Regional transport body Strathclyde Public Transport (SPT) has invested more than £8 million in South Lanarkshire over the past five years, a new report has revealed.
The report, ‘SPT: Delivering for South Lanarkshire’, shows almost £6m of capital funding was awarded to support a range of sustainable transport projects in the area between 2017 and 2021.
And £2.5m of additional money was also awarded to South Lanarkshire Council in 2021/22 to support their delivery.
A number of local projects have been assisted by SPT investment, and the local authority’s long-established Route Action Plan has benefited from £1.3m from SPT.
That has helped deliver road safety improvements on more than 30 strategic routes across South Lanarkshire.
Latest figures show these have helped reduce road traffic casualties to their lowest ever level.
Park and ride facilities in Carstairs, Cambuslang and Hairmyres have been given nearly £3m in funding, while a further £1.5m has been committed to reducing congestion on bus routes.
Strategic cycle routes have received £1.2m as part of a bid to increase active travel, while bus infrastructure like modern display boards and new shelters has received almost £500,000.
The Lanark Interchange will also benefit from a £750,000 SPT fund, allowing the council to reach the major milestone of acquiring land to relocate the park and ride to Alston’s Yard.
And six community transport initiatives including those in Blantyre, East Kilbride and Larkhall have been awarded £620,000.
Since 2019, SPT has scheduled 97,000 trips on the MyBus service in South Lanarkshire, while 7000 children are taken to and from school each day, the report showed.
The transport body pointed out that the cross-council boundary nature of transport and travel means investment in one area will benefit all residents who travel for work or leisure.
Across the west of Scotland, SPT has supported 6.1 million bus station departures across Buchanan, Hamilton, East Kilbride, Greenock, Braehead and Silverburn in recent years.
It has supported 200 bus services run by around 20 operators on behalf of SPT, and has 33 MyBus services operating in the west of Scotland.
Valerie Davidson, chief executive of SPT, said: “We continue to deliver a range of services in South Lanarkshire and across the region either directly or on behalf of councils.
“As this report shows, we have invested £8.4 million over the last five years in sustainable transport projects in the area.
“SPT’s activities support the west of Scotland’s regional transport network to the benefit of all residents who travel across the area.
“While the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in significant impacts on our operational activities due to reduced travel demand, the majority of services were maintained to ensure transport remained in place for key workers and those making essential trips.”
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