The aim of this research is to evaluate of journey mapping as a primary user research method into understanding the habits and needs of end-users and how this may lead to the design of improved services.Key factors of a journey were identified as journey time, convenience, reliability and cost.  Current transport options in rural areas have led to a perception, by users, of an increased pressure onthem needing to be able to drive.  The main conclusions drawn from this research were that current public transport options in at least certain rural areas are leading to a dependence on car travel.  The journey mapping process, identified opportunities which acted well as catalysts for a proposal creation process.  Upon conclusion, this work proposes a demand response ‘taxi-bus’ service aimed at providing a future user-orientated transport option capable of relieving the current dependence on car travel.