Fflecsi

Fflecsi (stylised fflecsi; ) is a trial demand-responsive bus service administered by Transport for Wales (TfW) and local authorities, operated by local bus operators across Wales. Pilot trials of the service are conducted across Wales, which included a city-wide trial in Newport until September 2022. The effectiveness of the service is being monitored as full bus services resume in Wales during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pilots, fflecsi will replace some pre-existing scheduled bus routes in the service areas where it operates. The technology behind the service is made by ViaVan, and the pilot is funded by the Welsh Government, to invest in new approaches to public transport in Wales as part of their Llwybr Newydd strategy. The pilot was included in Welsh Labour's manifesto for the 2021 Senedd election, as part of their plan to increase investment in bus services, and reducing Wales' carbon emissions. Passengers book and pay for journeys via an app (or telephone call), which then matches passengers travelling between similar points, calculating an ad hoc route to the destinations required within the route's service area. Most routes have a fixed start and end destination. The on-demand bus service scheme is charged with normal bus fares, with provisions for seasonal and pre-purchased tickets, MyTravelpass, and 60+ or disabled concessionary travel card.…

Fflecsi (stylised fflecsi; ) is a trial demand-responsive bus service administered by Transport for Wales (TfW) and local authorities, operated by local bus operators across Wales. Pilot trials of the service are conducted across Wales, which included a city-wide trial in Newport until September 2022. The effectiveness of the service is being monitored as full bus services resume in Wales during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pilots, fflecsi will replace some pre-existing scheduled bus routes in the service areas where it operates. The technology behind the service is made by ViaVan, and the pilot is funded by the Welsh Government, to invest in new approaches to public transport in Wales as part of their Llwybr Newydd strategy. The pilot was included in Welsh Labour's manifesto for the 2021 Senedd election, as part of their plan to increase investment in bus services, and reducing Wales' carbon emissions. Passengers book and pay for journeys via an app (or telephone call), which then matches passengers travelling between similar points, calculating an ad hoc route to the destinations required within the route's service area. Most routes have a fixed start and end destination. The on-demand bus service scheme is charged with normal bus fares, with provisions for seasonal and pre-purchased tickets, MyTravelpass, and 60+ or disabled concessionary travel card. Payments are taken using either a contactless card or Smartcard, although some services may accept cash payments. By the beginning of September 2020, fflecsi had recorded over 7,000 journeys on its service since its launch in mid-May 2020, according to the Welsh Government. In September 2020, up to 48% of all journeys were from the Newport service as being the only one at the time primarily operating in a city centre. The Newport pilot service ended on 25 September 2022. Services in rural areas were shown to increase passenger demand when compared to the previous fixed bus operations. From May 2020 to May 2021, it had recorded 50,000 trips on its then seven pilot services across Wales, with four being single bus routes.

History

Operation

Fflecsi buses operate in designated service areas (also known as "zones", where the area is split into segments), where a passenger can board or alight anywhere (i.e. without the use of a bus stop) within the area. The bus will redirect its route to accommodate new requests from passengers to board or alight, whilst retaining the main route (from a fixed start to end destination) to fulfil the needs of all passengers already on board. Requests for a fflecsi service are booked via a smartphone/tablet app, or a telephone call to fflecsi's call centre, and only during its operational daylight hours.

Service areas

Fflecsi replaces or complements scheduled bus routes within a service area, occasionally configured around the original route (leading to some linear-shaped service areas) and including key destinations such as railway stations, health centres and retail areas. Parts of Wales where fflecsi has replaced multiple bus routes may lead to a broader and larger service area, specifically in rural areas or urban areas connecting to its suburbs and rural settlements. Other places where fflecsi has also replaced many routes may have their service area split into service zones based on corridors of the previous routes or a high demand area, and passengers would be required to switch fflecsi services to exit one service zone and enter another. Fares and discount eligibility differ for each service area. Prices and routes as of June 2021.

References

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1311180195 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.