§ John ThursoTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made towards delivering the targets relating to Transport Direct set out in the 10-year plan; and when he expects remaining components to be operational. [170867]
§ Dr. HowellsTransport Direct has overseen the implementation of 19 local authority schemes, which have resulted in approximately 40 per cent. of the English bus fleet having real-time capability. Also, real-time operating information for the whole rail network has been put in place.
The development of the internet portal was completed in November 2003. The portal will allow the user to plan multi-modal journeys, book long-distance tickets and consult internet maps. It will be first available to the public in summer 2004, as opposed to the 10-year plan target of 2003.
The portal is currently integrated with 12 remote journey planners, three retailers and several real-time travel information providers. The prime cause of delay in launching the portal has been the need to fully integrate all these services with the portal and to test the resultant outputs.