Mr. Jim Meade:

We are piloting that across the entire DART network. We have been very involved with the user groups in designing how it will work so we have a good database of all our users and as further users come on board, they are added to this. Each location will have mobile numbers, so that it will not be a central number, users will know their home station and have a contact number for it. That number will be manned throughout the hours of service. As the customer requires assistance, it will come from that station. We will run this for about six months with a view to extending it further, having learned any lessons from the pilot.

We also use surveys and focus groups for non-users, particularly when looking at new timetabling. When we agree a new timetable with the NTA, we then go to a public consultation process and get comments from both users and non-users. If we are examining a new service, there is a company that we use that specifically targets markets that are not using it to see how and why they are non-users and what we could offer them to entice them onto public transport.