The rise in private car use in Great Britain has major implications relating to how transport more generally is provided. One problem is that conventional public transport (i.e. bus, light rail and heavy rail) is steadily becoming a less viable travel option for more and more journeys, and consequently there is an urgent need for new alternatives to be developed. Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) is one solution that almost become a mainstream mode during the 1970s and in the late 1990s/early 2000s, and would now appear to be making another attempt to become a viable transport option. The proposed research will determine the existing position of DRT in UK; the potential demand for DRT services (of some type) at a local level; the most suitable types of DRT in each of the most promising of these local areas; the potential for DRT in delivering public transport services nationally; and the barriers and possible solutions to the realisation of this potential.

The purpose of this research is to Develop Relevant Tools to determine the potential contribution of DRT to meet transport and wider social, economic and environmental) public policy objectives in Great Britain. Progress to date includes:

• A state of the art review of how DRT systems have developed thus far both in the Great Britain and overseas has been conducted. This includes a literature review and an interview scoping study with key industry stakeholders
• A survey of public authorities and community transport operators examined provision of DRT from a supply side perspective, investigating operational decisions with regard to costs/revenues, vehicle type and the use of technology. Please click this link to find out results of the survey
• The current and future demand for DRT in Greater Manchester has been determined through a range of modelling techniques. Please click this link to find out the results of the modelling.

The next steps are:

• To estimate the propensity of individuals to use DRT using a series of discrete choice models based on secondary data
• To conduct a two-stage survey of around 2,000 respondents in both urban and rural areas within Great Britain
• To estimate the propensity of individuals to use DRT from a series of stated choice models based on this survey data and
• To synthesise the results in order to determine the potential in Great Britain for the diffusion of DRT systems.