Rural Transport

Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at 4:35 pm on 26 April 2001.

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Photo of Andrew Welsh Andrew Welsh Scottish National Party 4:35, 26 April 2001

I am trying to be positive. I am saying that such proposals should form part of a proper, comprehensive system, instead of a bitty approach.

I commend the example of Finland to the minister. It has already introduced a number of such schemes in its rural areas. In the municipality of Siilinjärvi, in eastern Finland, a single accessible minibus, which is reserved for day centre use for four hours a day, is then used for a dial-a-ride service for public users. The dial-a-ride facility serves different areas on different days of the week. Three of the areas concerned are served by minibus, and two areas, with minor demand, are served by taxis. Bookings are made by telephoning the travel dispatch centre, which amalgamates the bookings to produce routes and timetables. The vehicle drivers are informed via a vehicle data terminal, which is provided through a mobile phone connected to a small computer terminal.