On-demand solutions that are making the most of society’s resources
As a provider of both public and special public transport services, Nobina recognises both the challenges and the potential for better resource use in the public transport system. The challenge is greatest in rural areas and smaller towns, where public bus services are not a realistic option for many people who want to commute to work or travel to the sports centre. At the same time, there must be school traffic, mobility services and wheelchair taxis, which often remain idle between trips or bookings. In addition to wasted capacity, emissions and costs, this leads to dissatisfaction and forces travellers to choose to take the car instead.
Nobina wants to change this by testing and developing on-demand solutions that coordinate various modes of public transport and different types of travellers, wherever possible. Complicated? Absolutely. But it is possible, and we see these investments as absolutely essential to meet the needs of a public transport system that is attractive and available to everyone, everywhere, using existing or even less resources and costs. One example has been implemented in Sunne, where we tested a unique on-demand solution together with Värmlandstrafik that integrates all modes of public transport into one single service. All travellers can use all types of public transport in the area, including buses, school vehicles and social care trips. This way, we achieve better utilisation of all capacity, reduce emissions and make public transport more accessible and flexible. It allows more people to leave their cars behind, and makes all of our travel, including Care travel, both more personalised and, in a real sense, more public.
“We want to pursue solutions that promote better use of resources and create more social value. By combining public transport with special public transport services, we can use our Care vehicles more efficiently,” says Thomas Nohre, Managing Director of Nobina Care.
Sustainability gains
This dynamic approach to integrating both public and special public transport services into a single service offers benefits for the entire community, as well as sustainability gains.
- More public transport for every krona spent: We make much better use of all contracted public transport, without any additional cost since this traffic is already available and funded by the community.
- Travellers are offered more flexible travel options, especially in areas where scheduled public transport is sparse and doesn’t meet people’s needs.
- Vehicles and fuel are used more efficiently by being used for more trips, and for carrying more travellers – such as special vehicles that can carry up to eight travellers but often only transport one person.
Contributes to inclusion
Another reason for combining different modes of transport is that it makes the public transport system more inclusive, whether you travel by scheduled bus, a mobility service vehicle or any other service.
“There will always be travellers with special needs, but we want to move away from the clear division that currently exists between public and special public transport services. In the long run, we simply want to say that we have a public transport system in Sweden, and that there are different solutions for different needs,” says Thomas Nohre.