New Bus Service designed to get people to work

Are you finding it difficult to travel to a place of work?

Do you want to start a training course but don't know how to get there?

Do you live in a Pathways Area?

Merseytravel, in partnership with Employment Services, Action Team for Jobs and other key Regeneration Agencies has introduced a new range of bus services to help local people travel between home and their place of work or training.

There are two types of service being offered by Job Link. The first is a network of fixed route, timetabled bus services linking Pathways Areas with key employment sites. They are designed to provide new links not already provided for by conventional bus and rail services.

These new fixed route services will operate for part of the day, but at most times the buses are on standby waiting to take "members" to work or training. The door-to-door service provides transport to clients who are referred to the scheme from one of the partner organisations. Each journey will cost no more than £1.

To become a member of Job Link you must live in a Pathways Area and you must register with one of Merseytravel's partnership organisations. To find out more about the Job Link service or whether you are eligible to join the scheme, ring Merseytravel on 0151 330 1702.

The Job Link service is funded through the government's Urban Bus Challenge (UBC), a scheme intended to encourage the development of new and innovative approaches to providing urban bus services. Merseytravel secured over œ1.6m in UBC funding to provide the service for an initial three year period. There are three schemes in Merseyside, two of which are in Knowsley.

A spokesman for Merseytravel told Huyton Today, “The Job Link service is funded initially for three years. We are currently applying for European Objective One funding which would enable us to increase the number of vehicles available and to extend the services we offer to other areas such as Speke and even Halton.”

Four of the eight already established services link parts of Huyton to Prescot, Whiston Hospital, Speke and Knowsley Industrial Parks (Kirkby).

For more information about the Job Link scheme call 0151 330 1702 or contact the Brochure Hotline on 0151 330 1066.