Plans have been drawn-up for the HertsLynx service in north and east Hertfordshire to be operated 'in-house' by the county council – rather than by a commercial operator.

The HertsLynx 'demand responsive' minibus service was set up as a pilot – with a £1.48m award from the Department for Transport (Dft) – three years ago.

Since then it has clocked up more than 91,500 journeys in and around the towns and villages of north and east Hertfordshire – with a current average of 5500 passenger trips per month.

And it has been credited with increasing access to healthcare, employment, education and leisure activities – particularly for younger residents using the service to access schools or colleges.

For the past three years – since its September 2021 launch – the service has been operated for the county council by Uno.

But now council officers have drawn-up plans to operate the mini-bus service 'in-house', from within the county council.

Earlier this week the plans were backed by a meeting of the county council's highways and transport cabinet panel.

And now it will be up to a future meeting of the council's cabinet to determine how the service in north and east Hertfordshire should be run in future.

According to a report presented to the cabinet panel on Wednesday (Sept 4), the change could cut costs by around £332k a year.

And it could, says the report, provide "a more joined up transport solution" – by allowing the service to integrate with community transport services, such as Dial-a-Ride.

In December (2023) the county council set up a second 'demand responsive' HertsLynx service in Dacorum – funded through the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP).

That service – which is already managed and operated by an 'in-house operational team'- has already completed more than 10,000 passenger trips.

And council officers say the success of that service has provided an opportunity to assess the feasibility and the financial impacts of operating the service in north and east Hertfordshire from within the county council.

According to the report presented to the cabinet panel, DfT funding for the service in north and east Hertfordshire is expected to be fully utilised by April (2025) – due to "continued increase of operating costs".

But the plans to move the operation 'in-house', says the report, would mean it would continue to be funded until December 2026.

And this, says the report, "is due to the lower operational costs of operating the service as an in-house model".

Executive member for highways and transport Cllr Phil Bibby said the council had already been lobbying government for the funding of the service to continue.

And he said:  "We are doing as much as we can to make sure the funding is continued.

"And in making it more cost-effective in this way we are giving ourselves the best chance of continuing the funding."

At the meeting it was also reported that council officers would complete a financial review in 2025 to assess the sustainability of all demand responsive services following the end of the current funding.

At the meeting Conservative Cllr Jeff Jones said he was a "firm supporter" of the demand responsive service in north and east Hertfordshire.

But he said he has always had a worry about what would happen when the DfT funding ran out.

He referenced the current £2 fare cap – suggesting it was "extremely cheap" for the service.

And he suggested that if fares were increased by 100 per cent he did not think it would have an effect on passenger numbers.

Before the cap was implemented councillors heard that there had been a mileage-based charge, of between £3 ad £6.

And councillors heard that although passengers currently paid a maximum of £2 the rest of the fare was reimbursed by the DfT.

The council's demand responsive/ community transport team leader Alice Missler told councillors that once they knew whether there would be an extension to the bus fare cap grant, they would look to reintroduce the existing fares or increase them "slightly".

Speaking in support of the 'in-house' operation Liberal Democrat Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst said Liberal Democrat councillors had supported this principle all the way along.

And he said the recommendation was a "no brainer" and that it was "clearly the right way to go".

According to the report presented to the cabinet panel, as part of the plans an additional depot would need to be found within the north and east Hertfordshire area for six minibuses.

And officers are said to be approaching district councils for support, in the hope of keeping operational costs down.