This report describes the background to the government's programme of rural transport experiments (RUTEX) and its organisation. There were fifteen experiments, in Devon, north Yorkshire, Dyfed and Strathclyde, each of which incorporated at least one of five unconventional features: community transport; small vehicles; demand-responsive operation; dual-purpose services, and feeder services. The experiments are described in detail, together with results obtained by the end of 1978. A number of tentative conclusions are presented, and the future research programme is outlined. This report constitutes the text of a paper presented at the university of Newcastle upon Tyne symposium 'efficient public transport for the 1980's', 3-5 April 1979 and at the Cranfield Institute of Technology conference 'mobility in rural areas', 24-26 April 1979.
Abstract