F.0 Appendix F - How much DRT is out there?
The Location and Characteristics of DRT Services in Scotland
F.1 A review was undertaken of recent relevant published information about DRT schemes in Scotland to enable a broad outline of DRT activity to be described and logged into a database. Local Authorities were then asked to verify the existence of the identified schemes, and to add details of further schemes on separate sheets. A total of 145 DRT schemes were identified by location, organisational characteristics, service designs, legislation and resourcing.
F.2 The DRT were used to classify the different legislative, operational and management characteristics of current schemes for the purposes of survey and analysis.
The Data Collection Process
F.3 Many key staff in Local Authorities and other organisations are subject to a large number of surveys and experience shows that better and more informative responses are given if surveys only ask for information not available by other means. In particular requests for data are more likely to be viewed favourably if there is a trade of information between the research team and the respondent. The methodology adopted therefore sought to extract as much information as possible from published sources before seeking responses from Local Authorities and others. This then meant that the Authorities could benefit from the information extracted by the research team and respond more constructively to the request for further information.
F.4 The first step was therefore to extract readily available information on DRT from published information including web based sources. The following key criteria were selected to define the location, characteristics and overview of the operation of each DRT scheme. These comprised:
- Scheme name
- Details of operator of service
- Details of organisation managing / commissioning the service
- Type of DRT operation ( e.g. fully flexible, flexible stops etc.)
- User types eligible for service ( e.g. public, mobility impaired only etc.)
- Vehicle type used
- Operational legislation used
- Funding sources
- User numbers and charges
- Location of Travel Despatch Centre
- Operational area
F.5 DRT services do not sit within any particular administrative or legislative framework, and as a result there are no central sources for the above data. For example, sources such as the records of S19 permits held by the Traffic Commissioner do not specify the nature of the service operating under the permit (and in addition are often out of date). Even within Local Authorities there are often several departments operating different DRT services and no central record of these.
F.6 As a result, a wide range of literature and web based sources were used to collect information on the DRT services. In many cases the information on schemes from the literature was in outline and merely signalled the existence of a scheme and its general purpose, rather than its locus of operation. To elicit as many schemes as possible the search used both individual Local Authority websites and generic web-wide search engines using keywords including:
- "dial a ride" / "dial-a-ride"
- "dial a bus" / "dial-a-bus"
- "ring and ride / ring-and-ride"
- " DRT / demand responsive"
- "community transport"
- "dedicated services"
- "car schemes"
- "car sharing"
F.7 In addition, key voluntary sector organisations were searched including the British Red Cross, WRVS etc. to assess the extent of their Demand Responsive operations.
F.8 This review identified 80 schemes which were classified according to the relevant local authorities and summarised on questionnaires issued to Local Authorities.
F.9 Although several departments could potentially be involved in DRT operations within Local Authorities, the transport representatives were targeted initially, as they were the most appropriate figures who would have knowledge of DRT services in their areas.
Overview of DRT Services
F.10 A total of 145 DRT schemes were identified. Although outwith the remit of the study and therefore not included in the type of scheme for which data was sought, many Local Authorities still chose to include for completeness community based group transport and taxicard schemes. This was perhaps because the authorities felt the need to explain why they did not have more DRT. Taxicards and community based group transport can be practical alternatives to DRT as conceived within this project, and it is interesting to note that some respondents therefore included them within the DRT classification.
F.11 The schemes identified are summarised below by:
- Local Authority area
- Organisational characteristics
- Service designs
- Legislation
- Resourcing
DRT Schemes by Local Authority Area
F.12 Figure F1 shows the spread of DRT operations across Scotland. The largest numbers of DRT schemes (when classified by local authority area) are operating in Highland, Aberdeenshire and Argyll and Bute, reflecting the rural nature of these areas.
F.13 The vast majority of DRT schemes identified are not available to the public being specialist services operating for elderly or mobility impaired people, reflecting the need to provide specialist transport for those with mobility difficulties.
F.14 However, the extreme rural areas of Highland, Argyll and Bute and the Shetlands have a high proportion of non-specialist DRT services, reflecting the need for these authorities to develop public transport solutions in areas where conventional services are not a sustainable transport option. Also of note are the six public DRT services in the SPT area. These are managed by SPT and have been developed to cover their rural operational area.
Figure F1 - DRT Services by User Type
Organisational characteristics of DRT
F.15 The schemes are operated/managed/commissioned by a range of different groups. Local Authorities, commercial operators and community/voluntary Groups are all active in both the commissioning and management of DRT services.
F.16 However, the distribution of services operated by these groups is not uniform. The volunteer / community sector operate and commission / manage over half of the DRT schemes identified (approximately 50 of which are car sharing schemes). The second largest group are commercially operated services commissioned by Local Authorities, followed by Local Authority managed and operated services.
F.17 These findings reflect the extensive (and long established) use of DRT in meeting specific needs ( e.g. persons that have mobility difficulties, or live in remote areas where conventional bus services are not sustainable) where Local Authorities or voluntary organisations have either developed or supported services to provide access to services for these people groups.
F.18 The distribution of these services by operator is mapped in Figure F2.
Figure F2 - DRT Services by Operator Type
F.19 The voluntary sector DRT services are widespread across Scotland. It is interesting to note that in wealthy rural areas, such as the Scottish Borders and rural Aberdeenshire, there are strong concentrations of voluntary sector transport. This is unsurprising as these types of areas typically have a strong community capacity for this activity. This contrasts with the more remote areas of the Highlands, for example, where there is a more even spread of commercial and voluntary sector operated DRT services.
DRT Service Designs
F.20 The wide range of parameters of DRT service design, including route, operational area, and types of stopping points, mean that the description of service designs has to be simplified for the purposes of analysis, and to facilitate useful responses from the survey. Table F1 shows the spread of different types of service design. To fully represent each service an individual description would be required for each service.
F.21 As the majority of voluntary operated services are for those with specialist needs, offering door-to-door transport, most DRT schemes identified operate on an area wide, fully flexible basis. However 22 (approx 55%) of the DRT services operating for public use are also operating on an area wide fully flexible basis.
Table F1 Types of DRT Operation
Type of DRT Operation | Number of Instances |
|---|
Combination | 3 |
|---|
Destination Specific (many to one) | 14 |
|---|
Fixed Route (variable stops) | 7 |
|---|
Flexible Route (diverts off route) | 14 |
|---|
Fully Flexible (area wide service) | 98 |
|---|
F.22 This method of description highlighted three 'combination' services operating on fixed routes for large sections of their journey with defined DRT elements. These services are:
- Stagecoach's Yellow Taxi Bus Service ( DRT in Dunfermline area and then fixed route to Edinburgh),
- Two services operated by Broons Buses and Taxis on behalf of Perth and Kinross Council. One of these operates a conventional bus timetabled service around Kinloch Rannoch with request stop at particular times. The second is a service from Kinloch Rannoch to Perth, which operates a conventional timetable to Perth, with a small scale DRT service within Perth to access key services ( i.e. shops, infirmary, leisure centre)
Operating Legislation
F.23 Five main legislative classifications have been used to map the distribution of legislative routes for DRT services as shown in figure F3.
Figure F3 DRT Services by Operating Legislation
F.24 As a function of the number of voluntary services in this database, operating car sharing schemes, the majority of services are shown as operating under car sharing legislation. PSV and S19 regulations cover the majority of the rest of the DRT services, reflecting the involvement of commercial operators and both Local Authority and community based DRT.
F.25 It is interesting to note the number of schemes operating under taxi legislation. The services highlighted in the figure F3 in yellow describe the taxi based DRT schemes identified (12 in total). Taxi firms can view DRT services as a threat to their business, as DRT customers could be current or potential DRT customers. However the schemes demonstrate that the taxi sector can be successful operators of DRT so provided the markets can be grown conflicts should be avoidable. It is also important to note that most of these services have been contracted to taxi firms by local authorities who have identified the potential, and have not occurred as a result of taxi firm led initiatives.
F.26 The majority of the taxi based DRT services identified operate trips in which fares are charged at conventional bus rates, with the difference top-up funded by Local Authorities ( e.g. Highland Council, and Midlothian Council).
F.27 The development of the guidelines for use of S19 legislation in March 2003 by DfT (from being restricted to certain groups to include operating services for those in a defined geographical area who did not have access to their own private transport) appears to have opened up new opportunities for operators to deliver services to remote rural areas in particular. The survey identified 7 schemes in rural areas that explicitly indicated that they were operating S19 services in line with this change.
F.28 It was interesting to note that the two public DRT services operated by Dumfries and Galloway Council, operate under Section 42 of the Public Passenger Vehicle Act (1981) which allows Council owned education vehicles to be used for public services. This was the only example of the use of these regulations to develop a co-ordinated approach to service delivery.