On-demand bus routes, a way of connecting rural communities

On-demand services are becoming a good way for the metropolitan transport consortium to maintain connections between more distant communities where there are fewer passengers, by adjusting the service to the needs of users without having to waste public resources by maintaining a regular route.

Although as a general rule this service has always been provided by taxis or ride-hailing companies, in Malaga there are currently three active on-demand transport routes.

These are covered by buses which use fixed stops but which take variable routes, depending on passengers’ requirements: they are the M-159 (Alhaurín el Grande-Villafranco del Guadalhorce-Valle del Guadalhorce hospital), the M-153 (Valle del Guadalhorce hospital-Cártama-Maqueda) and the M-136 (Cártama-Alhaurín de la Torre-Plaza Mayor-Los Álamos).

Noticia Relacionada

Catching the bus between Costa towns and inland is set to become easier and cheaper

How does it work? The passenger can book the service by phone or on the consortium website or mobile app, stating which stop they want to catch the bus from and where they will be getting off.

The driver receives the request in real time and the application suggests a variable route to accommodate their requests. With this information to hand, the driver will pick the passengers up from the stops they asked for and then follow the fastest route to their destinations.