09 May 2022
You can now get help to book your fflecsi bus journey at libraries across Ebbw Vale.
Passengers can now get help to book a ride on fflecsi in Blaenau Gwent as Transport for Wales, in partnership with Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council and the fflecsi technology provider Via, introduce a new online booking facility at a number of local libraries.
Staff have been trained to use the online system and can now make bookings on behalf of passengers who may not have a mobile phone or smart device and therefore had no way to book fflecsi whilst they were away from home.
James Price, CEO of TFW, said: “The fflecsi service in Blaenau Gwent has been running for almost 10 months and as this is a pilot service, we have been able to listen to local concerns and by using the data that fflecsi provides we can identify and adapt the service to better suit the needs of passengers.
“Our partnership with Stagecoach and Blaenau Gwent Council is helping us work out the best public transport solution for this area and the recent changes to the scheduled bus routes will free up fflecsi and enable us to provide more journeys to more people across the zone. This latest development is the first third party booking location for fflecsi and we’ll be introducing it in other pilots across Wales in the coming months.”
The Blaenau Gwent fflecsi scheme is our strongest fflecsi IRT scheme and there have been over 30,000 completed rides since the launch, with a current average of nearly 1000 rides per week. We have more than 250 regular active riders including new-to-bus passengers accessing destinations not served by bus previously such as Rassau Industrial Estate and Llanhilleth Station. The average walk distance to be picked up is only 55 metres, which makes the service highly accessible for physically impaired riders to be able to use it and is also much more accessible for riders versus conventional bus which typically has longer walks. Approximately 80% of all booking requests are made via the fflecsi app.
Christian Reed, Head of Commercial, Stagecoach South Wales said: “It’s been great to provide our customers with a flexible bus service that works when they need it to. fflecsi runs six days a week around the Blaenau Gwent travel zone and it couldn't be easier to book a journey through the app, by phone and now at a number of local libraries.
“We look forward to welcoming more people on board"
fflecsi services can now be booked at the following libraries: Brynmawr, Abertillery, Tredegar, Blaina, Cwm and Llanhilleth Miners' Institute.
Fflecsi is now operating in 11 areas across Wales, delivering around 4500 rides each week and each of the pilots are being evaluated to help us find the best solution for public transport in both rural and urban areas.
For more information, please visit www.fflecsi.wales
