A brand new app offering its users real time travel information for all Essex travel networks has been launched by Essex County Council. The free app is designed to help people in Essex plan their trips and get around the county on foot, bike, bus and train.
By providing real-time travel information, users are provided with detailed estimated travel and departure times for bus services including First, Arriva, Hedingham and Stephensons, as well as Greater Anglia and C2C Rail, National Rail and London Underground trains. It is hoped the app can help make traveling in and around Essex easier.
The travel planning app TravelEssex was launched to encourage residents to take more sustainable trips as part of Essex County Council’s safer, greener and healthier approach to travel. It brings all sustainable travel options together in one place in a user-friendly way and with features like live notifications it allows users to stay informed about travel disruptions.
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The new resource is part of a series of measures introduced in response to the Essex Climate Action Commission’s Net-Zero report. The Council hopes to make Essex carbon neutral and recognizes the need to encourage more sustainable travel and to help people move away from using their cars.
Transport is the UK’s biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions and Essex’s emissions are above the national average, despite 30 per cent of the population living less than 3 miles from their place of work, the council says. “The use of cars not only harms us ecologically, but also economically. In 2017, more than £37 billion was lost to traffic congestion in the UK,” they added.
Councilor Lee Scott, Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Highways Maintenance and Sustainable Transport, said: “The argument for leaving our cars at home is irrefutable. We all need to make fundamental changes over the next decade to tackle the climate crisis, and doing more of our travel by public transport, bike or foot is something we can all do to make a real difference .
“Whether you’re driving to work, going on a day trip with family, or just exploring our beautiful countryside, this new app is a handy tool that will make sustainable travel options much easier to access and encourage us all to put down the car keys.” To download the TravelEssex app, search for it in the Play or Apple app store. Visit www.travelessex.co.uk for more information
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