Business travel could be revolutionised by 2003 as the Government plans to introduce a direct booking and information system. Transport Direct is a new scheme designed for people to plan their journeys and compare routes and prices, and will cover all types of transport within the UK including car, air, rail, coach and bus travel.

It will allow travellers to book and pay for their journeys at the time of their enquiries and can provide information on how their chosen travel options are performing before they set off.

David Jamieson MP, parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions, said the programme will be phased in over a number of years, but by 2003 it is expected to include real-time train information, and bus service data on most services.

There will also be internet travel information for road journeys and public transport, online booking for long distance journeys involving different forms of transport and web-based maps. (July 20, 2001)