Opening hours: when it makes sense to drive, and when it does not
16. 8. 2026
Opening hours are the easiest thing in the whole service to change, and the thing most often decided from behind a desk. A month of data is enough to do better.
Start with what actually happens
Break last month's rides down by hour. In senior transport you will usually see:
- 7—10: the main rush (blood tests, surgeries, physiotherapy),
- 10—12: the tail of it, plus shopping,
- 12—14: quiet,
- 14—16: rides home,
- after 16:00: a handful of rides a month.
If that last line comes to three rides a month, staying open until eight in the evening is a luxury you pay for all year.
Handle the edges differently from opening
You are not choosing between "closed" and "a driver on duty". The middle options:
- by prior arrangement — rides outside normal hours only when booked a day ahead,
- one longer day a week (typically the day the health centre runs afternoon surgeries),
- an arrangement with an ordinary taxi firm for exceptions.
People take this far better than expected — as long as they know in advance and it is said clearly.
Judge weekends by purpose, not demand
Weekend demand tends to be small but specific: a hospital visit, the cemetery, a church service. Before you open on Saturday because of the numbers, ask whether this is precisely the service the council wants you to provide — this decision is about purpose more than utilisation.
Announce a change before you make it
Older customers settle into habits and information reaches them slowly. Announce a change of hours at least a month ahead, and put it where people look: the noticeboard at the council office, the local newsletter, the surgery, the pharmacy. The website and social media are second division with this group.
Then leave it alone
Do not change opening hours every month. A service where people are not sure when it runs stops being used — and that costs more than an extra hour.
The distribution of rides by hour and by day is in Statistics.
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