Improving Public Transport Accessibility in Solihull with PTV Lines

Public transport accessibility: The borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands of the UK, is exploring improvements to its bus network. This follows the deployment of PTV Lines public transport planning software.

The UK government is currently placing a strong emphasis on transport as an enabler for growth and Net Zero targets. This means an increased focus on improving bus services across the country for better public transport accessibility. While much of the focus has been on rail, buses have a vital role to play. Particularly for communities outside of major urban centres, such as Solihull.

Over the last 15 years, bus services have halved in many parts of the country. This has left many people dependent on cars or struggling with inaccessible or infrequent public transport. Against this backdrop, the collaboration between Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) and PTV Group demonstrates how targeted interventions, supported by innovative tools such as PTV Lines, can be used to improve bus networks. The result is improved connectivity and inclusivity. This supports the wider goals of sustainability and economic growth, and enhances public transport accessibility.

Understanding the challenges in Solihull

Solihull in the West Midlands is emblematic of the challenges of suburban public transport. While many bus services terminate in the town center, cross-town routes often require inconvenient transfers. Key employment and service centres such as Solihull Hospital, Jaguar Land Rover and Birmingham Airport/NEC remain difficult to access for residents of south-west Solihull. Particularly those without cars who rely on public transport.

Using PTV Lines for service redesign

PTV Lines is a browser-based tool for collaborative public transport planning. It allows users to quickly edit routes and timetables, perform accessibility analysis, and compare scenarios on the fly. These features were critical in the Solihull project. It enabled TfWM to identify opportunities for bus improvements and quantify the impact of proposed changes.

Identifying Improvements

By integrating demographic data and analyzing existing bus networks in PTV Lines, the team identified the A4 and A5 routes as requiring improvement. These routes, serving south-west Solihull, were circuitous and offered limited accessibility to major employment and service hubs. Figure 2 shows this. Improvements in public transport accessibility were needed.

Route redesign

The X12 route was identified as a candidate for extension to replace the A4 and A5. Using the drag-and-drop functionality in PTV Lines, the extended route was optimized to serve additional areas while taking into account physical constraints such as bridge height restrictions. This is shown in Figure 3. Accessibility analyses of the proposed route showed significant improvements. It connected more residents directly to key destinations beyond Solihull town center.

Quantifying impact

A key advantage of PTV Lines was its ability to quantify the effects of the changes. It allowed TfWM to assess operational costs, resulting from changes in service kilometers and timetable frequency adjustments. This is alongside the broader benefits of improved public transport accessibility.

For example, the analysis revealed how many more residents could reach hospitals, schools, and employment hubs without transfers. It provided quantifiable measures to support decision-making.

For instance, with the proposed changes to these routes, an additional 1,341 households without a car would now be able to reach the hospital within 60 minutes. Figure 4 shows this improvement in accessibility compared to Figure 1. Many locations in the southwest are now directly accessible to employment centers in the north. The cost of running these additional services is also quantified and would cost in the region of £3m extra. This allows TfWM to make an informed decision on the benefits and costs of the proposed change.

Scenario testing

Further optimizations included splitting the extended X12 into two sub-routes, X12A and X12B. This improved efficiency and customer experience. PTV Lines enabled the team to quickly test these scenarios. They evaluated their cost and accessibility impacts, ensuring the final solution balanced operational efficiency and user benefits.

What PTV Lines users say

Dominic Batchelor, Senior Transport Planner from TfWM, emphasized the value of the tool in this project: “PTV Lines allowed us to quickly test and compare various route scenarios, helping us to quantify the impact of changes not only in terms of operating costs but also in how many more people could access essential services. This data-driven approach ensures we can make informed decisions that benefit our communities while optimizing resources.”

Stuart Law, Modelling Applications Lead at TfWM, added: “I found it easy to use and can see it would be of benefit to some of the teams here. Particularly I like the link to Visum and how that could help with coding.”

Implications for wider application

The success of the Solihull project demonstrates the potential of PTV Lines to improve public transport systems and public transport accessibility across the UK. By integrating local demographic data, assessing existing networks and exploring targeted improvements, transport authorities can address the pressing challenges of declining bus services and car dependency.

The Solihull project demonstrates how advanced tools such as PTV Lines can support sustainable and inclusive public transport planning. By enabling data-driven decision-making and efficient scenario testing, this approach not only meets local connectivity needs. It also aligns with broader goals for decarbonisation and economic growth.