By Carmelo Garcia – Local Democracy Reporter
A rapid bus service linking Cheltenham with Gloucester every ten minutes is a step closer to reality as council chiefs have approved £1.25m to start developing the project.
Gloucestershire County Council is in the process of working up a business case and early scheme development programme for mass rapid transit between the city and the spa town.
Mass rapid transit refers to a high-capacity, high-frequency public transportation system for urban areas.
Council chiefs say it would provide high-quality, zero-emission, high frequency public transport across central Gloucestershire.
A map included in the report suggests it could ultimately link Bishop’s Cleeve with Quedgeley via Cheltenham and Gloucester.
Mass rapid transit sits at the heart of the county’s planned express bus network and would improve access to public transport to Cheltenham and Gloucester as well as the surrounding rural areas.
Sustainable transport and strategic highways cabinet member Roger Whyborn (LD, Benhall and Up Hatherley) presented the report at today’s cabinet meeting (November 3).
He praised officers for the “shed-load” of work they have done on the project so far.
“We’ve got a long term and a short term vision in a step change in the transport services,” he said.
“We need to start providing seriously good public transport everywhere across the county.”
He said the initial focus is on Gloucester, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury, the strategic local plan area, where future housing developments will be built.
“After 20 years of doing nothing but studies on rapid transit, I’ve demanded that we move to action because politics is the art of the possible and practical action as well,” he said.
“There’s no immediate prospect of laying our hands on hundreds of millions of pounds for a dedicated mass rapid transit system built from scratch.
“We need to continue to prepare for that day and for the planning requirements.”
He said studies commissioned by the council have not been able to clearly identify a clear route for a guided bus way or tramway.
And that there is not enough population density to justify a rail based mass rapid transit in the Severn Vale.
“That’s not to say that all of those prospects are not there for the future, the tectonic plates could move,” he said.
“As we are, the mass rapid transit needs are better met by bus rapid transit such as what was introduced in Belfast in recent years, the Belfast Glider.”
He said the council is going to continue to develop the rapid transit business case and in the meantime hold discussions with bus operators immediately about what they can bring forward to upgrade bus services.
Electric buses are already on their way for the 41, 42, 43 71, 94 and 94X routes thanks to zero emission bus funding, he also told the meeting.
The plans are for “more frequent services, which encourage and enable people to turn up and go,” he said.
“To do that you need at least six buses an hour on a route or a ten minute service before people turn up and go. We are nearly there now on the 94/94X corridor so it’s a practical aim.”
The council is aiming to improve the number 10 route as well which is the busiest in the county, he added.
Cabinet agreed to draw down the funding and allocate it to begin early development of the new transport scheme.
Of the £1.25m total, £1m will be from developer contributions and £250k is currently allocated in the council’s revenue budget for this financial year.