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National Express takes Demand Responsive Transport mainstream

Demand Responsive Transport operation in the UK is about to take a major stride forward as National Express chooses Logical Transports' Enterprise Transport system as a key element of the IT solution for it's new door-to-door service - dot2dot www.dot2.com
 
Over recent years, demand responsive, or DRT services in the UK have played a increasingly valuable role in the transport mix, but have typically been small scale local initiatives. However, a major shift into the 'top flight' will take place this Autumn as National Express launches it's new dot2dot service. 

dot2dot is the realisation of National Express's commitment to 'making travel simpler'. Initially providing an easy-to-book, seamless transfer between central London hotels and Heathrow and Gatwick airports. It has been specifically designed to deliver stress-free transfers between airport and destination in purpose-built vehicles, offering greater comfort and luggage space for about half the price of a conventional taxi. 

dot2dot's product offering bristles with innovation, especially where IT is concerned. Bookings are accepted from a wide range of sources and scheduled according to a strictly defined set of business rules aimed at delivering swift, reliable journey times. The rugged Microbus MPC2 on board computers, also provided by Logical Transport, serve many functions for both driver and passenger. Drivers are able to receive new bookings, communicate progress and resolve any operational issues. They also receive traffic updates, minimising delays due to congestion. A customer facing second screen provides route and ETA information, and has the potential to be used for many other purposes including safety announcements and entertainment. 

A further innovation lies within the ground breaking routing capabilities of the LT Enterprise system. The ability to order multiple pick-ups and drop-offs correctly for vehicles that cannot, for example; easily perform U-turns, and should be facing in the 'correct' direction when they stop, is an essential component within LT's system.  

Matthew Lovering, dot2dot Business Development Director, who has overseen the implementation of the new systems, commented 'We were impressed with Logical Transport's holistic approach to vehicle routing, tracking and data communications. Logical Transport's solution will allow dot2dot to group and route a number of trips in the most effective manner, taking into account current traffic conditions. Their in-vehicle systems will allow us to display all this information to the driver and to the passengers, so passengers can sit back and enjoy their journey. Logical Transport's and Microbus's past experience working with the emergency services will help us ensure we have robust communication with the vehicles and navigate safely and reliably around London's road network.'  

Alan Willson, Director of Business Development at LT added, 'The latest version of our routing engine has been developed in conjunction with the University of Southampton, and is backed by a DTI funded initiative. This undoubtedly helped to secure the deal with National Express. We are very excited about their future directions, and look forward to helping them to achieve their objective of delivering thousands of seamless, stress-free door-to-door journeys every day'.
 
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