The city of Gothenburg has pioneered the development of Flexlinjen (FlexRoute in English), a new form of flexible public transport specially tailored to the needs of elderly and disabled persons. This version of Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) was first successfully demonstrated in the EU project SAMPO in the Telematics Applications Programme in 1996-97. In the SAMPLUS follow up project 1998-99 the objective was to modify and improve the concept and to validate a new function for automated booking of return trips (back to the home). The conclusion of the extended evaluation (over three years) is that user acceptance for the concept is extremely high and that also the telematics functions are well received, even though the average user is 77 years old. One quarter of all trips are booked automatically. There are now plans to extend the DRT service to the whole city, which will require a fleet of some 30-40 minibuses. The traffic concept and supporting technology have a large potential to increase the efficiency of DRT. It can be extended to a new generation of flexible transport, including new forms of affordable taxi services using low floor maxi-taxi vehicles for 7-8 passengers that are accessible for all potential users.
Samenvatting