Government invests £1.25bn in local transport

Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander has announced this year’s Local Transport Capital Settlement, a £1.25bn investment for local authorities to improve local transport.

The investment is given to local authorities each year to help them deliver transport improvements in their communities. The money will fund a range of improvements, including new road safety measures, better street lighting, road maintenance, park and ride facilities and cycle lanes.

Local authorities will also receive a share of £110m from a specific road safety grant.

This year's investment delivers funding for 2007/08. Some of this year's money is awarded according to the performance of local authorities in delivering better transport over the first five year Local Transport Plan period. Another part is based on the quality of their plans to improve transport over the next five years.

This investment is in addition to the funding for major transport projects across the country, which was announced in July this year as part of the Regional Funding Allocation process.