Funding has been approved for a number of zero emission bus projects and improvements to bus travel in Newton Abbot and Barnstaple.
Devon County Council has backed proposals that will utilise funding from a share of a 10.3 million GBP Bus Service Improvement Plan that was previously given to Devon from the Department for Transport (DfT) for this financial year.
Operators will be supported to deliver zero emission bus projects and decarbonise their fleets with an allocation of 1.4 million GBP, with each project set to be delivered in addition to those being handled by the DfT’s ZEBRA2 fund, which aims to deploy 51 electric buses in both Exeter and North Devon over the next six months.
To enable the integration of buses and trains at Barnstaple Rail Station, 850,000 GBP will be invested to reconfigure bus stops to increase capacity and remove the need for some buses to use the roundabout near Tesco, construct a new mini-roundabout at the junction with Station Road, expand the Station forecourt to accommodate improved bus stop facilities and implement pedestrian and cycle crossing adjacent to the station entrance.
Newton Abbot’s Sherborne Road Bus Interchange will also undergo 548,000 GBP of improvements, including the upgrade of existing junctions and crossing in the town centre to allow for bus priority and a reduction in journey times. Bus shelters will be replaced, lighting will be upgrades and electronic real time passenger information displays will also be installed.
Councillor Jacqi Hodgson, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Biodiversity, said:All of these investments are designed with the aim of improving the passenger experience and reducing carbon emissions.
Our Bus Service Improvement Plan sets an ambitious target to modernise the fleet of buses in Devon so that there are no more diesel buses operating in the county by 2035. This funding will help to support the delivery of more zero emission buses, while the other improvements will hopefully make bus travel a more attractive option.
If these upgrades encourage people to switch from their car to buses for some journeys, then that can lead to even further carbon savings.
