The first regional website of its kind in Scotland to provide a full range of information on travel choices for Tayside and Central Scotland has officially been launched.

A new travel information gateway - www.tactranconnect.com - has been developed by the Tayside and Central Scotland Transport Partnership (Tactran) and provides a unique portal highlighting a wide range of travel options for the public.

The "one stop shop" will provide information on bus, train and taxi services in the region as well as helping drivers, cyclists and bikers.

Councillor Will Dawson, Tactran's chair and Dundee City Council's city development convener, said: "Often a lack of information prevents people from travelling in the way they'd like. We have to provide the kind of comprehensive information that will help them make the right choices - and that is what the new website does.

"It has been developed to act as a regional web 'gateway' using existing travel information from local and national websites, tailoring this to provide information on all types of transport to, from and within the Tactran region.

"The aim has been to have a 'one stop shop' where people can quickly and simply check out their travel options. All forms of travel are covered - bus, rail, walk, cycle, car, air, motorcycle, taxi.

"Train times, traffic reports, lift-sharing and cycle and bus routes are just some of the things that the website offers.

"Tactran works in partnership with the councils in Angus, Dundee, Perth and Kinross and Stirling and this has helped the local picture, even down to the location of car parks and the cost of using them.

"The new website complements and provides links to the existing ones, but provides a wider outlook on travel than the local sites, particularly with longer journeys in mind. There are useful links to information about journey planning and sustainable travel from other organisations such as Scotrail, Sustrans and Cycling Scotland.

"At a national level, Tactran has also worked closely with Traveline Scotland who detail information about any public transport journey for the whole of the country to provide more focused regional information."