HIGH-TECH TRAVEL SOLUTIONS

“In the next few years, we will see some of the digital services that are affecting transport in the cities begin to work in the countryside,” says Julian Glover, author of the Landscapes Review. “The idea that you might be able to do ride-sharing, or get a taxi to pick you up – you will be able to go for a walk and use a form of transport to take you back which you could summon on your phone.”

Glover is echoing the call of the Campaign for National Parks in wanting Uber-style tech to come into our national parks. It is already starting to happen: the Vamooz app uses crowdfunding technology to share the costs of buses into the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Any group or individual can use the app to plan a journey that others can then sign up for and buy ‘in bulk’.

Liftshare matches people up to share journeys, meaning fewer cars clogging the lanes. And there is a whole army of volunteer drivers and minibuses in our national parks who are taking over the role of commercial bus operators that cannot run these routes at a profit. If these vehicles can be ‘networked’ with technology, on-demand services can put an end to near-empty buses on the roads.