Councillor proposes transport system for Hemel Hempstead similar to the tube

A transport system for Hemel Hempstead that operates like the Tube has been suggested by Liberal Democrat Cllr Adrian England.

By 2050 the Hemel Garden Communities project is expected to result in 11,000 new homes and 10,000 new jobs across the town.

And at a recent meeting of the highways and transport cabinet panel, councillors heard about the need for transport change to facilitate that growth, as it is outlined in the council’s ‘transport vision and strategy’.

During the debate councillor Adrian England suggested the area should have a transport system like the London Tube.

He wasn’t suggesting digging tunnels across Hemel Hempstead – but instead a network of buses that operated like the London Underground.

He pointed to the ‘out of town’ locations of the railway station and the Maylands area – as well as surrounding areas and villages, such as Boxmoor, Leverstock Green and Apsley.

And he said: “It’s always struck me that Hemel ought to have something akin to a Tube – the way that the Tube map plans you around London.

“Obviously we are not going to start digging great big tunnels underneath Hemel, I hope. But it seems to me that that’s entirely possible with buses.

“They would need to be buses where you could interconnect without having to incur multiple costs.

“So again London is the example that you can travel around for a maximum amount – and that’s why so many people do it.”

He said the Tube maps before and after Stratford developed showed how transport networks are capable of growing.

Executive member for highways and transport Cllr Phil Bibby said interconnecting services would be “fantastic”, but acknowledged they may be “very tough to put in place”.

And he said the council already encouraged integrated ticketing. But he questioned whether it would be possible to have a single cost for any journey around Hemel, because of the costs of infrastructure, buses and drivers.

The council’s ‘vision and strategy’ includes an aim that 40 per cent of all trips to, from and within Hemel Hempstead – and 60 per cent of all person trips to, from and within new Hemel Garden Communities neighbourhoods – should be undertaken by “sustainable modes of transport”.