Nottingham City Council has secured £16.7m to create three electric mobility hubs and improve transport connectivity across the city.
The council was successful in bidding for grant money from the Department for Transport’s (DfT) £70m Future Mobility Strategy.
The funding will be invested in joint projects with Derby City Council to improve connectivity and encourage public transport and active travel.
Part of the money will be used to create electric mobility hubs in neighbourhoods, at campuses and depots.
Each will aim to encourage the uptake of alternative travel methods by offering electric car club hire, electric bike sharing, vehicle charging points, digital information screens and real-time public transport information.
The funding will also be used to create a new website and smartphone app, which will allow users to plan for, book and pay for trips on public transport, plus bike hire, car share, taxi journeys, car parking and vehicle charging.
The platform will also allow discounts and bundles to reward and incentivise trips.
The council said it will also create a data platform that will pool various data from council-owned transport systems into a single place.
It is hoped that this data can be used to improve the efficiency of traffic control and also keep commuters informed with the latest information.
What’s more, Nottingham will trial new and alternative modes of transport such as autonomous vehicles, e-bikes and e-scooters to investigate how they could be incorporated into Nottingham’s established networks of roads and cycle lanes.
Cllr Adele Williams, portfolio holder for transport at Nottingham City Council, said: “This is exciting news and is another example of how good we are at bidding for, and securing this type of grant to improve local transport options.
“It is a significant amount of money for Nottingham and Derby, and we have innovative plans in both cities.
“These plans underline how forward-thinking Nottingham is and will help us to achieve our ambitious target of becoming carbon-neutral by 2028 – ahead of any other city in the country.”
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