4:03pm Monday 13th July 2009
By Oliver Evans
THE recession is thought to have caused a fall in traffic in High Wycombe – while bus usage has rocketed.
Traffic in and around the town centre has fallen by about four per cent, latest figures show, while bus passengers are up by 19 per cent since Eden opened last year.
Transport boss Valerie Letheren said drivers are avoiding unnecessary journeys to cut costs.
Yet she said a Government scheme introduced last year that gives free bus travel to the over 60s throughout the UK was also having an effect.
Congestion had also fallen because building work at Sainsbury’s in the town centre and because of new traffic lights on the A40, at the junction with Gomm Road, she added.
“People just can’t afford to run cars,” said Cllr Letheren, cabinet member for transportation at Buckinghamshire County Council.
The popularity of the Cressex park and ride – where drivers park for free and pay to get the bus into town – had also reduced traffic, she said.
Yet Wycombe District Council has previously warned that it has lost cash because its car parks are being used less.
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