If it were me, and I was determined to reintroduce services to the area, I'd probably just start off by purchasing an old minibus and see how things go before everything has to be DDA compliant by 2016.

You can pick up one up for around £2,000 [see below]. Obviously, they're going to be hammered. But let's say that, for arguments sake, that VOSA have approved these vehicles for use and the general consensus of opinion, after consulting a local fitter, is that they have a couple of years left in them. If you buy, say, three for £6,000 (although you could probably knock the price down to £5,000), this will effectively improve reliability as, when bus one goes, you can simply scrap it (or sell it on) and move onto the next vehicle. This way, in theory at least, the service can be introduced over a trial period with relatively low capital investment excluding operating costs. From there, the impact of the service can be assessed through loadings producing a clearer picture of how the service might perform long term through projections and forecasts.

Of course, what I've written above is rather simplistic and rough. I haven't taken into account the cost of hiring land for a depot or office facilities. I don't know how much it costs to register a service or have VOSA come out to inspect your fleet and give it the all clear. But what I've outlined, if enacted, should give some indication of how the service might perform, providing some sort of financial case. Questionnaires might provide some indication of demand for the service, but it gives no indication of whether people will use it.

Mercedes Benz 709D - £2,000

Fiat Ducato 2005 Minibus - £10,000