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.