Department for Transport publish regional travel statistics

The Department for Transport has published the National Travel Survey for 2007, which reveals that the South West of England was the only region to record an increase in traffic volumes of over thirty per cent between 1993 and 2006. Only seventeen per cent of households in the South West do not have access to a car, compared with the national average of twenty-five per cent – the average distance travelled per person in the South West was seven thousand and seventy-nine miles, against the national average of just five thousand, eight hundred and ninety one miles. The average household in the South West spends £366.40 on transport, compared with the national average of £362.80.

The average person in the South West only travels seven hundred and forty-six miles per year by public transport (bus - one hundred and eighty-five miles, rail – three hundred and twenty-one miles, taxis and other – two hundred and forty miles), which compares poorly with the national average of one thousand and forty-three miles (bus – two hundred and eighty-eight miles, rail – five hundred and thirty-four miles, taxis and other – two hundred and twenty-one miles). Only eighty-one per cent of residents of the South West live within a thirteen minute walk of a bus stop, which is served by a minimum of one bus per hour on Monday to Saturday daytime, compared with the national average of over eighty-eight per cent.

Promising start for new Truro Park and Ride

Western Greyhound has now been operating bus services between Cornwall’s first permanent park and ride site at Langarth Park and Truro City Centre for four weeks – the new service which is operated with five new low-floor Mercedes Citaro buses has a Monday to Saturday daytime frequency of between ten and fifteen minutes. Demand for the new service has exceeded expectations, with duplicate journeys having to be provided.

Development at former GWR locomotive works

Work has started on the final stage of the redevelopment of the former GWR locomotive works at Swindon – the remaining eight acre site has planning permission for apartments, offices and a new hotel.

Race against time at St Austell

The race is on to complete the improvements at St Austell railway station by the end of this year, in order to qualify for European grants - the work, costing £2.4M, was started in April 2008 and scheduled to be completed within six months. The improvement work is now considerably behind schedule due to the discovery of asbestos contamination and underground fuel tanks.

Arriva half-year profits up

Arriva has announced that the company’s operating profit for the six months ended 20 June 2008 has increased by forty-four per cent to seventy-six million pounds – the company’s turnover rose by fifty-nine per cent to £1.44M. The results reflected the first full half year of the company’s new CrossCountry rail franchise, where passenger revenue increased by more than ten per cent on the equivalent services last year.

And finally,

First Somerset and Avon has published a new area timetable booklet for Bath, North East Somerset and Western Wiltshire dated September 2008 – the timetables for services 173, 178, 179 and 184 have been updated to take account of alterations introduced since the publication of the previous edition, but the amendments are not shown in the booklet’s composite timetable for the Bath – Midsomer Norton corridor!