9 April 2008
Public's guide to transport options
East Renfrewshire Council and SPT have joined forces to promote public transport in Newton Mearns.
The campaign will involve the circulation of new public transport guides in Newton Mearns, which will be distributed through a variety of sources including on buses, in council buildings and in doctors' surgeries.
The guides will provide information on the public transport available in the area and how and where services can be accessed.
The need to promote an alternative to the private car is particularly relevant in Newton Mearns, where 82% of residents own at least one car.
This is against a backdrop of issues of climate change and increased road congestion.
In addition, recent work by East Renfrewshire Council has found that many residents in Newton Mearns are not aware of the level of public transport services available to them.
SPT member and East Renfrewshire Councillor Eddie Phillips welcomed the scheme, saying: “The lack of high quality public transport information can be a real barrier to people using public transport.
Bus provision
"There are real alternatives to private car journeys open to the residents of Newton Mearns and I hope that this guide will give people the confidence to consider their options and give public transport a try."
East Renfrewshire Council has recently signed up to SPT’s ‘Five Point Plan for Buses’ initiative.
This involves SPT assessing bus provision in East Renfrewshire and working with the local authority to determine an optimum network of bus provision, and improve bus timetable information.
In addition, SPT has introduced Service Compliance Inspectors - or Bus Wardens as they have become known - to the area.
The wardens will work on behalf of the Traffic Commissioner for Scotland to ensure that bus operators comply with regulations.