Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Millions invested in transport
Regional transport body Strathclyde Public Transport has invested more than £6m in North Lanarkshire over the past five years, a new report has revealed.
The report, SPT: Delivering for North Lanarkshire, shows £2.2m of capital funding was awarded to support a range of sustainable transport projects in the area between 2017 and 2021.
More than £1.6m of additional money was also awarded to North Lanarkshire Council in 2021/22 to support their delivery.
And a further £2.45m was spent via a direct funding award to Scotrail on the redevelopment of Motherwell rail station.
A number of projects across the area have benefited as a result of the funding.
That includes £685,000 for improvements to the A73 corridor to address safety and congestion issues around the M8.
More than half a million pounds has been contributed to the A71 Horsley Brae/ Brownlee Road junction, a vital project that has long been listed as a key priority for North Lanarkshire Council.
The area’s park and ride facilities also benefited from £893,000 to boost development, design and delivery of the projects in Airdrie, Motherwell and Wishaw.
A commitment to active travel has also been demonstrated, with SPT proving more than £1.1m in funding to council initiatives encouraging walking and cycling.
The report also reveals that SPT helps the local authority take 8500 children to and from school each day, has enabled 94,000 trips on the Mybus service since 2019, and installed 150 new bus shelters.
North Lanarkshire is one of 12 council areas to benefit from funding provided by SPT, which also covers East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire,
Glasgow, North Ayrshire, Inverclyde, South Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, West Dunbartonshire and the Helensburgh and Lomond area of Argyll and Bute.
The transport body pointed out that the cross-council boundary nature of transport and travel means investment in one area will benefit all residents who travel for work or leisure.
Across the west of Scotland, SPT has supported 6.1m bus station departures across Buchanan, Hamilton, East Kilbride, Greenock, Braehead and Silverburn in recent years.
It has sold 515,000 Zonecard tickets since 2017/18 across the Subway and participating rail and bus operators, and 43.7m Subway journeys have been taken since 2017.
It has supported 200 bus services run by around 20 operators on behalf of SPT, and has 33 Mybus services operating in the west of Scotland.
SPT has also invested in several regional projects in recent years, including the Subway Modernisation Project, its ongoing bus stop and shelter upgrade programme and its Real Time Passenger Information roll out.
Valerie Davidson, chief executive of SPT, told the Advertiser: “We continue to deliver a range of services in North Lanarkshire and across the region either directly or on behalf of councils.
“As this report shows, we have invested more than £6m over the last five years in sustainable transport projects in the area.
“SPT’S activities support the west of Scotland’s regional transport network to the benefit of all residents who travel across the area. While the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in significant impacts on our operational activities due to reduced travel demand, the majority of services were maintained to ensure transport remained in place for key workers and those making essential trips.”