With a Sustainable Transport Corridor network playing a key role in the future of Harlow & Gilston Garden Town, both bus operators and council officials from across the area attended HGGT’s first Bus Summit earlier this month.
Taking place in Harlow Council’s Civic Centre with all three local bus operators in attendance, the Summit featured presentations on public transport with current and future services all discussed alongside a potential bus operator vision for HGGT that makes bus travel more attractive.
Recent independent research commissioned by the Confederation of Passenger Transport shows that buses deliver a host of wider benefits for both passengers and local communities.
This includes access to jobs, education and training worth £8.7bn, health benefits worth £2.8bn, support for volunteer work valued at over £1bn and a reduction in congestion worth £600m per year.
And First Bus data in 2022 showed that half of UK adults would take the bus more often if they knew that decision would have a direct positive impact on the environment.
HGGT’s Bus Summit saw Peter Nathanail from the Transport Made Simple Group present on their Central Connect bus brand while Arriva were represented by Alec Bright and Michael Jennings who discussed their experiences of running services in Harlow.
Summit discussion points included:
– a simple bus network with good value fares
– high quality bus stop infrastructure
– reliable services
– clean and modern buses with friendly drivers
– intuitive digital marketing
– low emission buses
Also key to the Summit debate was HGGT’s modal transition objectives of achieving 50% sustainable journeys across existing Harlow, rising to 60% in the Garden Town’s proposed new communities.
Working with travel experts Arup, HGGT recently unveiled their Reimagining How We Can Travel Differently framework which sets out how the Garden Town’s modal transition objectives could be achieved through projects, schemes and interventions.
Speaking about next steps from the Bus Summit, the Garden Town Team’s Adrian Smith said: “It was fantastic to see people from across the transport industry and the public sector come together to discuss and debate future services for Harlow & Gilston.
“We’re now looking to establish a virtual Enhanced Partnership group bringing together HGGT, transport authorities and bus operators that can not only help us achieve the Garden Town’s modal transition objectives but identify schemes for potential bids for government funding.
“The Garden Town project has an agreement of approval for 10,000 homes in Gilston while a planning application for over 1300 houses in Latton Priory is with Epping Forest District Council so linking bus operators with developers in the HGGT area is also a priority.
“With Harlow & Gilston Garden Town one of the biggest regeneration and development projects in the country and with five council partners involved, cross boundary working is key to its success.
“We need that same collaborative approach to future bus services for HGGT and there was a real appetite for establishing closer working relationships between Essex County Council and Hertfordshire County Council on cross border buses, infrastructure and Bus Rapid Transit proposals.”
