Essex County Council has announced a new digital demand responsive minibus service to operate through the TravelEssex app.
Named DigiGo, it has been developed with mobility-as-a-service solutions provider Moovit, provides users with real time arrival information and enables them to plan shared transport journeys.
The solution will suggest the most efficient routes for a journey, enable users to book and pay, direct them to the nearest pick-up location, provide them with real time tracking of vehicles as they wait, and show them the route on a map along with estimated drop-off time.
The service – which has been developed with backing from the Department for Transport’s Rural Mobility Fund – will initially operate in two rural and suburban areas of Essex to provide more flexible public transport, with connections to the county’s bus and train stations.
It will initially run for two years with plans to extend to other parts of the county.
The DigiGo service and TravelEssex app are powered by Moovit’s On-Demand White Label App solutions respectively.
Sustainable travel
Councillor Lee Scott, cabinet member for sustainable transport said: “We want to see more people travelling sustainably and thinking differently about how they travel, particularly for shorter journeys. To do this we recognise the need to offer choice and flexibility and think about how we work with some of the latest technologies and innovations to attract more people to use new forms of shared public transport services.
“Working with Moovit over this two-year period, the trial is aiming to provide a service which becomes embedded into local communities, attracting users of all ages and creates a platform to be rolled out into other parts of the county.”
