The BUS-MOD UK project investigates whether a small share of suitable, low-volume freight movements could be carried on scheduled bus services using a sealed, detachable module attached to the rear of the vehicle. Led by Dr Ehsan Amirnazmiafshar, Associate Lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, the study brings together three early-career transport researchers to test the operational, governance and safety feasibility of the concept in a UK context.
“The value of the collaboration is that we can test the same concept from several practical angles rather than treating freight operations, public transport and safety as separate questions,” says Ehsan.
BUS-MOD UK is delivered by a small team with deliberately complementary expertise. Ehsan leads the project and contributes expertise in freight-passenger transport integration, modular transport concepts and UK-focused feasibility assessment. He is joined by Dr Mohammad Azmoodeh, an independent transport researcher based in London, who brings expertise in urban accessibility, safety, transport policy and spatial-data analysis, and Dr Anna Charly, Lecturer in Transport at the University of Liverpool, who provides expertise in safe and sustainable transport, road-safety evaluation and practical operational feasibility.
The collaboration was formed around the BUS-MOD concept originally presented to FTVG, which the team has since developed into a focused UK feasibility study. Working as a compact multidisciplinary group allows operational, spatial, governance and safety perspectives to be brought to bear on the same set of questions, rather than examined in isolation.
Urban freight is placing increasing pressure on streets, kerbsides and public transport corridors, yet passenger and freight systems continue to be planned largely separately. The scale of that pressure is reflected in national data: in Great Britain, van traffic reached 58.5 billion vehicle-miles in 2024, 9.5% above 2019 levels. Department for Transport road-safety open data also recorded 10,606 reported injury collisions involving vans and goods vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes in 2024.
BUS-MOD UK asks whether a small share of suitable, low-volume freight movements could instead be carried by scheduled buses using a sealed, detachable module attached to the rear of the vehicle. Under the concept, freight would be loaded at a depot, the module coupled to a scheduled bus, transported to a designated terminal, then decoupled for unloading and temporary storage before the empty module returns to the depot on a suitable service. Critically, there would be no freight handling at ordinary passenger stops, and the passenger cabin would remain unchanged.
The concept is deliberately passenger-priority. Bus routes, stopping patterns and timetables would not be redesigned around freight, and any future pilot would only be considered where reliability and safety can be protected.
“Our aim is not to assume the concept is feasible, but to identify where it could work, what conditions would be required and where the barriers are,” says Mohammad.
The project is structured as a 12-week desk-based feasibility study, drawing on public information, policy and industry material, secondary data, and simple GIS or spreadsheet-based screening.
The first stage will define the BUS-MOD operating architecture in detail, covering depot loading, coupling and decoupling, terminal equipment-bay requirements, unloading responsibilities, module storage and the return of empty modules. The team will then review UK bus-governance pathways, the respective roles of local transport authorities and operators, freight-consolidation arrangements and relevant safety considerations.
These strands will be brought together in a structured feasibility matrix covering approval routes, operational responsibilities, infrastructure and space requirements, vehicle and module dimensions, coupling, braking, manoeuvrability, passenger safety, liability, insurance and environmental rationale. Public data will also be used to develop a small number of illustrative corridor and terminal archetypes, focusing on the kinds of settings where the concept appears more plausible rather than selecting a final pilot site.
“Safety and operational practicality will be treated as core feasibility tests from the outset, not as issues to be considered after the concept has been developed,” says Anna.
The study will produce a concise feasibility report, an operating concept note, an implementation matrix and a prototype screening and scoring template, alongside a policy briefing or infographic and dissemination slides.
The project will also set out a clear pathway for a larger technical feasibility study or pilot design, identifying what would need to be resolved before the concept could be tested in practice. By treating governance, operations and safety as central feasibility questions from the outset, BUS-MOD UK aims to provide a clear assessment of where the concept could work, what conditions would be required and where the barriers are.