The Transport Support Unit has been developed to\n make use of unused vehicles and volunteers to help support the national\n effort to fight the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. <\/p>\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
\u201cAt the beginning of this crisis we reduced services like rail and \nbuses, whilst securing their continuation to enable critical workers and\n others to make essential journeys. Lower ridership means we have spare \ntransport capacity which I have directed to be used for logistical tasks\n in the fight against this virus,\u201d said Secretary of State for \nTransport, Grant Shapps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBy making use of the people and the resources of the Department for \nTransport, its agencies and arm\u2019s length bodies, we will be \nhelping NHS trusts and local resilience groups to fight the pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are now reportedly 8,500 specialist volunteers from across the \ntransport sector, and around 9,000 vehicles which can support the \nnational effort. This includes four fixed-wing aircraft owned by the \nMaritime and Coastguard Agency (one of them a Boeing 737), helicopters, \nships and trains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Together, they hope to move emergency patients and medical supplies, \ndeliver personal protective equipment (PPE) to hospitals, and distribute\n food parcels to vulnerable people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vehicles from Highways England will also act as mobile COVID-19 \ntesting centres. Network Rail is also making available its seven \nregional distribution centres which can be used to support the effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis work is underway and I would like to thank all those taking \npart, like the Network Rail engineers who helped fit out the Nightingale\n hospital in Manchester,\u201d Shapps continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have also given the green light to trials of drones delivering \nmedical supplies. Earlier this year, we awarded \u00a328 million to \nSouthampton and Portsmouth to develop a Future Transport Zone. As part \nof that initiative, \u00a38 million was earmarked for testing drones, and how\n they might be used for delivering goods in the years and decades ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOf course, now we have an urgent need, so we\u2019re making use of that \ntesting programme as part of our response to COVID-19. As a result, I \nhave fast-tracked trials to begin to carry medical supplies and \nequipment to St Mary\u2019s Hospital, near Newport on the Isle of Wight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The DfT has also made funding available to keep England\u2019s trams \noperating. This will keep open five light rail networks in Greater \nManchester, Sheffield, Nottingham, West Midlands and Tyne and Wear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs the country works hard to beat this virus, it\u2019s vital we come together and help each other,\u201d Shapps concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"