Worcestershire County Council has submitted three bids to the Department of Transport to support its strategic transport plan.

The requests for investment are for the Rural Mobility Fund and the All Electric Bus Town, along with a portion of the COVID-19 Emergency Active Travel Fund.

The Rural Mobility fund focuses on Demand Responsive Transport, a hybrid between the traditional local bus service and bespoke community transport. The All Electric Bus Town fund will enable the council to explore measures that can contribute to lower emissions and study the opportunities that an Electric Bus Town would bring to residents.

Worcestershire County Councillor Alan Amos, Cabinet member for Highways and Transport said: “I look forward to seeing if we are successful in our bids which are innovative and ambitious, and will in particular encourage bus use for all our residents, including those in the more isolated parts of Worcestershire. This will help to shape our future by protecting our economy and environment.”

If successful the bids will enable Worcestershire residents to access a wider range of journeys with more flexibility and increased access to destinations. The Covid-19 Emergency Active Travel Fund, £1.35million would be allocated in two phases, the first for the immediate response as part of recovery and the second to support more long-term objectives.

The Council’s key priorities include transport infrastructure, technology and services to tackle congestion and increase travel choice. These bids will complement Worcestershire’s Passenger Transport Strategy (LTP4) which is to support all forms of passenger transport.