An 'on demand' bus service connecting some rural communities with towns and other transport connections
PINGO, 109 DRT, is an on-demand bus service which allows customers to book a journey not served by a regular service and is operated by Prentice Coaches. It operates within an area of the county linking rural communities of East Saltoun, Humbie and New Winton to Tranent, Blindwells, Meadowmill Sports Centre, Longniddry and East Lothian Community Hospital and also links up with other services in the existing transport network.
Cabinet Spokesperson for Environment, Economic Development and Tourism, Cllr John McMillan, recently visited the Glenkinchie Distillery Visitor Experience which is on the 109 DRT route and said: “The PINGO DRT (Demand Responsive Transport) service is ideal for people who don’t readily have access to a car or wish to reduce their car usage. It provides a link for local residents not connected by main public transport services, who want to travel to a town centre for shopping, visiting a library or sports centre and is also an attractive way for visitors to explore our county and attractions such as the Glenkinchie Visitor Centre.”
Journeys can be pre-booked using the Pingo App (available for both Apple and Android systems), online at www.prentice.info or by phone – 01620 822620. Passengers then get on board at nearest pick up point or bus stop and dropped off at their chosen destination or bus stop for onward travel.
This service is the result of East Lothian Council working in partnership with SEStran on the ‘Go SEStran’ project which will deliver a Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) platform and Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) service in the South East of Scotland which has been funded by the Transport Scotland MaaS Investment Fund Round 2.
The service is available Mondays – Fridays with full details of locations served on website www.prentice.info