Reading's Labour Council - with the support of Wokingham Borough Council, Oxfordshire County Council, Hampshire County Council and Bracknell Forest Borough Council - has submitted a £58.5m business case to the Department for Transport for a Transport Innovation Fund investment package worth £58.5 Million, a bid which shows excellent value for money.
The bid has been designed as a smarter, innovative local transport package introducing a Low Emissions Zone (LEZ), which seeks to charge larger vehicles based on their level of harmful emissions, a comprehensive package of complementary measures to encourage people to switch from car to public transport including better connections, particularly through central Reading for pedestrians, cyclists, bus passengers, rail passengers and those who park and ride.
Measures outlined in the bid include adult and child bus fare subsidises (responding to a demand brought to Council by the Youth Cabinet), updating ticketing equipment, working with bus companies to enhance services, a new pedestrian/cycle bridge over the Thames, personalised travel planning initiatives, travel planning with Business Parks, and a Park and Ride to the south of Reading.
Tony Page, Deputy Leader of Reading Borough Council and Lead Councillor for Transport and Planning, said: "Our partners have been fully engaged in the development of the TIF bid and I am very confident we have submitted a robust, cost effective business case which will deliver innovative transport initiatives across the area."
Naz Sarkar, Labour candidate for Reading West, adds: "This bid is great news for Reading people, but it is sad that Conservative-controlled West Berkshire Council, by refusing to be a partner in the scheme, has deprived its own residents of millions of pounds that could have been invested in transport improvements in the area."
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