Bestmile enables minibuses pilot in Renens

Starting 1^st of September 2020, Lausanne public transport operator (tl) will be launching a 6-week pilot of on-demand minibuses in Renens, a municipality in the West of Lausanne. The new microtransit offer, Flexibus, aims to complement the existing public transit network, particularly in the north-south direction where needs have been identified. The 2 minibuses will support the inhabitants of Renens in their daily activities by offering a simple on-demand transport service, close to their home, in less than 10 minutes and at the price of a bus ticket. 13 additional stops have been created for the pilot to ensure a dense mesh of the area (47 in total).

Bestmile has been selected by tl to enable the Flexibus pilot. Bestmile will provide its orchestration engine to manage the bookings as well as matching, dispatching and routing of the vehicles. It will also provide a Driver App for the bus drivers to receive their missions and acknowledge the pick-ups and drop-offs points, a Traveler App for passengers to book rides and trace their vehicle status, as well as a Dashboard for the tl operating team to track the service in real-time and intervene when necessary.

Close cooperation

Bestmile and tl has worked hand-in-hand since May to prepare for the pilot to ensure that a high quality of service will be provided to Renens travelers. Multiple scenarios, including different number of vehicles and service parameters such as waiting time or excess ride time have been analyzed thanks to Bestmile Service Design professional service.

If the trial becomes a success, tl envision the possibility to extend the service not just in Renens, but also in other municipalities of the Lausanne region in the coming years.