Business Travel Buses beat congestion
The start of the new school term has not surprisingly seen a huge spike in traffic on local roads. According to National Express, Birmingham’s biggest bus company, data from Transport for West Midlands (formerly Centro) has revealed that there was 20 per cent more rush-hour traffic in May, during term time, than during the holidays in August. And Birmingham City Council
figures indicate that one out of every five cars on the road in the busiest part of rush hour is taking a child to school. More than half a million people
in the West Midlands are aged five to 19, and about 30 per cent of them go to school by car, which adds up to 165,000 trips out of 825,000. National Express said that
another report, the National Travel Survey, has revealed that 15 per cent of all trips by West Midlands residents are for education purposes. These journeys stop in the holidays. As well as the massive term-time
increase in traffic, which will surprise no-one, all the additional vehicles on the road are causing problems with pollution.
‘All this traffic is having an effect on people’s health’
National Express said that a House of Commons committee recently published results showing that the West Midlands is missing its targets for reducing air pollution. National Express managing
director Peter Coates said: “All this traffic is having an effect on people’s health. A full bus takes about 50 cars off the road. And as part of the West Midlands Bus Alliance, we are fully committed to increasing the number of people taking the bus by five per cent. “To help combat term-time
congestion, we offer students unlimited travel in Birmingham, the Black Country and Coventry from under £8 per week with a Student West Midlands Bus Pass. “Additionally, a National Express
Travelcard is the best way to travel to work across the West Midlands and Coventry. It allows unlimited travel on all National Express buses all day, every day. Weekly travel is £12.60 per week, £11 for travel just in the Black Country or £11 for travel just within Coventry.”
Sector Focus
A new option from Blue Air
Blue Air – the Romanian carrier that started operations earlier this year from Birmingham Airport – is adding another route to its network. The airline will start flights to
Larnaca on the south coast of Cyprus from April 2017. Having started in March 2016
with a twice-weekly service to Bucharest, it then announced a second route to Cluj-Napoca, the capital of Transylvania, commencing in December. Blue Air now has 10 flights a
week from Birmingham Airport. Tom Screen, head of aviation
development at Birmingham Airport, said: “We are delighted that Blue Air is offering another route from Birmingham Airport. “The airline has gone from
strength to strength here offering low cost fares to popular destinations.” Tudor Constantinescu, chief
Back to school congestion: Peter Coates
commercial officer at Blue Air, said: “With the new addition, we are now linking Birmingham to three Blue Air bases – Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca and Larnaca –and highlights our commitment to the West Midlands’ gateway.”
October 2016 CHAMBERLINK 53
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