Published Date: Jun 23rd, 2021
Fife Council is set to benefit from £749,000 from the Scottish Government's Bus Partnership Fund for West Fife, following an announcement by Minister for Transport, Graeme Dey.
The funding is a result of Fife’s successful bid by its ‘Bus Partnership’ and is set to deliver bus priority measures that will reduce the impact of congestion on bus services, improve journey times and increase bus use in Fife.
The funding will be used for consultations and scoping exercises to consider bus priority proposals with the ambition to both improve bus service reliability and increase local bus usage across the region.
As part of this work, the following bus corridors will be reviewed:
- Cowdenbeath to Halbeath Park & Ride
- Halbeath Park & Ride to Dunfermline
- Dunfermline Town Centre
- Dunfermline to Kincardine
- Dunfermline to Ferrytoll Park & Ride Via Rosyth/Dulloch Park
- Aberbour to Inverkeithing.
The initial funding will be used to resource the development of appraisals and business cases, which will then be subject to a further assessment by Transport Scotland before further funds could be released for the bus priority and improvement works.
A further announcement is expected on Fife’s bid for Central and North Fife bus corridors, which are still under consideration.
Cllr Altany Craik, Economy, Tourism, Strategic Planning & Transportation Convener, said: “This is the first stage in taking these important proposals forward. Through this funding, we aim to improve public transport services and infrastructure for people who live, work and visit Fife. We are now developing proposals so that residents and visitors can benefit from better journey times, more reliable service and reduced congestion.
“The Fund focuses on how bus services will be improved by addressing congestion. Our partnership approach is also expected to leverage wider bus service improvements to help tackle the climate emergency, reduce private car use and increase bus use.
“A more efficient and attractive public transport system will help us deliver a sustainable, fairer and greener economic recovery, helping to tackle poverty, contribute towards improved air quality and a reduction in greenhouse gases.”
Douglas Robertson, Managing Director, Stagecoach East Scotland said: "The Fife Bus Partnership has worked hard to secure this funding through Transport Scotland's Bus Priority Fund, so it's fantastic news to have been awarded funding to appraise and take forward some key priority measures. Already operating high-quality and award-winning bus services across Fife, Stagecoach bus services are vital in keeping our communities connected through sustainable methods. We're committed to working together as a partnership to improve bus priority measures across the Kingdom and this fund will help us put into place some key schemes and projects to reduce the impact of congestion on public transport, thus encouraging modal shift and improving customer satisfaction even further."
Promoting sustainable travel is a key component of the fight against climate change and more people using public transport is better for our planet. A more reliable bus service can also tackle inequalities and social exclusion, as well as help deliver economic growth.
Fife has also been successful as part of the Tayside Bus Alliance bid with funding allocated to take forward an appraisal of the bus corridors in that region including the St Andrews to Dundee. '
