§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his reply of 9 July 2002,Official Report, column 807W, on special purpose vehicles, if he will list the possible opportunities identified to which he refers; and if he will make a statement. [70638]
§ Mr. JamiesonIn addition to Chiltern and South Central, Special Purpose Vehicles may be appropriate for works on South West Trains, for the East London Line, for the East Coast Main Line and for other cases not yet identified.
328WThe Department is developing Transport Direct, a comprehensive travel information and ticketing service which aims to provide the traveller with all the information they need before and during a journey anywhere in the UK, and with the ability to buy the associated tickets. The vision, which will take several years to be fully realised, covers travel by all modes—air, car, train, tram, tube, taxi, bus, coach, ferry, bike and on foot—plus, importantly, mixtures of these modes.
The centrepiece of Transport Direct will be a one-stop internet portal information point for all forms of travel information. In addition to schedules and details of any disruption on the chosen route, travellers will be able to look at maps of the area they are intending to visit. The initial portal service will go on-line during 2003.