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CAR FREE DAY IS A SUCCESS

People in Dorset used lessons learnt during the fuel crisis to make the most of Car Free Day on 22 September.

Marconi Communications, Wallisdown Road, sold around 20 reduced price cycle helmets. Vouchers for those who didn’t drive were exchanged for a drink and a cake – an offer which turned out to be very popular, helping to increase cycling and car sharing on the day, by around 10%.

"Sponsored bus riders" from Barclays House in Poole gave a positive response to the experience and were pleasantly surprised at how easy and quick the journey was. Elaine Southcott, Community Co-ordinator at Barclays House, said: "Things went really well although some staff working shift hours thought that they wouldn’t be able to use Public Transport late at night or very early in the morning. Sponsored bus riders said that the drivers were courteous and the buses were clean."

North Dorset District Council helped to host the Gillingham Transport Day which was well supported and proved to be a real success for all involved.

Employees from the Borough of Poole took to their feet to walk to work, cycled, car shared with other colleagues, or took the bus or train to contribute to the day.

Teresa Brown, Poole Travel Awareness Officer, said: "Overall, the day was a success. People genuinely tried to change their travel habits and enjoyed the experience. We will be sharing the information from those who travelled by bus with the local operators and will continue to support all those people and organisations who want to change the way they travel."

Teresa Brown