The West Midlands Bus On-Demand service, including the Ring and Ride and Coventry On Demand networks, has experienced a noticeable decline in passenger journeys between October and December 2025. During this period, 54,500 trips were recorded, marking a 2.6% decrease compared to 55,970 trips in the same quarter the previous year.
A recent report to the West Midlands Combined Authority’s Transport Delivery Overview and Scrutiny Committee attributes this decline primarily to driver shortages and increased road congestion, which adversely affected service reliability, especially in the early months of the third quarter.
In response, the service underwent significant changes over the past year. Ring and Ride and Coventry’s On Demand services were unified under the West Midlands Bus On-Demand brand to streamline operations and enhance user experience. The demand-responsive transport service covering Birmingham, Solihull, and Coventry is now operated by Via, while the Black Country Ring and Ride contract has been awarded to HATS.
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Improvements introduced include a new fleet of smaller, more nimble vehicles that facilitate shared travel for wheelchair users, upgraded technology, and revised service operations aimed at boosting efficiency and equity. Since December 1, 2025, the mobilization of two new operators has resolved many initial operational issues, restoring service availability to 100%. Despite the dip in journey numbers, passenger satisfaction has remained largely unaffected, thanks to the pre-booked nature of the service.
The West Midlands Bus On-Demand service continues to evolve its operations to overcome challenges and better serve the region’s residents.