Council Lodges £24.2 million Bid for ‘Green’ Transport Fund

Press Release

20/12/2011

Reading Borough Council today (Dec 20) officially lodged its £24.2 million bid for Government money to create a series of ‘green’ transport initiatives across the town.

The Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) is a £560 million Government funding pot which local authorities nationwide will bid for over the next four years. Highlights of Reading’s bid – lodged with the Department for Transport (DfT) today – include plans for a new pedestrian/ cycle bridge across the Thames, expanded Park and Ride facilities in neighbouring boroughs and a bike hire scheme for Reading.

The Reading bid meets the core objectives of the fund to support the local economy whilst reducing carbon emissions. In the Reading urban area that would mean creating an additional 7,200 daily bus trips, 12,050 daily walking trips and 2,300 daily cycle trips across the town, whilst at the same time cutting congestion by up to 10%.

All of these things combined would result in a 29,000 tonne reduction in CO2 and an estimated economic benefit of £340 million for the town as a whole.

Reading’s LSTF bid has the formal support of both Wokingham Borough and West Berkshire Councils, as well commitment from other key partners such as NHS Berkshire West PCT and Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership. A key aspect of the bid is to engage directly with local residents to influence and maximise the effectiveness of green travel initiatives and any investments.

The Council’s ‘Targeting Travel Choice Transitions’ package is made up of 5 key areas of work. They are:

• Personalised Travel Planning (PTP): Individual visits to households and business to understand how people and provide information and incentives to travel more sustainably.
• Fares, Ticketing and Information Services: Including a range of reduced bus fare offers for local trips and making it easier to travel through a single card or mobile phone, similar to London’s Oyster Card.
• Cycle Hire/Pool Bike Scheme: Providing a network of readily accessible cycles at local centres, employment hubs and transport interchanges, including folding bikes at stations to encourage more short distance cycle trips.
• Active Travel Interventions to increase walking and cycling: Improvements to existing and provision of some new pedestrian and cycle routes - including the proposed new pedestrian and cycle bridge over the Thames - and better surfacing, signage, lighting, widths and information/maps.
• Park & Ride/Park & Rail facilities and services: Improved public transport accessibility at key hubs through an enhanced park and ride/rail. This will include park and ride sites at Thames Valley Park, Mereoak and Theale railway station.

The total cost of these investments is £31.8m, of which £7.6m is made up from local contributions. The £24.2m LSTF bid - if successful - would then make up the full package. The Council expects to hear the result of its bid by June 2012.

Tony Page, Reading’s Lead Councillor for Planning and Transport, said: “Today’s’ bid is the culmination of a great deal of work and, if successful, it will be tremendous news, not only for us in Reading but for the wider region. We are confident that, working closely with neighbouring authorities and health partners, we have put together a strong case for the DfT to consider.”

The LSTF is the successor to the Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) and the Urban Challenge Fund. Under the funding pot local councils were able to bid for small packages of under £5 million, and larger packages of up to £50 million over the four year fund period, but would only be able to be successful with one bid. In July the DfT announced Reading Borough Council had also been successful in its smaller bid for £5 million worth of funding which enabled the Council to work up detailed proposals for today’s larger £24.2 million bid.