Need to shower? Visit a bus stop under eco-transport links plan
BUS STOPS will be heated and have changing rooms and Wi-fi to create eco-friendly park and rides for cyclists.
They will also act as a focal point for cyclists, electric car drivers and rail commuters to switch between different modes of transport, with bosses calling the new stops “mobility hubs”.
Solar-powered lighting and heating, showers, electric bike storage, shared scooters and phone charging points all feature in the plans by Go-ahead Group, which runs nine bus companies nationally. Its efforts to create an alternative to cars will be published tomorrow in a bid for funding under the Government’s £3billion national bus service strategy.
The report paints a picture of bus stops in urban, suburban and rural locations, with bike repair, playgrounds, community gardens and rent-by-thehour desk space for people on the move.
Bosses hope work on these could begin within a year to 18 months, with Plymouth council wanting to install up to 50. The Oxford Bus Company, owned by Go-ahead, has proposed around 30 sites for mobility hubs in Oxfordshire – including some at park and rides.
Mark Andrews of Go-ahead said: “We want to make public transport as accessible and convenient as possible so that taking the bus becomes a really attractive alternative to using a car. The shift to public transport is absolutely vital if we’re going to achieve net zero in the UK by 2050. So we’re trying to be ambitious to get people thinking in a new way about the bus.”
Getting more people using buses is a central part of the Government’s efforts to reach net zero by 2050.
According to a report in December by the independent Climate Change Committee, chaired by Lord Deben, 9 per cent of present car mileage would need to be moved onto public transport, cycling or walking by 2035 to meet emissions targets. This would need to rise to 17 per cent by 2050.
Go-ahead designed the “mobility hub” plans with engineering and urban planning group Arup to find ways to link buses more effectively with other modes of transport.
Councils could generate revenue through bike hire, cafes and payment for shared work space, and investment could be staggered as the hubs are designed to be built up over time.
Mr Andrews said: “We’re thinking bigger than just buses and saying ‘let’s look at the mobility needs of our communities and find ways to help fix that’.
“I think the humble bus stop needs some care and attention and the kind of things we’re talking about in this report will be really transformative.”
‘The humble bus stop needs care and attention and the things we’re talking about will be transformative’