BUS USE DOUBLES AND SINGLE CAR OCCUPANCY JOURNEYS ARE DOWN 20% AT FLAGSHIP LEICESTER DEVELOPMENT

A recent travel survey, conducted by GO Travel Solutions, shows bus usage has doubled since 2021, with 24% of residents using the bus to commute to their place of work, compared to 12% as reported previously.

Single occupancy journeys for commuting purposes are down from 60% in 2021 to 39% in 2022.

GO Travel Solutions, the travel plan coordinator for New Lubbesthorpe, a new pioneering community in Leicester, conducted the annual travel survey at the end of 2022 on behalf of the Drummond Trust. The purpose of the survey is to review the way residents travel and to measure the impact of the travel initiatives implemented to seek to make this a more sustainable community.

John Keenan, Project Manager at GO Travel Solutions, commented, “These findings show a positive change in travel behaviour within the community as residents are choosing alternative and more sustainable ways to travel than by car alone. The annual travel survey helps GO Travel Solutions and the Drummond Trust to improve sustainable travel options for residents.”

In 2022 we saw the launch of Leicester’s first commercial car club open in the New Lubbesthorpe community, in partnership with the Drummond Trust and Enterprise Car Club. A new direct bus service, the NovusDirect, operated by Vectare, was launched last summer and provides residents with a direct service into Leicester.

Martin Ward on behalf of the Drummond Trust, the landowners of New Lubbesthorpe, said “It is fantastic to see the number of people using the bus to commute to work has doubled. It has always been our aspiration to make green travel options at New Lubbesthorpe an attractive and preferred choice for our residents.

“A variety of new bus services, the car club, e-bike hire, and safe walking and cycling are all designed to offer easy and convenient options and we look forward to seeing more sustainable travel uptake in the future.”

Following the announcement of the survey travel findings, BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours took to the streets of New Lubbesthorpe to try out the NovusDirect bus service and ask residents about their first-hand experience using the service. If you missed it, check it out here (31mins – 43mins): You and Yours - Supermarket Essential Ranges, New Estate Travel and Aesop - BBC Sounds