Welsh Assembly to pump £6m into sustainable travel

Wales’ Transport Minister, Carl Sargeant, has announced that the country’s Sustainable Travel Centres will be allocated £6million over the next year.

The Centres encourage people to consider using alternatives to the car – including cycling.

The first sustainable travel centre in was established in Cardiff and a further four have been developed across Wales in Mon a Menai, Aberystwyth, Haverfordwest and Carmarthen.

The £6million funding for 2011/12 will be allocated as follows:
Cardiff £1.7m
Mon a Menai £1m
Haverfordwest £0.5m
Carmarthen £0.5m
Aberystwyth £1m
Personalised Travel Planning interventions £1.3m

Carl Sargeant said; “By providing the individual with a realistic alternative option to the car and changing people’s attitude towards transport we can achieve our aim of developing a truly sustainable transport system in Wales.

“Sustainable Travel Centres play a vital role in showcasing an alternative, sustainable and joined up transport option through a mixture of infrastructure and service improvements that will in turn reduce congestion in our town and cities.

“This funding will go towards enabling local authorities to promote sustainable travel through a combination of initiatives including developing travel plans for the main employers in the area, providing more support for bus services and a vigorous promotion of cycling and walking.”

£1.3m of the fund will go towards promoting the well established Personalised Travel Planning (PTP).

The PTP seeks to overcome the habitual use of the car by encouraging the public to make more journeys on foot, bike, bus, train or in shared cars. Information will go out to homes so people can learn about the alternatives to driving that are available in their neighbourhoods. The PTP will initially be trialled in Cardiff with a survey of residents travel habits.

The Welsh government says that similar schemes have already been trialled in England and have helped cut car journeys typically by 10%.