Integrating passenger transport across Nottinghamshire

People currently use transport services in Nottinghamshire for a variety of reasons, including:

• Travelling to education, employment and training

• Getting to health and social care services or appointments

• Going shopping and enjoying leisure activities

• Using buses to connect to other forms of transport (e.g. park and ride, railways and airports).

All of these services are part of the county's transport network, but are provided in different ways. The County Council financially supports some local bus services, home to school transport, special education needs transport and adult social care transport.

The Council needs to change some of these services to make better use of vehicles and reduce costs. That's why we are working with partners and the public to ensure that in the future commercial, voluntary, community and health transport services all continue to meet local needs in an affordable way.

Redesigning transport services

Nottinghamshire County Council spends over £30m per year on transport services and needs to reduce this by £2m across the County as a whole over the next two years whilst preserving services that are important to you.

Changing the way transport services operate provides an opportunity to make these savings whilst still making some improvements.

We are keen to:

• develop a new transport network to meet local needs (e.g. coverage in rural areas)

• expand the role of voluntary and community transport services (e.g. to cover social care, health and education related journeys)

• increase local bus services and encourage more people to use them

• make improvements (e.g. better 'bus stop' waiting areas)

• promote accessible vehicles

• get maximum use out of vehicles and review any bus services that are not used very much

• share some vehicles and drivers across organisations

• enable more children and young people to use public transport for school journeys

• help people who currently use specialist transport to travel independently on public transport

• support economic development across the county.

What are the options?

For those paying for transport, a new network could involve providing connecting services to 'transport hubs' in order to pick up direct services to key destinations. This may mean some changes to timetables, frequencies and routes, which would be well publicised.

Changing services for those people who use specialist transport may mean sharing services in future. For example, we may use the same vehicle to transport people who are going for medical appointments and those going to an adult social care service.

We recognise that one size does not fit all and there will be different solutions to meet local and specialist needs. This is where we need your help. The County Council would like to find out your views on the way we intend to change transport services.

The transport network plan that we develop following this consultation will then be available for viewing on the County Council website and in libraries across your area. There will also be a number of public meetings and roadshow events which will be well publicised. Members of the public may come along to these events to see the proposals and ask questions.

Phase 1: Pilot in Newark, Ollerton and Southwell

For phase 1 of this consultation, we asked residents in the Newark, Ollerton and Southwell areas if they would like to see a range of different bus and other transport services operate in the region.

Phase 1 closed on 11 May 2012. The information from the consultation has been analysed and we have developed new transport proposals for the area.

Nottsbus Connect

Following the consultation we developed the Nottsbus Connect service - a network of connecting local bus services, helping to improve public transport links around the Newark, Ollerton and Southwell areas. Nottsbus Connect provides feeder routes from local villages on to the main transport network. It came into effect on 7 January 2013.

Find out more about Nottsbus Connect including timetables and maps for the services.  

Phase 2 Consultation

The Phase 2 initial consultation was open from 4 July - 14 September 2012 and included an online consultation questionnaire for the Bassetlaw, Mansfield and Ashfield, Rushcliffe and Central Nottinghamshire Conurbation areas (including Beeston, Stapleford, Eastwood, Hucknall, Carlton, Arnold, Calverton, Woodborough and Burton Joyce).

Information gathered from that consultation was analysed and we have now developed new transport proposals. Outline plans will be available over the coming weeks at roadshows across the county.

Roadshows

The roadshow gets underway in Bassetlaw on 16 May before moving on to Mansfield, Ashfield, Broxtowe, Gedling and ending in Rushcliffe on 12 June.

Bassetlaw

Mansfield

Ashfield

Broxtowe

Gedling

Rushcliffe