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Norwich has also been successful in securing a place in the Government‘s Transforming Cities programme which has the potential to bring significant investment to the transport networks in the city and surrounding areas. £6.1 million was secured from the fund in early 2019 and a further £32 million has been secured since (see paragraph 236). The programme seeks to promote modal shift away from use of the private car in a time of rapidly changing vehicle technologies. Evidence of such a shift was already seen after First Eastern Counties reported a 375,000 increase in Norwich bus journeys in 2015 following the completion of Transport for Norwich changes to improve accessibility to the city centre for buses.
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The Transport for Norwich review will guide future transport policy and investment in and around the city. The network will continue to be developed to promote public transport use in growth areas such as Wymondham, the airport and Broadland Business Park. This will include the Park-and Ride network around Norwich which, with 6 sites, forms one of the most comprehensive networks in the country and is well-connected to other bus routes
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Transport improvements outside of the Transport for Norwich area are dealt with on a local basis. For example, Norfolk County Council has commenced a programme of Market Town Network Improvement Strategies (NIS). The Connecting Norfolk initiative also promotes increasing use of demand responsive transport services and car sharing in rural areas.