East Lothian in running for £50,000 green transport prize
Local organisations coming together to promote public transport and tourism in East Lothian have been short-listed for a £50,000 Green Transport Prize.
Bus users group Rural East Lothian Bus Users (RELBUS), East Lothian Council and local development trust Sustaining Dunbar want to make it much clearer when and where to catch the bus by creating a prominent public transport hub in each of the main towns in the county.
Sustaining Dunbar submitted the idea to the Green Transport Prize panel in the hope of winning a share of the prize money and being able to trial their vision in Dunbar. Members were delighted that their submission caught the eye of the judges as Morag Haddow explained: “Bus services around the country can be patchy, but even in areas where the service is good, many people don’t know about them. If bus travel is to become a viable alternative to taking the car then we need to re-start the virtuous cycle of increasing passenger numbers so that bus operators have a reason to run more services. Public transport options have fallen off the radar for many people over the last few decades, and we hope to raise the profile of bus and train travel once again.”
Councillor Michael Veitch, East Lothian Council’s transport spokesman, added: “The council administration are looking at a number of measures to improve bus services in the county, including better timetable information at bus stops and the development of ‘hubs’ at key locations. I therefore warmly welcome the work done by Sustaining Dunbar in promoting such causes and look forward to working with them and RELBUS in taking these plans forward.”
The groups’ idea is for a network of public transport hubs in towns around the county. In many cases may mean no more than designating one bus stop in each town as the gateway stop and ensuring that all the necessary information is present. In a town such as Haddington or Dunbar where connecting services may be made (whether by bus or by train), they will aim to create a bright and pleasant space to wait in comfort with real-time information about connecting services.
It is hoped that in future, visitors from Edinburgh and beyond will choose to travel to the county’s numerous attractions by bus or train and whenever they alight, that they will feel welcomed into the community, and have all the information they need to find local shops, attractions and onward connections.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Musselburgh
Wednesday 19 June 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 12 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: East
