Independent Dial-a-Ride
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for North West by CM reporter THIS WEEK saw the start of the first Dial-a-Ride demand-responsive bus service to be operated in the North West. The service is being run in Sale, Cheshire, by Dial-a-Ride Ltd, a company 51 per cent owned by the Godfrey Abbott Group Ltd and 49 per cent by the Greater Manchester PTE.
Initially, six vehicles are being used on a service which covers 14.5 sq km (5.6 sq miles) on the eastern side of the town, which lies within the Greater Manchester area. The vehicles are Bedford CFs fitted with Williams Deansgate 17seater bodies.
Eventually, the number of vehicles used on this service is to be increased to 10. As the service will basically be operated on a "many-tomany" basis — that is, with many setting down and picking up points — it has been designed to be computer-compatible and could be computercontrolled in the future.
The operating area has been divided into four zones and it is these divisions which largely govern fare levels. Off-peak fares within each zone are 10p and crosszone journeys cost 15p. Peak journeys cost 20p "but no cross-zone travel is possible at peak times without changing vehicles. The service is operated between 7am and 7pm, Monday to Saturdays. Passengers dial their request for a bus to a central control point and should be collected within 25 minutes of making the call.
Mr John Abbott, managing director of GAG, told CM this week that a separate control organization had been set up to operate the new service. An American expert on dial-abus services was supervising the operation for the first 12 months, he said.