Small Vehicle Transport System
Lead Participant:
SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT LTD
Abstract
Title: Small Vehicle Transport System (SVTS). Challenge 3: "On-demand mobility solution" is being applied for.
There is a need for a form of local public transport that is able to serve daily travel on those journeys, in suburbs and towns, for which we tend to mostly use our cars, and which can operate on a commercially sustainable basis without public sector subsidy. Sustainable Environment’s ‘Small Vehicle Transport System’ (SVTS) is a radical re-imagination of the sector: with its ‘systems-based’ approach, it is increasingly being seen by key national players as having scope to transform the way we each travel, and so unlock multiple policy benefits.
SVTS operates wholly in response to demand at minimal notice, with neither routes nor timetables, for a cost similar to bus fares, and using high quality 8 passeneger seat vehicles with professional drivers. It is specifically designed to be attractive to car users for the routine, functional, local journeys we each make, offering a car-like experience with equivalent flexibility, control and reliability of travel, at compatible levels of door-to-door travel time, marginal cost and comfort. By managing and tracking each personal journey, and separating this management from the operation of transport services, it enables the public sector to adopt efficient outcome-based 'payments-by-results' procurement whilst the private sector can commission journeys for their staff or customers.
SVTS’s innovation extends from ICT technology and system architecture to the associated business model. With a framework in line with Government strategy and EU competition requirements, it is designed to attract both existing industry 'players' and entrepreneurial start-ups. Launching in Milton Keynes (to be operated by our sister 'delivery' company, Simply Connect Ltd), SVTS is adopted policy at Milton Keynes Council, with strong interest from other forward-thinking Local Authorities. We have key industry players as development partners. It forms the ‘transport on-demand’ element of the Lutz programme being promoted by DfT and the Automotive Council.
Independently verified modelling indicates that, operating in Milton Keynes with a fleet of about 400 vehicles, SVTS will capture 15% of the total motorised local transport market, with a 10+% modal shift from the private car, and a projected turnover of c£80M p.a. With potential to operate in c70% of the UK, SVTS is a highly and rapidly scalable transport-on-demand system, suitable for use by all residents, employees and visitors. The range of benefits extends from secure yet flexible job creation (c500 FTE in Milton Keynes); c7% traffic reduction with 5-20% carbon reduction across all local transport and commensurate reduction in need for expanded highway infrastructure; ensuring access at any time to all businesses, irrespective of parking limitations or the need for staff or customers to have a car.
There is a need for a form of local public transport that is able to serve daily travel on those journeys, in suburbs and towns, for which we tend to mostly use our cars, and which can operate on a commercially sustainable basis without public sector subsidy. Sustainable Environment’s ‘Small Vehicle Transport System’ (SVTS) is a radical re-imagination of the sector: with its ‘systems-based’ approach, it is increasingly being seen by key national players as having scope to transform the way we each travel, and so unlock multiple policy benefits.
SVTS operates wholly in response to demand at minimal notice, with neither routes nor timetables, for a cost similar to bus fares, and using high quality 8 passeneger seat vehicles with professional drivers. It is specifically designed to be attractive to car users for the routine, functional, local journeys we each make, offering a car-like experience with equivalent flexibility, control and reliability of travel, at compatible levels of door-to-door travel time, marginal cost and comfort. By managing and tracking each personal journey, and separating this management from the operation of transport services, it enables the public sector to adopt efficient outcome-based 'payments-by-results' procurement whilst the private sector can commission journeys for their staff or customers.
SVTS’s innovation extends from ICT technology and system architecture to the associated business model. With a framework in line with Government strategy and EU competition requirements, it is designed to attract both existing industry 'players' and entrepreneurial start-ups. Launching in Milton Keynes (to be operated by our sister 'delivery' company, Simply Connect Ltd), SVTS is adopted policy at Milton Keynes Council, with strong interest from other forward-thinking Local Authorities. We have key industry players as development partners. It forms the ‘transport on-demand’ element of the Lutz programme being promoted by DfT and the Automotive Council.
Independently verified modelling indicates that, operating in Milton Keynes with a fleet of about 400 vehicles, SVTS will capture 15% of the total motorised local transport market, with a 10+% modal shift from the private car, and a projected turnover of c£80M p.a. With potential to operate in c70% of the UK, SVTS is a highly and rapidly scalable transport-on-demand system, suitable for use by all residents, employees and visitors. The range of benefits extends from secure yet flexible job creation (c500 FTE in Milton Keynes); c7% traffic reduction with 5-20% carbon reduction across all local transport and commensurate reduction in need for expanded highway infrastructure; ensuring access at any time to all businesses, irrespective of parking limitations or the need for staff or customers to have a car.
Lead Participant | Project Cost | Grant Offer |
|---|---|---|
| SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT LTD | £100,000 | £ 100,000 |
People |
ORCID iD |