The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) and Via have entered a new phase of their partnership to innovate DRT operations for the "Bristol North" WESTlink zone, which includes Bradley Stoke, Filton, and Lawrence Weston.
Though Via has provided DRT software for WESTlink since April 2023, they recently took on operations as well, utilising smaller vehicles and a flexible supply model to deliver significantly more rides with the same driver resources. Less than two months after launch, weekly rides were up 30% and riders carried per hour were up 53%.
WECA and Via achieved these striking results by better matching vehicle supply to service demand, allocating more resources at morning and evening peaks and pulling back at midday. Smaller vehicles allow for more fine-grained adjustments, and are on the whole more cost-effective to operate.
With Via-led operations, vehicle-hour allocation now matches service demand peaks — marked in grey — leading to a significant increase in rides delivered with the same driver resources.
WECA joins almost 100 other authorities across the world partnering with Via to deliver smarter DRT operations. Via’s Smart DRT Operations provides higher-quality transport more cost-effectively by combining best-in-class operations, industry-leading technology and hands-on support, all from one trusted vendor.
Interested in learning more about Via’s work with WECA, or how Via has delivered over 13 million DRT journeys in the UK? Drop your name below and we'll get in touch.