Hayfield Sustainable Transport Ltd (HSTL)
January 2017
Hayfield Sustainable Transport Ltd (HSTL) was set up in March 2013 and for the past 3 years has been conducting a pilot transport project to develop new transport provision based on a minibus version of a car club.
The main difference between a car club and a minibus club is that minibuses require travel groups of passengers to use them. It is suggested that the formation of travel groups is key to the development of new transport provision at a local level. The organisations and individuals that form travel groups are referred to here as transport brokers; volunteer centres, individuals, community groups and the activities that make transport necessary. The transport that travel groups use is not restricted to community minibuses and can include taxis, coaches and also car clubs. The minibus club pilot has allowed HSTL to study how travel groups are formed and the problems that need to be addressed to make it easier for transport brokers to form them for all types of provision.
The success of the pilot has lead to HSTL being involved in an EU project to develop Mobility as a Service (MaaS) in 2017. This will enable HSTL to develop and demonstrate new mechanisms that facilitate the formation of travel groups and enable more organisations and individuals to act as transport brokers.
