Technical issues on Rutland County Council's new on demand bus app have now been fixed. 

The new fleet of Callconnect buses took to the road for their maiden journey yesterday, but the day was slightly marred by the booking app not working for customers living in some parts of the county. 

The new bus system, which allows customers to book a journey up to an hour before they want to travel, launched in Zone 1 – which goes east from Oakham to Melton and then west to Clipsham. The west part of the area had not been able to use the app, and instead had to book by phone, but the technical glitch has now been sorted. 



Cllr Christine Wise confirmed the issues were now resolved (Photo: LDRS)

Cllr Christine Wise (Lib Dem), cabinet member for transport, environment and communities said: "We are pleased to confirm that technical issues which were preventing outbound bookings from a small number of villages have been fully resolved. The problem was fixed yesterday evening and we have now taken multiple bookings from passengers travelling from the impacted areas, some of which have already completed their journeys. We would like to thank passengers for their patience and are looking forward to hearing their feedback on the new service." 

The new RZ1 service between Oakham and Melton was also launched and replaces the former R2 which serviced the same route. It is a less frequent service, providing two outbound and two inward journeys at peak times. Cllr Wise said the new RZ1 service had been used by 20 travellers and six people had used the on demand Callconnect. 

Callconnect, which is managed by Lincolnshire County Council, will expand to the whole of the county in coming months. 

The authority is hoping to save £300,000 a year from its transport costs by the changes it has made. Journeys on Callconnect are free until the end of June and will then increase to £1.