Derby City Council eagerly awaits the decision from the Department for Transport, following the recent joint submission with Nottingham City Council for over £100m for the second phase of the Transforming Cities Fund.

The fund is designed to improve connections between major employment sites and promote active travel and public transport.

The Council set out real ambition in their bid, demonstrating the desire to really transform transport across the city, and radically improve the connections between where people live and work.

This ambition includes the establishment of Derby’s first dedicated mass transit link, with the provision of a high quality electric Rapid Transit (eRT) route that would run directly across the city centre, linking key intra-city destinations and public areas. The eRT route would be a key investment in revitalizing the public transport offer in the city, providing a new and innovative service and experience, which would include extensive, traffic-free routing.

In addition, three new ‘smart’ park and ride hubs with improved cycling and public transport links, upgraded RTI and waiting and electricity charging facilities, were also proposed, as well as a demand responsive transport service, which would link the city centre and rail station to key employment sites including Rolls Royce, Bombardier and Pride Park, again providing innovative alternative to car travel for commuters.
Other improvements in the bid included:

  • Bus priority corridors – upgrading junctions, infrastructure and RTI at key junctions to improve bus reliability on major routes.
  • Cycle lane improvements along key routes to employment sites, including dedicated cycle lanes along Slack Lane, Raynesway, and Nottingham Road.
  • Workplace Travel Service – continued funding to offer small grants to Derby businesses to make improvements, which encourage staff to travel sustainably to and from work.

The bid also includes additional initiatives to better connect Derby and Nottingham and East Midlands airport, including:

  • Improve real time information, signal and bus lane priority for public transport across the region.
  • Consolidation of cashless payments and seamless ticketing in Derby.
  • Expanding the rapid electric charge point network.
  • Upgrading cycle links between the two cities.
  • Bike share programme

Councillor Matthew Holmes, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Planning, Regeneration and Transport said:

The Council has been determined to make this a truly ambitious bid, demonstrating that Derby is ready to transform transport across the City area and enhance the links between Derby and Nottingham. The economic benefits will be huge for both cities because this level of investment offers the chance to implement some really exciting changes, bringing mass transit to the city, and creating public transport innovations and transport experiences. A key part of the proposals, for example, is a dramatic expansion of sustainable travel options. These include a network of cycle lanes and an improved environment to encourage walking. The overarching ambition is to radically improve the connections between where people live and work, and provide better access to employment and training. As part of our commitment to clear air, we have also designed our programme to deliver significant reductions in emissions, encourage a more active and healthier population, and to support inward investment and regeneration projects.