System is operational across other UK towns
Passengers should be able to order buses on demand in Scotland, a mobility charity has told MSPs.
Flexible bus initiatives are already in place elsewhere in the UK and allow operators to link services to passengers who register in advance.
CoMoUK - a charity which promotes sustainable transport - said in a submission to Holyrood's rural economy committee that such a scheme could prove vital in communities with no station and few bus services.
Such schemes are up and running elsewhere in the UK including Flex Tees in the Tees Valley and Go Coach in Kent, which are being used to help connect passengers with essential services.
Areas covered are designed to include key destinations such as hospitals and supermarkets.
CoMoUK has told MSPs that on-demand buses would be one way to help Scottish communities which have been cut-off following service reductions across the country, both in cities and rural areas, and ongoing concerns about the affordability of subsidised routes.
The number of passengers using buses was in steep decline prior to the coronavirus pandemic, with 100 million fewer trips being made since 2008.
With many services currently struggling to attract passengers, now is considered the moment to introduce new schemes and assist operators.
Lorna Finlayson, Scotland director for CoMoUK, said: “As we emerge from the devastating coronavirus crisis, there are a number of options to change the way people travel for the better.
“That includes initiatives like bike-sharing which improves mental and physical health, and car-sharing which cuts down on carbon emissions and saves users huge amounts of money.
“But there’s also the chance to think outside the box, and a flexible on-demand bus system could be of huge benefit.
“It would match up the increasingly empty spaces on buses with the very people who need those services, at the time they need them.
“People in urban and rural areas whose services may have been reduced or removed altogether could use technology to ‘order’ a bus, which could then be used right across their community.
“This is up-and-running elsewhere in the UK, and we’d like to see MSPs investigate the possibility for it to work here."
