Whilst the trend across England and Dorset shows a decline in the use of buses, Poole residents are bucking that trend and using buses more now than in 2009/10.
Reducing bus use is the trend across England and the Dorset county area, where passengers took 1.6m fewer journeys in 2016/17 than in 2009/10. However, data released by the Department for Transport shows that passengers in Poole are making millions more journeys by bus than in 2009/10. Passengers in Poole took 10.4m bus journeys in 2016/17, which is 2.7m more than were taken in 2009/10.
In addition, over the same period the average number of journeys taken by each person in Poole increased by over 30% from 53 to 69. Again, Poole fares much stronger than across Dorset as a whole, where the average number of journeys taken by each person has dropped from 25 to 21.
The increasing patronage of bus services and the large increase in overall journeys in Poole demonstrates the potential to further promote the use of sustainable transport.
The vision for Canford Park seeks to utilise this potential by placing a strong focus on creating a network of walking and cycle routes through the development linking with existing and planned pedestrian and cycle corridors in the local area, enabling connectivity to key services through sustainable means.
The provision of new homes will also help to improve and sustain existing and new public transport services through increased patronage and possible funding through planning contributions.
ENDS