A £4M CASH pot set aside for transport in rural areas could help fund bus hubs and local rail networks.

The Department for Transport announced creation of the fund earlier this week to be used to “pilot new and better ways of delivering joined-up local transport in rural and isolated areas”.

Oxfordshire County Council board member for transport David Nimmo Smith said the local authority was looking at bidding for some of the cash.

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He said: “Of course we are going to bid for it. We have to work out what we are bidding for, but our officers are working on it.

“It’s in embryonic stage at the moment and we need to assess what’s achievable.

“It could be bus hubs: rural stations buses come to which then link up with train stations. It’s all about improving connectivity.

“That’s the whole idea, and reducing the number of people in cars.”

Mr Nimmo Smith admitted he did not know how far any potential share of the £4m would stretch.

Perran Moon, former chairman of Oxon School Bus Action Group, which campaigned last year against council revision of school bus provision, said the cash was just a “tactical pot of money for testing stuff”.

He said: “Any investment in rural areas is desperately overdue.

“Over the last four or five years there have been significant cuts in rural transport and it’s affecting local communities. The issue that I would have is that it’s not strategic.

“It’s a tactical pot that has been announced rather than a joined-up transport strategy.

“To announce this pot of money seems extremely carefully choreographed.”

Mr Moon, who lives in Alkerton, near Banbury, said there were just two buses each day from the village to Banbury and Stratford-upon-Avon.

Transport Minister Baroness Kramer said: “It is common sense that we ensure that those rural and isolated areas have vital transport services that meet the needs of local communities.

“We must ensure every penny is being used to get local people to hospitals, schools, towns and shops.”

The county council will have to bid for a share of the money, which it can use for feasibility studies and other groundwork to identify scope for providing services in local areas.

Successful bidders will submit a detailed plan to the DFT for delivering the service for which they have identified a need. The new fund is only for rural and isolated urban areas and the closing date for bids is February 11. Winners will be announced in March.


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