On-demand bus trial starts in Edmondson Park
Commuter parking woes are set to be a thing of the past with the launch of a new on-demand bus services in Edmondson Park this week.
Liverpool
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Commuter parking woes are set to be a thing of the past with the launch of new on-demand bus services in Edmondson Park this week.
The six-month trial, which began on Monday, allows commuters to catch a bus from a pick-up point close to home to Edmondson Park railway station and vice versa.
The services will run from Monday to Friday from 6am-9am and 4pm-7.15pm to connect with peak rail services. All you need is the Interline Connect app, through which bookings can be made up to 15 minutes before a trip.
A one-way trip costs $3.10 and half price fares are available for concession card holders.
Interline Bus Services chief executive Dale Larkin said the company’s ultimate aim was to pick passengers up from their homes, where possible, in the future.
“We looked at this area first because if you look at the Edmondson Park area (around the) railway station, there’s no parking,” Mr Larkin said.
While on-demand buses have been successful in Europ such services have only been recently introduced in Australia.
Mr Larkin said the technology of smartphone apps “makes it so much easier” “We’ve developed our own app which is a big achievement for us. We’ll gradually refine the app and make it more user-friendly,” he said.
Two buses will operate at 15-minute intervals with capacity for 42 passengers and standing room for a further 20 passengers.
“The objective of the trial is to give people a more responsive service that is convenient to them and better suits their needs,” Mr Larkin said, adding the response to the service would determine its future.
“In our view on-demand services are the future of public transport,” he said.
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