Environment and roads

Herts Travellink - Why the need for it?

If you want to get around Hertfordshire and you don’t have your own car, there is an array of organisations offering transport, but limited overall coordination of services.

This means that some people are being ferried to hospital appointments by ambulance when it would be easier for them to travel by passenger transport, while some people are virtually housebound because they simply don’t have enough information about local transport services.

Herts Travellink aims to improve the situation by:

• Improving information about the range of public transport available in Hertfordshire, both over the web and through phone services
  
• Improving access to that transport
  
• Involving passengers more in the planning and delivery of services
  
• Coordinating resources more effectively to meet the needs of customers
  
• Making sure that services are based on the needs of users, rather than the convenience of suppliers

This will mean improving information and booking systems - making sure that information is available where people can find it most easily, including hospitals, doctors' surgeries and the internet. A centralised booking system and single hotline number will be created to make life easier for users and providers of services alike.

Improvements in transport management and planning will include better coordination between transport providers as well as more efficient route planning and investment in services.

Providers will be asked to look at the advantages of avoiding duplication by considering merging resources where appropriate. Working together will enable services to share their expertise and experience as well as support training for staff.

Toby Parsons, Project Manager explains: 'Bus, rail and taxi operators are key to delivering public transport to help people get on with their daily lives - however where these are not available or accessible for a person, other options are essential. Better information about all the services will help people make up their own minds about their transport options.'

He adds: 'Working together to make life easier for transport users has to be the way ahead. The county has a strong foundation of good transport services and over the coming months we shall be doing our utmost to work with all interested parties to deliver a much more cohesive service for people who rely on public transport to get around.'