Photo: Transport for Wales
On-demand transport service to be expanded in Wales
26 January 2023
by Christopher Carey
Transport for Wales (TfW) has announced that it is expanding its fflecsi [flexi] on-demand service in Pembrokeshire, allowing more communities across the county to benefit from demand-responsive transport (DRT).
Working in partnership with Pembrokeshire County Council, the new fflecsi zone replaces the current regional bus route.
Rather than waiting at a bus stop for a scheduled service to arrive, passengers can book a journey in advance using the fflecsi app, or by calling the operator.
They are then informed where to catch the bus and at what time it will be arriving – with the pick-up point as near as possible to the location of the passenger.
Andrew Sherrington, Head of Bus Network and Service Development, Transport for Wales, said: “fflecsi has grown to become a dependable public transport choice in rural Pembrokeshire and its expansion will now allow more people across the county to access the service for everyday journeys and to make important travel connections.
“Passenger numbers continue to grow and in August and September of this year, figures were more than double what they were for those months in 2021.
“We know that fflecsi is highly valued by the rural communities it serves across Pembrokeshire, and it is a vital part of TfW’s commitment to providing a multi-modal transport network that encourages more people to make use of public transport.”
Increased demand
The service will begin on 30 January 2023 and will link up with the fflecsi service in North West Pembrokeshire, which has seen a large increase in passenger demand since it began operating in September 2020.
Between September 2020 and August 2021, a total of 1,829 trips were completed using the service, and from September 2021 to August 2022 this increased to 7,894.
Rhys Sinnett, Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services for Pembrokeshire County Council, said: “This is a really positive intervention by the County Council in order to protect a service for rural passengers in this part of the county and ensure that they continue to have access to key urban areas.
“The fflecsi Pembrokeshire scheme has proved extremely popular in the north of the county both for tourists and local people and we hope to see this success maintained when the new zone is introduced.”
Image: TfW
