rural transport experiments: the welsh schemes

three public transport experiments were conducted in wales as part of the rutex programme, all based on llandovery in dyfed. this report describes the planning, operational and financial aspects of the experiments. the three schemes complemented each other and existing services, and had the objective of improving transport provision by means of low-cost options making efficient use of existing resources. the three services were as follows: (i) a postbus served two routes, and operated in typical fashion, providing a service most suitable for shopping and personal business trips. the experimental provision of a two-way saturday service attracted very little patronage. (ii) spare capacity on four schoolbus routes was made available to the public. these routes were only available during term-time, and attracted only a small group of users, but they were able to cater for certain work journeys, and were provided at very low cost. (iii) a voluntary car service was provided over the whole designated area, organised and operated by the women's royal voluntary service. the service was free to passengers, but available only for 'essential' purposes. despite some uncertainty about permissible purposes, the scheme provided a valuable service, and coped economically with dispersed and unpredictable demands.(a)