Connecting rural residents in the Scottish Highlands

Smart mobility solutions like DRT and MaaS are perfect for densely populated towns and cities. In urban areas, it’s easy to unite a limited number of transport options over a relatively small area under one platform. But can it work in large rural areas like the Scottish Highlands, which sees huge variations in demand and population and where transit options include everything from trains, buses, and ferries to car hire, bike-sharing, and more?

This was the question on everybody’s minds when Shotl was called in to digitize a local shuttle bus service and incorporate it into an ambitious MaaS project covering the entire Highlands & Islands area.

With 95,000 inhabitants spread over a 2,100 km2 area, Moray is just one sparsely populated region of the Highlands. And providing efficient, cost-effective transit here is an uphill struggle. That’s why Moray Regional Council set up its demand-responsive shuttle bus, Dial M for Moray. It fell short of true DRT, though, as users had to call the day before to book a ride, and required manual scheduling.

The challenge for Shotl was to modernize Dial M and integrate it into the Highlands Transport Authority’s (HITRANS) new MaaS app.

Solution

We used a white-label API to digitize Dial M for Moray and incorporate it into HITRANS’ GO-HI MaaS app. The initial rollout of Dial M involved five vehicles serving a 1,200 km2 area in the Speyside region of Moray. To cater to the widely distributed, aging population, we configured a door-to-door service and fare calculation system based on parameters like age, applicable discounts, etc. During hours of operations from Monday to Saturday, users can request a ride from their front door to their destination.

Shotl provided the white label API, Driver App, Dashboard, fare calculation, database management, training, marketing materials, and technical support.

Moray Council provided the vehicles, drivers, driver’s tablets, and a backup phone line. Fleetondemand developed the GO-HI app. HITRANS handled marketing and branding.

Outcome

Shotl has gained valuable insights into the unique challenges of MaaS deployment, such as the need to intelligently divide up responsibilities between partners, and configure automatic updates so any changes made in the platform are instantly available in the third-party user-facing app.

By digitizing its DRT service, Moray has successfully brought smart city technology to a rural area and become an integral component of HITRANS’s holistic vision for Highlands transit.

Key results

• Initial rollout in Speyside was a great success, with widespread uptake of the app among the target group of elderly users. In turn, this reduced pressure on call center staff and transport planners, and cut operational costs.

• Bus drivers have benefited from more accurate dynamic routing and guidance systems, a huge improvement on previous analog methods.

• We successfully overcame the challenges of configuring a door-to-door service in a rural area without house numbers or street names.

Beneficiaries

• Moray residents can now travel more comfortably and conveniently. Young and elderly people alike can access essential services independently, which takes the pressure off families and carers.

• Moray Council has improved quality of life for residents, gained better data and insights into user needs, and made Moray a greener, more attractive place to live.

• App developers have taken an important step toward creating an integrated multimodal system, and have gained valuable insights at configuring DRT and MaaS in rural areas.

• The transport provider HITRANS has successfully brought smart city mobility and technology to rural areas becoming a pioneering, innovative service provider.

Video

Follow this link to watch a video about Shotl’s operation in rural Scotland as part of a multimodal transport project.