rural transport

The North Coast 500 generated £22.8m for the north Highlands’ economy last year, according to new research.

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There is controversy about the rural congestion at peak times caused by this Scottish “route 66” but it is increasingly important to the small towns which thrive on its throughput of traffic. This story tells us:

Also known as the NC500, the 516 mile-long (830km) touring route takes in a network of roads around the region’s north, east and west coasts.

The study by Glasgow Caledonian University’s Moffat Centre for Tourism also reported 180 new jobs were created in 2018 linked to the route.

The NC500 was launched as a tourism concept in 2015.

According to the study, north Highlands tourism businesses such as tour operators and camper van rental firms reported year-on-year growth of 16% from 2014-2018. 

An additional £13.4m in sales was also generated for accommodation, attraction and retail businesses on or near the route in 2018.

Half of bus routes could be scrapped because of underfunded free pass scheme

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Now here’s the return of a familiar controversy…..

Nearly half of bus routes in England could be scrapped due to a lack of funding, councils have claimed.

Analysis for the Local Government Association (LGA) found that the free bus pass scheme was underfunded by an estimated £652 million in 2017/18.

Councils say they are being forced to fill the gap between this government funding and what the scheme costs.

Free bus passes for off-peak travel are a legal entitlement for people aged over 65, or those with a disability.

But budgetary constraints mean councils are spending less on discretionary items such as free peak travel, post-school transport and supported rural services.

Nearly half of all bus routes in England receive partial or complete subsidies from councils.

The LGA warned that these services are at risk as local authorities will struggle to maintain current levels of support unless they are given more funding.

It wants the Government to reinstate the full funding of the costs of the national concessionary travel scheme.

Transport barrier for youngsters in rural areas

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A piece of similar research would be equally illuminating in parts of rural England. The needs of young people in rural places are frequently overlooked and this is a powerful narrative.

The research showed that young people questioned spent an average of 20% of their income on travelling to work, and that a third of them had to travel more than 30 miles per day for work or education.

Emma Cooper, chief executive of Scottish Rural Action, said: “Young people in rural areas deserve the same access to education and employment as young people who live elsewhere, and to do that, we need an integrated, reliable, frequent and affordable public transport system.

“Young people are telling us that they are missing out on jobs and training because public transport costs too much for them, which will have a lifelong impact on their skill levels, earnings and our rural economy.”

You’ll notice bus cuts when your neighbours lose their independence

The Campaign for Better Transport has published some alarming new research on cuts to supported bus services in England and Wales – those that receive funding from local authorities and often cover non-metropolitan or isolated routes.

Massive cuts of more than £27m are on the cards, and many isolated and rural areas will be left “with little or no bus services”. The campaigners have launched an interactive map to show exactly where the hatchet is falling.

As part of its work to try and protect the £345m grant given to bus operators by the Department for Transport, the Campaign for Better Transport has detailed the extent of the pummelling subsidised bus services have taken. The research shows that 63% of councils in England and Wales cut bus funding between 2015/2016 while 44% removed or withdrew services.

Since 2010, local authorities in England and Wales have cut £78m in total and more than 2,400 routes were reduced or withdrawn. In England a quarter has been slashed from subsidised bus budgets since 2010/2011 – a loss of £73.8m.

It’s not that councils want to cut back services. They know that access to affordable, regular, transport can help prevent the sort of loneliness and depression that sees vulnerable people turning to other (expensive) services, including health and social care. To say cutting bus services is a false economy is an understatement.

“Councils know how important buses are for their communities and local economies and are desperate to protect them,” says the Local Government Association’s spokesman for transport, Peter Box.

You may not need to use local public transport, but if you notice that your elderly neighbour is losing their independence because the bus they rely on has been stopped, maybe the seriousness of these public service cuts will hit home.

Rural charities win hundreds of new minibuses as new £25 million fund made available

Very good news for rural areas in this story

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has announced that hundreds of vital community groups from across the country will receive additional support. £25 million will be made available to provide hundreds of new minibuses to community transport operators in rural and isolated areas.

The scheme will support voluntary organisations as they provide vital services for people in rural communities with limited transport choices. The fund is focused on existing voluntary and third sector organisations that already have a permit to run not-for-profit services of benefit to the local community.

Each bidder can apply for one vehicle and will need to undertake that the vehicle will be used only for voluntary services and will not be used to compete for bus service contracts.

Driverless cars to make debut on British roads next year, Vince Cable says

Just think for one minute about the impact driverless cars could have on tackling social isolation for the rural elderly and reducing reckless young driver’s deaths on rural roads and this article becomes more exciting and relevant than the “science fiction” roots it seems to spring from.

Driverless cars will be manoeuvering themselves around British streets from next year, the business secretary said on Wednesday, as he unveiled a review into the laws that ban them from the country’s roads.

Vince Cable said the computer controlled vehicles would be trialled in three cities from next year, adding that the government would make a £10m fund available for developing the technology in the UK.

He said: “Today’s announcement will see driverless cars take to our streets in less than six months, putting us at the forefront of this transformational technology and opening up new opportunities for our economy and society.”

It is illegal for cars to operate on UK roads without a driver in control. Semi-autonomous systems, including those available in cars such as the Volvo XC90, which control the speed of cars and keep them in lanes on motorways, require the driver to be fit and licensed to drive and have their hands on the steering wheel at all times to stay within the law.

Majority of car owners struggling to cope with rising costs

This article helps articulate the challenge facing those remote from services and notwithstanding any long term preference they may have to use their car less, forced by the growing reduction in local service hubs to keep burning rubber. It tells us:

High fuel costs, surging insurance premiums, badly maintained roads and continuous roadworks are forcing motorists to change their driving habits, according to research by Motors.co.uk.

Its latest survey found 75% of drivers were frustrated by the rising costs of owning a car, with nine out of 10 citing escalating prices of petrol as their main complaint. Another 71% were put off by the countless potholes and neverending roadworks plaguing local roads.

Many of those polled said they were leaving their cars at home as a result.

The online poll of 2,669 adult motorists found that four in 10 are cutting back on time spent on the road and looking to public transport (20%), walking (32%) or cycling (5%). Others looked elsewhere to trim costs, such as reducing their grocery bill or cancelling gym memberships.

Another 71% believe that government policies are not on their side, despite the postponement of a 3p-a-litre rise in fuel duty in June. Originally planned for August, the tax hike will now not be implemented until next January.

Soaring commuting costs will kill dormitory towns

Fascinating article this. We all know that the vitality of many rural settlements is conditioned by their role as commuter settlements. Indeed I have done work in the past led by Peter Bibby from Sheffield University which demonstrates that the economic potency of London has an impact on the development of many settlements far distant from it ,in what is effectively a one City economy. This economy sits south and east of a line from the Bristol Channel to theHumber– it has no metropolitan places, apart from London,  being what is termed as a “poly-centric” area.

The article reveals: “Many families have moved out of London in search of cheaper property and lower mortgage costs. Research has found that the savings they hope to make will evaporate as the cost of commuting soars. Season tickets are due to increase by an average of eight per cent in January. However some fares will go up by up to 13 per cent.

This will mean that the cost of commuting and accommodation for people moving to towns such as Swindon and Hastings will be on a par with average mortgage repayments in London. In many key commuter towns the cost of two adults commuting will exceed the cost of the typical mortgage.”

Now the interesting question – if this turns out to be true is – will it cause the jobs to move to where the labour is –smoothing out the distribution of employment across the south and east of England? or will it lead to the labour having to move closer to the jobs? In the latter case this would have the effect of further weakening the viability of commuter towns and their rural satellite settlements and bloating the residential profile of Greater London. In either case it reflects the wider implications of travel policy and costs on the longer term development of where and how people live their lives. Something it is high time those responsible for transport planning took seriously.