New 'on-demand' buses launched as more cuts loom

transport crisis facing the region.

He said the government insisted Bus Service Improvement Plan money cannot be spent to subsidise existing services but must instead be invested in services that are "innovative and new".

Mr Norris said: "Everyone knows the buses don’t currently work as well as we need them to, so it’s time to try something new.

"If we carry on doing the same old things, we're going to get the same old outcomes. In doing innovative things, sometimes they don't work, but sometimes they are a success.

"WEST link will provide a much-needed new public transport option to help people get out and about to their destinations."

an algorithm to work out when requests by several people can be combined into one minibus journey that collects them all.

It has no timetable, and ticket prices will match regular fares on the region's buses, which have recently been reduced to a £2 flat rate single.

Details of how many minibuses will be provided and how far they can go from each town or village covered by the scheme have yet to be finalised.

The idea grew out of consultations held by Metro Mayor Dan Norris last year to try and find solutions to the public

The Metro Mayor also hopes running a fleet of smaller minibuses will help solve the shortage of more than 250 drivers on the region's bus network: they are easier to drive and quicker to train on than a large bus, as drivers don't need a public service vehicle (PSV) licence.