Bus and sustainable transport improvements for St Albans

Local residents will see improvements to bus services and other measures to encourage sustainable transport in St Albans over the coming year, as a result of the County Council winning new funding from the Department for Transport.

The funding of £1.99m was a result of a bid by the council, entitled 'Big Herts, Big Ideas', which set out a range of measures designed to improve economic growth and reduce carbon emissions in Watford, Hemel Hempstead and St Albans through sustainable transport.

Stuart Pile, Executive Member for Highways and Transport, said: "We are delighted to have received this funding, as bidding was extremely competitive. This was a rare opportunity to secure additional government investment for sustainable transport and we will be sure to make the most of it.

"The aim is to make it easier for people to walk, cycle, or use public transport, as well as providing better public information and advice."

With public spending being cut, this will be a significant boost for local services. As well as bus improvements in St Albans, we can also expect to see new cycle parking and electric car charging points take their place in the City.

St Albans City & District Council, SUSTRANS, St Albans Quality Network Partnership, Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership and the University of Hertfordshire were amongst those who assisted the bid.

The Council has submitted further bids for 2012/13 to 2014/15 and will find out by the end of July, if they are able to progress to the next stage.

• If there is more cycle parking in the city, would it encourage you to ride in to town?
• Would you consider buying an electric car if you knew there were charging points available in St Albans?
• What improvements would you like to see made to buses in St Albans?

Photo from Martyn Hutchby's photostream on flickr.