Worker Transport
Feedback from our regular Business Performance Surveys shows that worker transport is important issue for Cumbria’s tourism businesses, with operators consistently pointing to public transport frequency/timetables, connectivity and costs as primary reasons for staff shortages.
As part of our wider work to tackle recruitment and skills challenges, Cumbria Tourism is helping to shape the future of worker transport by coordinating smarter, sustainable transport solutions and lobbying for improved connectivity across the county.
Our role bridges the public and private sectors – working closely with businesses, councils and transport providers like Stagecoach – to support people already working in tourism and hospitality, as well as boosting businesses which can’t currently recruit from certain areas due to a lack of suitable transport at the right times.
By identifying barriers to travel, mapping workforce patterns and evaluating business needs, our worker transport activity is helping to:
Ensure transport services fit with tourism workers’ shift times
Shape local transport policy, drawing on direct feedback from businesses
Champion initiatives to improve connectivity
Support council bus service improvement plans (BSIPs)
Reduce car dependency
Working together
Collaborating with employers, local authorities and transport operators is fundamental for developing innovative, long-term solutions around affordable, low-carbon travel. One example is the Three Valleys project, which has been looking at transport challenges in three areas: Ullswater and the Lowther Valley, the Langdale Valleys, and Hawkshead and the West of Windermere.
Another of Cumbria Tourism’s current priorities is pushing for more flexible bus timetables that better reflect our industry’s shift patterns. Recent success stories have included more early morning and evening bus services to better suit hospitality staff, but we know there’s more to be done to make flexible worker transport available to the right people at the right times.
We also continue to work with a range of partners to help promote the full range of travel discount schemes available to workers. That includes our local residents’ discount card MyCumbria, which provides offers such as 1/3 off-peak rail travel with both Northern and TransPennine Express.
Meanwhile, Cumbria Tourism’s Charitable Fund is a practical way people can access support with travel to work costs, with grants of up to £500 available for those aged 16+ years who are either living and training/studying hospitality, or are newly employed in the tourism and hospitality sector in Cumbria. Could someone in your team benefit?
Get in touch
Insights from tourism businesses are vital in helping us keep worker transport firmly on the agenda. Contact Natalie Fryer if you’d like to discuss your requirements, share challenges or find out more: nfryer@cumbriatourism.org