Sustainable transport in Perth and Kinross is taking a major step forward after Transport Scotland announced nearly £500,000 of funding for the Tayside Bus Alliance.
The award of £496,800, from the government’s initial funding stage of its £500 million Bus Partnership Fund, will be used for consultations and scoping exercises to consider bus priority proposals with ambition to both improve bus service reliability and increase bus usage across Tayside and north east Fife.
A further application will be submitted in around 12–18 months to fund the projects.
The Tayside Bus Alliance membership comprises of Perth and Kinross Council, Dundee City Council, Angus Council, Fife Council, TACTRAN, Bus Users UK, Stagecoach East Scotland, Xplore Dundee, Moffat and Williamson, Docherty Midland Coaches and Scottish Citylink.
The Bus Partnership Fund was set up as part of the Scottish Government’s response to the climate emergency to deliver targeted bus priority measures on local and trunk roads.
Perth and Kinross Council leader Murray Lyle said: “Promoting sustainable travel is a key component of the fight against climate change and the more people who use the bus the better it is for our planet.
“This award is ideally timed to allow us to integrate proposals with our current projects such as the Cross Tay Link Road in terms of tackling congestion and promoting sustainable transport.
“With the announcement earlier this year that Stagecoach will be introducing nine new electric buses into a main Perth City route implementing bus priority measures in the city would complement this green initiative.
“Increased connectivity will also bring economic benefits and increase social inclusion in Perth and Kinross and this announcement is an important step towards realising those ambitions.”
Douglas Robertson, managing director of Stagecoach East Scotland, added: “The fund recognises the importance public transport plays in connecting our local communities and the support needed to reduce the impact of traffic congestion on service punctuality.”
