Hervey Bay's innovative Kan Go flexible bus service has breezed through its 12-month trial and will be continued says Transport
Hervey Bay’s innovative Kan Go flexible bus service has breezed through its 12-month trial and will be continued says Transport Minister John Mickel.
After his visit to Hervey Bay, the Minister announced “smart bus” had boosted patronage on its route by 45 percent in its first year.
“Kan Go is a wonderful new service for Hervey Bay, and the local community has embraced it, so it will be continued,” he says.
“And the smart bus is set to get even smarter, with an investigation underway to enable people to book the bus by SMS or on the web. We hope to have those systems in place later this year, but for now people still need to ring to make a booking.
“Kan Go has been especially popular among older passengers because of the flexibility it has to pick them up and deliver them to their own homes,” Mickel says.
The Minister says Kan Go used state-of-the-art technology developed in Queensland to direct the driver by GPS to pre-booked pick up sites, such as private homes.
It provides 11 weekday and Saturday return trips between Point Vernon and Centro via Pialba and the City Loop.
“For 25 percent of its route – around the City Loop – it is a normal fixed route bus, but once it leaves the city it becomes a flexible service that can take people to their homes,” Mickel explains.
“A computer determines the best route from bookings made by passengers and delivers that information to the driver while the bus is on its way.
“It’s popular because this bus comes to the people, rather than the other way around. It’s a real boon to people who have mobility problems,” he says.
“Kan Go has brought a bus service to new housing estates that previously had no service.
“It serves an average 64 passengers each day, with up to 90 on Thursdays and Fridays, compared with only 40 daily for the fixed route service it replaced.
“In a passenger survey, 81 percent of respondents said they preferred Kan Go to the fixed route service it replaced.” Mickel says.