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Milton Keynes is a city built on innovation. Conceived from scratch in the 1960s, it’s now become a logistics hub and the epicentre of British experimentation with futuristic technologies (think food delivery robots). So it’s no wonder that the city has extended this pioneering approach to transport. In the last few months, Milton Keynes has announced plans to convert almost their entire subsidised bus network into a demand-responsive one. They’ve so far replaced one bus line with MK Connect, a demand-responsive transport (DRT) service operated by ViaVan, with more to follow in the coming months.
The city was already looking at DRT as a way to improve the design of their transport network several years into the future, Wearing explained. But when lockdown devastated passenger numbers, not only in Milton Keynes but across the country, city leadership hastened its plans to make major changes that could conveniently also stave off financial collapse in the short term. By providing coverage accessible to all in a cost effective way, DRT kills two birds with one stone. “We wanted to make sure that whatever we did balanced the need to provide savings and met the needs of users in Milton Keynes,” according to Wearing. “We’re looking to halve spending from next year and the wonderful thing about it is we might be offering a better service to people.”
Milton Keynes hopes its model can serve as an example to other cities across Britain, especially as the nation works to meet ambitious climate goals — communities must focus on moving people from private vehicles to shared transport, and not just on decarbonising private vehicles. DRT services like MK Connect, which use electric vehicles, are one such example of how to get there.