New bus stops which offer passengers the latest timetable information in less than a second at the touch of a smartphone are just one part of a bid for improved local transport in the Wokingham Borough.

At its meeting on Thursday January 26, Wokingham Borough Council’s executive will be asked to approve a bid for £2.75million to the Department for Transport to reduce congestion along the A329 corridor. If the bid is successful, the money would be used to fund a range of measures from integrated transport plans for local businesses to cycling projects for secondary school pupils. This bid complements the £24.2m Reading Borough Council joint lead bid to the DfT approved by the executive in November 2011.

The introduction of ‘magic bus stops’ would allow bus users to touch their smartphone to the bus stop and receive the latest timetables information in less than a second. The scheme would be based on a system currently used in the Borough of Poole and would make use of real time information at many more stops than would otherwise be possible.

Research shows that the 6.7mile A329 corridor, which runs through the middle of the borough from its boundary with Reading in the west to the boundary with Bracknell Forest in the east, serves approximately 39,000 associated households, 20 primary schools and five secondary schools. It also connects residential areas with major employment centres such as Thames Valley Park, as well as being home to the majority of Reading University campus.

The average distance travelled to work by these residents is 3.5 miles or less, signalling a potential for reducing congestion through higher use of local sustainable transport. The bid to the DfT fund, if successful, would allow the council to make the most of opportunities provided by existing bus and rail networks. 

Other elements included in the bid are:

• Improved Real Time Information at bus stops

• Modernising traffic signals along the corridor introducing new MOVA technology which will manage congestion more efficiently

• Improved information, signing and safety measures to encourage walking and cycling

• A cycle officer to deliver projects that already have proven success, increasing the overall number of cyclists and targeting teenagers and students using the A329 corridor to access secondary schools or Reading University

• An online car share portal

• Introducing secondary school bike clubs to increase levels of cycling and workplace challenges to encourage those making the transition from study to work to consider cycling as a valid means of getting to work

• Business travel plans, based on the successful park-wide plan currently managed at Thames Valley Park

• Developing personal travel plans as part of the council’s ‘Community Conversations’ in specific areas of the borough

• Station travel plans for Earley, Winnersh Triangle, Winnersh and Wokingham stations, implementing improved signage and access, cycle parking and passenger information. This would coincide with the planned redevelopment of Wokingham station 

Executive member for transport Cllr Keith Baker said: “I will be recommending this bid to the executive as a package of measures that provide a realistic approach to improving the use of sustainable local transport in our borough. The DfT is quite clear that this money is not for major capital projects, so we have to think about how we enhance the infrastructure we already have in place, and remove any barriers to people using it.

"This bid employs a range of measures to tackle congestion in what is an extremely busy stretch of the borough and, should we be successful in our bid, I look forward to seeing them implemented along the A329 over the next three years."