Cambridgeshire's Transport Revolution

This press release was issued by the County Council today.  It challenges every comment that has been made about subsidised buses.   We have always made plain that our intention is to develop community transport to replace the old and outdated methods.

Conservatives innovate, others whinge.

"BE PART OF CAMBRIDGESHIRE’S TRANSPORT REVOLUTION A new scheme to revolutionise transport in Cambridgeshire could unlock tens of millions in investment, make it easier for people to catch a bus and has the potential to create new businesses. Cambridgeshire County Council is working in a cross authority partnership to see if public services can align their resources to boost local transport and business enterprise. Once agreed, pathfinder projects could be set up in the County by autumn to provide high quality community transport that will meet the needs of residents and statutory services ranging from taking children to school to providing transport to the local doctor. These local transport groups could include franchise agreements were residents are guaranteed a high quality service and which would encourage local enterprise, business and employment opportunities. The Council is looking to set up the first pathfinder projects in areas where bus subsidies are being reduced. Alone the County Council spends more than £20 million on providing statutory transport with extra money available for community schemes. The Council wants to see existing businesses, budding entrepreneurs and charities to step forward and grab this opportunity to take part in the scheme. Cambridgeshire Future Transport is a partnership between the County Council working with district and city council partners as well as other public services and authorities. It also has representatives from community transport and bus operators to help provide business and industry knowledge. The initiative will:

• Ensure transport is well managed, easy to use, and delivered at a reasonable price

• Handing budgets and power to communities so that they can find local solutions to local transport needs

• Looking at an innovation fund to help local entrepreneurs and charities start up and expand local transport services

• Drive through savings for public services while providing a seamless transport service

 Currently the Council spends millions of pounds on subsidising large buses that are often empty and sometimes buses and even local mini-buses are left idle through the day between pick-ups. This means there is plenty of capacity not only for improvements to be made but to create jobs and increase economic prosperity. The new scheme being developed could plough millions of pounds into the hands of local residents and businesses and co-ordinate transport across organisations to provide a much better service."

Nick Clarke, Leader Elect of the County Council, will be on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire tomorrow morning talking about our transport plans.

Whittlesey Transport Survey

I have blogged before about the Transport strategy for Whittlesey, a piece of work that is looking at all aspects of transport for the Town, including bypass, market square and bus stops.

Part of that strategy is a survey, for which leaflets are soon going  to be available in various places around Town.

That survey is also available online - can I please encourage you to follow this link and fill it out.

Our Transport Future - Brave but Wrong

I have a great deal of time for County Councillor Nichola Harrison.  She made a brave decision to leave the Lib Dem group at the Council and become an independent.  I have deliberately not speculated on the reasons for that move but I have little time for the Lib Dems in the County, largely because their leadership has a totally irresponsible approach to opposition, but I do know that Our Transport Future was a big part of Nichola's decision.

I have to say that the attempt at putting forward an alternative transport solution for the County is extremely brave, but a "charge and spend" solution where drivers in Cambridgeshire pay by the mile is just not the right one.  There are a number of reasons for this, the first is that current levels of taxation are already too high in this country.   That is entirely down to the flaws of the previous Labour Government and the huge deficit and borrowing problem that George Osborne inherited.  This proposal adds to that tax burden, and puts Cambridgeshire residents at a further disadvantage.

Secondly, we have areas of the county, particularly Fenland, where we need to drive up the economy.  Trying to attract new businesses into an area like Fenland when they would have to face up to additional costs like this would be extremely difficult.

Thirdly, it ignores some of the innovative ideas that have been presented by the current Government, in particular I am thinking about a programme called TIF (not the same TIF that looked at congestion charging in Cambridge); in very basic terms it allows some of the additional future tax income from business developments to be taken up front in order to fund infrastructure projects.  

Like I said, I think this is very brave, it's just not right.