New measures announced to keep passengers safe

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced further funding to protect and increase transport services, level up infrastructure and regenerate local economies after coronavirus.

A further £283 million has been made available to increase the number of bus and light rail services as quickly as possible so that people who need to travel, including critical workers in the NHS, can do so safely.

The investment will help protect and increase services, allowing people travelling to hospitals, supermarkets or their place of work to get to their destination safely and quickly, while helping ensure there is enough space for them to observe social distancing guidelines.

To make it easier for people to choose alternatives to public transport, a series of measures are being rolled out to encourage more people to cycle instead, including: allocating local authorities a share of £225 million, announced earlier this month, to create pop up and permanent cycle lanes and reallocate road space; amending laws to reduce red tape and halve the time it takes for councils to get these schemes up and running; committing £25 million from the emergency active travel fund to help people get their bikes repaired so that they can get back to cycling; and investing £2.5 million to provide 1,180 cycle parking spaces at 30 railway stations across England to help encourage people to incorporate cycling as part of a longer journey.

The government is also working with local authorities and private car park owners to make it easier for people commuting by car to get closer to their place of work and finish their journey on foot or by bike without the need to take public transport. Plans will focus on developing new schemes at car parks near, but not in, city centres from where drivers could collect a bike – or use their own - and follow new cycling or walking routes which would be colour coded by distance.

Shapps said: “From NHS staff to transport and shop workers, teachers, volunteers and all those staying at home, people across the country are all sharing the same public-spirited approach to tackling the spread of this virus and keeping others safe. To make sure people can travel safely when they need to, we are increasing capacity on buses and light rail, as well as helping local authorities fast-track plans to support cyclists and pedestrians, further reducing pressure on our transport network.

These measures will help keep passengers safe now, but we must also prepare for what comes next. Strengthening vital road and railway connections, as well as encouraging cycling and walking, will be essential to our ambition to level up the country, secure a green legacy, and kickstart regional economies, as we build out of Covid-19 and look to the future.”

David Hibbs, Programme Coordinator at Sustrans, said: "Making it easier for people to access public transport by foot or by cycle is essential in helping reduce our reliance on the private car, as well as tackling congestion in our urban centres and around principal public transport stations.
Walking and cycling to rail stations as part of a multi-modal door-to-door journey is becoming more popular.

The proportion of rail journeys involving a bicycle has increased by 75 per cent since 2010, and this figure could be increased if good facilities are provided. These grants, which are now managed by Sustrans on behalf of the Department for Transport, are the latest in a series which has transformed the facilities available at stations around the country. We are looking forward to working with the industry partners and local government to ensure that the grants enable more people to combine cycling and rail. Looking more broadly, we want to work to improve access routes to stations (beyond the scope of this round of grants) which is entirely in line with government aspirations for more active travel as we move out of lockdown.”