Bristol transport technology specialist Esoterix Systems has launched an innovative tool with the potential to save local authorities hundreds of thousands of pounds by helping them streamline their home-to-school transport services.
Esoterix has unveiled JourneyBatcher after several months of development and testing. The tool enables councils to cut out duplication in school transport links, so additional services such as school buses are targeted only at those that need them.
It works by collating information on school pupils’ possible routes to school, allowing local authorities to filter out students who can walk or use existing public transport links and make informed decisions when putting special school transport in place.
JourneyBatcher also enables councils to examine the key walking routes pupils are likely to take to school so they can implement better safety measures where necessary such as speed limits, road crossings or street lighting which benefit the whole community.
Esoterix, based at UWE’s Future Space tech and science innovation hub, has been developing the transport planning system since October.
Its chief marketing officer Liz Davidson said: “Managing people’s journeys to schools brings lots of benefits. Walking is much better for their health and the environment and a free bus pass is about half the cost for a local council than the per pupil cost on a special school bus.
“A dedicated school bus will cost about £22,000 to £23,000 per year. A free bus pass is also much better for students as they can then use it to get around evenings, weekends and during school holidays.”
Esoterix was set up in 2012 by mathematician Dr David Stewart, a specialist in network optimisation, who was frustrated by what he saw as the inefficiency in bus services.
He chose Future Space as its HQ shortly after the flexible workspace was opened in 2016, due to its proximity to UWE and the business and innovation support it provided.
Esoterix has since developed a series of transport planning tools, including the Mobility on Demand Laboratory Environment (MODLE) to improve and streamline bus services in north Bristol – a joint project with FirstBus, Bristol City Council and UWE.
Esoterix, which secured funding from Innovate UK for the MODLE project, is also involved in a pan-European project called REPLICATE which is looking at smart city solutions to integrate energy, mobility, information and communication technologies in cities.
