Green light to work up transport plans

A multi-million pound package of schemes to help people get to and from work in Plymouth and the wider travel to work area more easily and more quickly has been shortlisted for funding by the Department of Transport.

Plymouth is one 10 cities to be given the green light to work up more detailed plans for a raft of transport initiatives all designed to keep the city on the move as it grows.

A key part of the bid package is upgrading Plymouth Station, creating an interchange between rail, bus, cycle and walking which complements the £50 million being invested in regenerating the area around it.

New or expanded park and ride facilities for the city, for South East Cornwall and the South Hams are also part of the pitch together with initiatives such as better waiting facilities, measures to make bus services more frequent and reliable, low emission vehicle or cycle hire as well as smart ticketing.

Councillor Mark Coker, Cabinet member for transport  said: “This is seriously good news. While this is still very early days, we will be working on a range of exciting ideas that will make people’s journey to work quicker and better

“We’re looking at new bus routes between residential areas and major employment places, smart technology aimed at reducing congestion, or rolling out docking stations for e-bikes. It’s exciting stuff.”

Called Transforming Cities, the bid aims to reduce journey times on two key transport corridors:

From the north of the city to the city centre and the waterfront
From Plympton and Plymstock across the city centre to Devonport, the dockyard and St Budeaux
The bid is not restricted to the city but takes into account Ivybridge, Tavistock, Saltash, Liskeard to make sure people who live outside Plymouth but work in the city can get to work more easily.

Council Leader Tudor Evans said: “Plymouth is on the up. We’re growing, creating businesses and opportunities – it’s great to know that our ambition is being recognised.

“We have key areas where thousands of people work – such as the city centre and Derriford, Langage and the dockyard. People need to get to work on time and with 28 per cent of households without cars, we need to make sure public transport gets people to where they need to be.

“It’s also good to see that the Department for Transport recognises that sustainable transport needs to be part of our growth success story.”

“We would like to thank our neighbours for supporting us in submitting our proposals to the Department for Transport and all the letters of support we received in particular from across a large number of businesses across the city”

Being shortlisted means that the Council working with partners will now work up the detail of the sustainable transport schemes with the Department for Transport and the consortium of partners that developed the bid.

Funding is not yet guaranteed, but is subject to approval of a full business case which will need to be submitted to the DfT . This is a huge vote of confidence in our Expression of Interest.