Ring and Ride West Midlands is the largest full-scale demand responsive transport service in operation in the United Kingdom. The current service includes a fleet of 80 vehicles, covering a population of 3 million people across a mix of urban, suburban, and rural settings. The service, recently digitised using Liftango’s technology, is designed to provide low-cost, accessible transport for anyone who lives in the West Midlands area who find it difficult or impossible to use conventional public transport. 

This presentation will illustrate how the Ring and Ride demand responsive transport service addresses transport equity at scale whilst retaining a user focus and provides insights for other operations around the world. For Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), the recent digitisation has provided a solution to the operational challenges associated with large dial-a-ride services, including improving service efficiency and managing passenger data. For community members in West Midlands, digitisation has afforded users a higher degree of flexibility and freedom through a custom passenger app built with a user-centered design. This includes custom features that facilitate seamless community transport and allow easy use by the targeted community members. Ring and Ride stands as an example of how demand responsive transport can be tailored to address community needs, increasing passenger trips compared with previous dial-a-ride services and contributing to a more sustainable mode of transit in the West Midlands area.