(20 Aug 2021, 11:15 am)Chris 1 wrote I can't quite work out in my own mind how DRT would ever work.  In its current guise, at least.  Any 'transport' system needs go cover its costs and pay for itself to be sustainable.  DRT isn't.  In the various trials that have happened so far, the subsidy per passenger is huge.  To make it viable, you surely need bigger and fuller vehicles.  But the more people that use it, the longer the wait and the worse the passenger experience.

However, it's 'different' to the status quo so good to see operators give it a go, even if nobody has so far been able to crack it.

See in the longer term I could only see it working if it replaced some conventional bus routes aswell even if they worked with them at the same time. For example say the 28/28A issues which we're having now. It could work as a DRT service around the Chester Le Street area from the likes of Waldridge, Ouston, Pelton, Pelton Fells, Houghton Le Spring, Fence Houses then just flow directly into what would be the 21 and pick up customers as normal along Durham Road going towards Newcastle and would replace parts of the 25, 28, 28A, 29, 34 and 71.

So you'd have something like a 21 every 7.5 minutes to the Angel and every 15 minutes to Chester Le Street and depending on where people have ordered to go the 4 buses would split off at Angel and do they're own little routes to like Kibblesworth, Harlow Green, Ouston, Pelton and the other 4 from Chester Le Street going to Durham, Waldridge Park, Fencehouses or whereever.

It would work quite well along the Coast Road aswell with Whitley say have the 308 every 15 minutes to North Tyneside Hospital then every 30 minutes to Blyth via Whitley with the 2 308's ending at North Tyneside becoming a local DRT services there taking passengers to Monkseaton, Marden, Cullercoats or whereever they want to go.

Right now though all the profitable routes still exist and DRT are really only running the rump services so it'll never make a profit like that. It's very long term but some day can really see it taking of and what are 'conventional' bus routes just don't exist in most places.