Public transport praise

Rochdale residents live in the best region for public transport — and that is even before Metrolink arrives.

The Campaign for Better Transport pressure group has studied more than 30 different factors across Britain and scored each region for its car dependency. The North West comes out best because, it says: “Trams and trains are good options and traffic volumes encourage cycling.”

“Car dependency is not inevitable,” said executive director Stephen Joseph. “The evidence from other European countries, or in fact from London, is that combinations of planning and transport policies can cut car dependency and that many people respond by cutting their car use and choosing to travel differently or less.

“This is about giving people real choice, not forcing them to give up driving.”

The charity’s researchers set out to find how quickly people can get to school, work, and amenities without driving, whether walking and cycling are good options, and how punctual, reliable, and affordable public transport is.

Although the North West comes only third in a league table of how many people walk or use public transport, it is beaten only by the North East and London, where the cost of public transport relative to the car is much lower.

The North West does particularly well on factors like the number of people who live close to bus stops; cycling provision; punctuality of trains; stations served by trams; and satisfaction with bus services.

But it does badly on access to hospitals and bus and train fare increases.

The most car dependent area is the West Midlands.