£18 million bid on Olympic transport

10:24am Tuesday 26th August 2008

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AN £18 MILLION bid to help people in Weymouth and Portland breathe more easily and let buses take the strain during the 2012 Olympics is under way.

Dorset County Council is launching a roadshow this autumn so people can have their say on measures designed to improve public transport, tackle congestion and reduce delays.

The council aims to submit a business case to the government by Christmas to support a £18 million funding bid.

It proposes to have the measures in place in three years' time when Olympic tests events will be held in the borough.

While acknowledging that Weymouth's air quality is far better than London or Beijing's, officers will concentrate their efforts on improving King Street and Boot Hill, two of the most clogged-up corridors in Dorset.

They want to make it easier for buses to operate in the town, ease congestion and improve air quality.

Plans include improving junctions at hotspots, intelligent' use of traffic signals, introducing new technology such as real time' passenger information on display screens at bus stops, and sending data to mobile phones.

There is also a proposal to remodel the area around Weymouth train station to create a bus-rail interchange.

David Beaman, director of the Portland-based bus firm Sureline, has been calling for improved access to the rail station for years. The existing road layout prevents it from operating a full service out of the station.

Mr Beaman welcomes the bus-rail interchange and also revealed that his company was investigating operating electric buses in the borough in time for the Olympics.

"It's very early stages and discussions are ongoing but obviously it's an exciting development," Mr Beaman said.

The First bus company is also investigating greener options for vehicles as part of its own climate change strategy.

It has conducted trials of electro-diesel hybrid engines in the past, and last month introduced seven new generation vehicles to operate the X53 Jurassic Coast route.

A spokesman said: "We are always looking at ways to improve our business, and when opportunities arise to look at new technologies, we do embrace them."

The county council says it is important that people contribute their ideas so it can make the best bid possible to the Department for Transport.

Regional government has indicated that £18 million could be available for 2012 improvements but the county must submit a business case to support the package.

Regional spokesman for the Campaign for Better Transport David Redgewell welcomed the measures but said it was unfortunate that it took the Olympics to prompt the authority to act.

While there had been some improvements, Mr Redgewell claimed the current public transport system in the borough was worse than Romania'.

He called for park and ride sites to be set up and improvements to bus services running to towns like Yeovil, Blandford, Salisbury and Poole.

Mr Redgewell added that his group would be vehemently opposing the closure of the section of the Weymouth Harbour Tramway which is needed for the Pavilion redevelopment.

He said: "We believe this line has a future and would help to keep the Channel Island ferry link.

"There needs to be better links to the ferries and we believe the Parry People Mover light rail system operating in the West Midlands which is fully supported by the government would be ideal for the tramway."