People attending health facilities are now being offered journey planning options with their appointments.

The initiative, involving SPT, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Traveline Scotland, is aimed at encouraging patients to opt for sustainable modes of transport.

The pilot scheme, which will eventually be used across Strathclyde, involves patients who are due to attend north Glasgow hospitals. Personalised journey plans are being mailed at the same time as their appointment letters.

Each journey plan suggests ways to get to hospital using transport such as buses, trains, ferries or Subway and, when possible, incorporating walking or cycling into the journey.

Plans aim for an arrival time 30 minutes before the patient's appointment, to allow a degree of flexibility.

The initiative, which has involved much behind-the-scenes work since January this year, is aimed at encouraging a shift away from private car use.

In order to assess the efficiency of these journey plans, a survey is also being mailed to patients and is available in electronic form on SPT's website.

Feedback from this survey will then be used to make any necessary improvements to the system before it is rolled out across Strathclyde.

SPT's Bus Feasibility Manager, Gordon Hannah, has been working closely with Traveline Scotland and the NHS.

He said: "We are delighted to now be at the operational trial stage of this initiative, and are looking forward to seeing it develop.

"The quality of partnership working has been absolutely superb. We hope this will be a major tool to promote modal shift."

John Elliot, Chief Executive of Traveline Scotland, said: "It is fantastic that, through joined-up thinking, SPT, Traveline Scotland and the NHS can come together and produce something so effective."

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