Accelerator fund gives boost to rural transport in Norfolk

A project which supports sustainable travel for rural Norfolk has been given a boost with confirmation of more than £144,000 from the Connected Places Catapult and the Department of Transport (DfT).

Norfolk County Council supported an application by Alchera Technologies to the Rural Transport Accelerator Programme that provides funding to support enhancing rural transport, to offer people more choice and enable better connections with local areas.

Alchera will work on a 'Rural Travel Behaviour Model', using data to better understand travel behaviours of Norfolk's rural population, to inform on who wants to go where. This allows the County Council to better plan strategic transport decisions to serve the needs of the community. The expected benefits include greater economic prosperity for the region and increased adoption of public transport, assisting with Norfolk's ambitious net-zero targets.

Cllr Graham Plant, cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport said; "This project will help us to better understand the movements of people living in rural areas which will allow us to better plan strategic transport decisions for example the locations of transport hubs, and targeted programmes to help increase the take up of public transport."

The aim of the accelerator programme is to speed up the use of innovation to improve transport in rural areas through a series of demonstrators that will showcase solutions to the challenges that have been set out in DfT's rural transport innovation guide.

The application was put in under the "Driving towards a sustainable future" category, specifically: "(a) How do we improve sustainable connectivity between people business and places in rural areas?"

Anna Jordan, CEO of Alchera Technologies said; "Alchera is passionate about helping local authorities make better transport decisions using data, ensuring local citizens have the best possible travel options available to them. Working with Norfolk County Council is a hugely exciting opportunity to contribute to better serving local rural communities."

The programme is underway and the findings are due to be shared with Norfolk County Council early in the new year.

A second Norfolk project supported by Norfolk County Council was also successful:

• The project is being led by Norwich-based commuting emissions reduction specialist, Mobilityways, and supported by Norfolk County Council and Transport East.
• IVORA (Increasing Vehicle Occupancy in Rural Areas) aims to demonstrate that employers and LTAs can overcome the challenge of being able to detect if cars are shared and so be able to incentivise and increase liftsharing.
• The trial is taking place at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kings Lynn where many employees travel from rural areas. Mobilityways data insights found that 75% of staff currently drive alone to work. 40% have no active or public transport option. <3% currently car share. 93% could car share with a colleague.
• To measure car occupancy, IVORA will trial using new camera sensor AI technologies and CommuteJournal in the Mobilityways app.
• Also in the Mobilityways app, new incentive tool CommuteBoost will be trialled to reward shared journeys, plus innovative VMS signage is being used to raise awareness.