A new on demand bus service is set to launch across Rushcliffe next month which will help residents connect to East Midlands Airport. Following trials in Mansfield and Ollerton, the new Nottsbus On Demand service, which is due to start on May 15, is the next phase of a transport roll out, based on demand, led by Kinchbus, trentbarton’s sister company.
The service will be operating in villages including East Leake, Gotham, Thrumpton, Stanford-on-Soar, Sutton Bonington, and Kegworth between 7am and midnight, seven days a week, after the old Skylink service was withdrawn from the area. This new service, which will replace the 865 service, will connect communities to Clifton South NET Park and Ride, East Midlands Parkway railway station and East Midlands Airport.
Also included in the zone are the University of Nottingham’s Sutton Bonington Campus, the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre as well as the Pegasus Business Park, Segro Logistics Park and the DHL depot. Nottsbus On Demand doesn’t have a fixed route or follow a timetable, meaning that passengers can travel anywhere between bus stops and designated points in the operating zone, where there is not already a scheduled bus service running.
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Tom Morgan, Managing Director, said: “The Sutton Bonington leg of skylink Nottingham has not recovered from the impacts of the pandemic but has been able to continue due to financial support from Nottinghamshire County Council.
“With this support no longer being available we are left with no choice but to withdraw this leg of the service. Nottinghamshire County Council is looking to provide some am/pm peak connections from the affected villages into Loughborough and the new DRT service will act as an alternative, ensuring residents are still able to reach their destinations by public transport.
“DRT brings with it the opportunity to create and run flexible services which help people in rural locations who do not drive. It can also keep cars off the road and so help decarbonise transport by enabling people to share their rides.
“By connecting with other services and modes of public transport, DRT can help people get where they want to go by bringing them to regular bus routes or railway stations. We look forward to seeing how much the new service is used and valued.
"The new DRT service will offer a much requested public transport link between East Midlands Parkway station and the villages of Kegworth, Sutton Bonington and Zouch.”
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