Uber-style Moray bus app m.connect has "made a real difference to the people living here", says Cabinet Secretary Neil Gray MSP at Aberlour launch event
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THE "tireless work" of the "outstanding team" behind the m.connect project has been praised during the service's "official launch".
Neil Gray MSP, the Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing, Economy, Fair Work and Energy, also announced that the name of a new electric bus is Bus Lightyear.
The name, whittled down from a list of 222, was suggested three times including by the Nat 2 Business Group at the Buckie High School SED base.
Both Ryan Milton from Keith and Dyke Primary School P6 Charley Riley also hit on the winner, and Charley joined Mr Gray for a chat on Bus Lightyear during the launch event at Aberlour's Speyside High School.
Since May, Moray folk have been using the m.connect app to access on demand local bus travel.
The Monday, August 28 launch event was rescheduled from a cancelled June event in Keith.
Building on the existing Dial M for Moray service, passengers can choose exact pickup and drop-off locations and book their journey between an hour and two weeks before their timeslot.
The project is part of phase one of the 10-year Bus Revolution plan, which has recieved £4m of Scottish Government funding and £300,000 from Moray Council.
It is the second project to enter the delivery phase from Moray’s £100m Growth Deal.
The Cabinet Secretary met with Moray Council’s Bus Revolution project team, the Moray Growth Deal board, and pupils from Speyside High School before boarding the bus to get to his next appointment.
Mr Gray said the project's "substantial" benefits show how the growth deal has already "made a real difference to the people living here".
"I'm absolutely delighted to congratulate those involved and their tireless work in developing M.Connect," he said.
"This project is all about the regional economic development we need in rural areas, because connectivity is one of the keys to economic growth and progress within these communities."
Introducing Mr Gray, Councillor Marc Macrae (Conservative, Fochabers Lhanbryde), chairperson of Moray Council’s economic development and infrastructure services committee said a third of all m.connect customrs were now using the app, with use in Speyside increasing by 30 per cent.
The takeup, he added made for an: "astonishing achievement in just a few months."
“We know the service was needed, we heard the community when they told us transport was a barrier to some activities," Cllr Macrae said.
"So I’m delighted we’re delivering, through the Moray Growth Deal, a solution to the issue."
Mr Gray also drew on his personal experiences of difficult public transport journeys.
"I grew up on the Orkneys and had similar challenges in connectivity," he said.
"When I was a kid, growing up, the service bus took 2-3 hours just to get to whatever we were going in for.
"We would be huddled in a café drinking Irn Bru before and after athletics practice.
"Having this service when I was there would have been fantastic."
The cabinet secretary also said that local bus services like m.connect were an "opportunity" to mitigate cutbacks by service bus operators.
"Where there is opportunity for the community, which has been successful here, is to come and do an additional service," Mr Gray said.
"This is a service that will go beyond the service bus hours and going even further."
As well as booking trips, the m.connect app also offers vehicle tracking and notification options, with passengers able to book up to two weeks in advance and up to one hour before travel.
The service has also retained Dial M for Moray's telephone booking system.
Councillor Graham Leadbitter (SNP, Elgin City South) said the project had been very successful, and emphasised it was open to "all ages and groups", from those eligible for under-22 free travel to those with over-65 bus passes.
"It's great to have the support from the Scottish Government for this Growth Deal project," Cllr Leadbitter said.
"The feedback to date has been overwhelmingly positive about the buses.
"And the range of locations that they service.
"It's especially important to rural areas like Speyside and around Buckie.
"Everybody here is taking the opportunity to showcase this hugely important work, and to continue maintaining our communication and influence with all parts of government."
After his time at Speyside High, Mr Gray took the m.connect to visit the substation at Whitehillock before going to Gray's Recycling Services in Fochabers.
