Select committee: Built Environment Committee

Conclusion 7

1st Report - Public transport in towns and cities Published 9 Nov 2022 Paragraph 54
Conclusion (the committee's words)
Demand-responsive transport (DRT) is a form of shared public transport where vehicles alter their routes based on users’ needs without a fixed route or timetable, similar to a ‘dial a ride’ service. Evidence from recent trials of DRT—including in Oxford and the ‘fflecsi’ programme in Wales—will enable the Government to assess whether similar services could be beneficial in some suburban areas.

From: Built Environment Committee, 1st Report - Public transport in towns and cities, paragraph 54, 9 November 2022

Government response

The government responded to the whole report on 12 January 2023 (deadline 9 January 2023).

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The Government welcomes the report and says it agrees with the Committee on a number of recommendations, while noting, partially agreeing with or disagreeing with others.

  • It agrees that public transport investment should focus on user priorities, citing 'Improving Transport for the User' as one of DfT's five strategic priorities.
  • On a multimodal zonal ticketing evaluation, it "notes" the recommendation and says it is for local areas and operators to consider the costs and benefits of specific integrated ticketing solutions.
  • It "partially agrees" on bus rapid transit evaluation, saying a Government-led post-project evaluation "would likely be of limited comparable value" and may risk breaching mode neutrality.
  • On bus funding after emergency support ends, it "partially agrees", says DfT is "actively considering" long-term support from April 2023, and "hope[s]" to set out more clarity by January 2023.

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error