SevernNet Buzz launches

The SevernNet Buzz launches today. This employer led service is designed to meet the needs of local businesses, to improve recruitment and retention of colleagues to sites that are difficult to reach for those without a car.

The service will respond to passenger usage and adjust its route over time, to provide the best service possible to those who use it and to be efficient.

Innovative features include real-time integration with trains at Avonmouth Station. For the first time on a bus service, the driver knows if the train is late. He can wait in the case of minor delays (so those arriving by train don’t miss their connection) or go when delays are more severe (so those already on the bus can continue with their journey).

Through their travel account, passengers have access to a personalised timetable, including real-time travel updates from connecting trains.

Avonmouth and Severnside is an Economic Enterprise Area but growth is threatened by the area’s difficulty to attract people to jobs. The number of people passing their driving test having fallen 20% in the last 10 years, in part because of the cost (learning to drive and insurance). Businesses can no longer rely on the assumption that people can drive to get to work. This service enables businesses to widen their choice of candidates to those who want to work in the area but wouldn’t otherwise be able to get to these jobs.

The service is the result of a collaboration with SevernNet, the local sustainable business network.