---
title: On-demand minibus service for outlying villages
subtitle: Funding proposal for a twenty-four-month pilot in eleven villages
author: Example District Transport Partnership
organization: Example Org
date: 2026-10-30
short_title: Village minibus proposal
notice: "Sample proposal: organisations, budget and figures are examples"
tonality: Proposal
---

::: cover variant=typographic kicker="Funding proposal"
Two accessible minibuses, booked by phone or app, linking eleven villages that lost their bus route in 2019 with the market town, its health centre and the railway station.
:::

# Proposal in brief

Eleven villages have had no scheduled bus since 2019. Residents without a car, about one in five households, depend on lifts or a taxi fare of €25 to €40 each way. This proposal funds two eight-seat minibuses with wheelchair access that collect passengers on request, Monday to Saturday from 07:00 to 19:00.

::: keyfigures
- **11** villages served (sample)
  - 4,300 residents, district population register 2026
- **About 1,500** passenger trips a month by month 12 (sample)
  - Based on take-up in two comparable rural schemes
- **About €13** public funding per trip (sample)
  - Pilot cost less expected fares, over 28,000 expected trips
:::

::: callout kind=key title="Decision requested"
Approval of €410,000 (sample) from the 2027 rural mobility fund round, with the service starting on 1 April 2027.
:::

# Need and evidence

The villages form three clusters, each five to twelve kilometres from the nearest hourly bus. Almost a quarter of residents are over seventy.

Table 1. Village clusters in the pilot area (sample data)

| Cluster | Villages | Residents | Residents over 70 |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| North | 4 | 1,500 | 360 |
| East | 3 | 1,200 | 290 |
| South | 4 | 1,600 | 340 |
| Total | 11 | 4,300 | 990 |

Source: district population register, 2026 (sample)

The health centre recorded 1,140 missed appointments from these villages in 2025, a rate per resident almost twice that of the town, and its patient survey named transport as the most common reason.

# Service design

Passengers book up to a week ahead or until 17:00 the day before. The booking system groups requests into shared runs to four fixed destinations: the health centre, the station, the market square and the supermarket. The fare is €2 a single trip; for holders of the national concessionary pass the fare is paid by the national scheme.

Table 2. Pilot budget over twenty-four months (sample data)

| Item | Detail | Amount (€) |
| --- | --- | ---: |
| Vehicle leases | Two accessible minibuses, €1,250 a month each | 60,000 |
| Drivers | 2.5 full-time posts, two years | 240,000 |
| Fuel and insurance | Both vehicles, two years | 52,000 |
| Booking system | Software licence, phone line, setup | 38,000 |
| Evaluation | Independent evaluation, final report | 12,000 |
| Publicity and travel training | Leaflets, village sessions | 8,000 |
| Total |  | 410,000 |

Note: expected fare income of about €56,000 is not deducted from the request and will be reported quarterly to the fund.

# Outcomes and evaluation

The evaluation compares the cost per trip with the taxi journeys and volunteer lifts the service replaces.

Table 3. Pilot measures and how they are counted (sample data)

| Measure | Expected over the pilot | Counted by |
| --- | ---: | --- |
| Passenger trips | 28,000 | Booking system records |
| Trips by wheelchair users | 1,200 | Driver trip sheets |
| Missed health appointments | 25 % fewer | Health centre records |

Source: Example District Transport Partnership pilot plan (sample)

The main risk is slow take-up, which village hall sessions on booking are meant to reduce.