We all have busy lives and often have to travel to several different places during the day, whether it is to get to work, take children to school or to do some shopping.
We may make these journeys by car, bus, train, bike, by foot or, most likely, a combination of a number of these.
Transport can be such an emotive subject because it affects all our daily lives whichever way we choose to travel.
Reading is a very successful, busy town which has a lot of people travelling into and around it. Thousands more homes are due to be built close to the borough’s boundaries and many of those householders will be looking to Reading for their work, shopping and leisure needs.
This success also brings its challenges including the need for utilities such as gas, water and digital companies needing to access their services which can require diversions, temporary lights or sometimes road closures. Often these are emergency works but even when planned the council has limited powers to stop these works happening. There have been a lot of these recently!
We are a big town and we welcome visitors, but Reading borough has limited space, especially on our roads. Therefore, the Council has to make the most of the space that we do have and balance the needs of motorists, cyclists, public transport users and pedestrians.
The Reading Transport Strategy 2040, which was adopted by Council last October, lays out the Council’s vision for transport over the next 15 years. I think it is our boldest and most ambitious local transport plan yet, in that it sets out how public transport, cycling and walking facilities, will be further improved to become the first choices for moving around Reading.
We know there will always be times when travelling by car is necessary, but the Council’s aim is to make public transport and active travel the most attractive options for getting around Reading.
Without encouraging this shift to more sustainable transport, the number of cars on our roads will continue to grow, causing worse traffic congestion and resulting in more air pollution, which affects the health of Reading residents.
We are already a town where many residents use alternatives to the car.
Census figures show that 28% of Reading households do not own a car, compared with 23% nationally, and only 31% of people travel to work by car in Reading.
Just 24% of trips to, from and through the town centre are by car and Reading has the third highest number of bus passenger journeys per head of population in England, outside of London.
Throughout April, the Council is highlighting how its different transport schemes and initiatives are being delivered and how they fit together to achieve its objective of greater public transport use and active travel.
We will see how publicly funded buses such as the Buzz 18 are connecting people and places, how car clubs help create a cleaner and greener town, how free Dr Bike maintenance session help support healthy lifestyles and how ReadiBus makes such an important difference to people’s lives.
There is an incredible amount happening around all forms of transport in Reading. Keep an eye on the Council’s social media accounts throughout April to find out more.
