red Squirrel]

There’s a long article about WESTlink in busandtrainuser.com, here:  https://busandtrainuser.com/2023/04/04/when-up-to-50-drt-minibuses-replace-up-to-40-bus-routes/

[grahame]

There’s a long article about WESTlink in busandtrainuser.com

A good article and explanation of the new system.  I admit to being glad it's not in our area; reading lots of feedback on social media and wondering whether to try out a journey.   Experiences welcome here.

[rogerw]

Dan Norris was on local radio yesterday morning and admitted that there is  shortage of drivers with numbers well short of requirements

[Bmblbzzz]

More on how it works here:

While not a replacement for these cuts, a new demand responsive travel (DRT) service called WESTlink launched in April to help connect communities to core transport routes across the region. This shared, flexible service enables passengers to pre-book a trip by specifying the time and desired pick-up and drop-off, via an App, the website or by phone.

WESTlink is currently being trialled in Knowle, Windmill Hill and Totterdown. Unlike dial-a-ride, where passengers can be picked up from their homes, WESTlink picks up and drops off passengers at bus stops.

I hadn't realised it was still based on bus stops!

[grahame]

WESTlink is currently being trialled in Knowle, Windmill Hill and Totterdown. Unlike dial-a-ride, where passengers can be picked up from their homes, WESTlink picks up and drops off passengers at bus stops.

I hadn't realised it was still based on bus stops!

My understanding is that it may be slightly wider than that - any NaPTAN (National Passenger Transport Access Node). There are, for example, reports of it booked to pick up (and doing so) at Freshford Station, where there previously was no bus service.  This could be extremely useful, making Freshford Station a logical interchange from rail for a longer distance journey to road for a final leg to a destination in the WestLink area.