Why improving local transport is more crucial than ever

Marking this year’s Better Transport Week, our CEO, Rachel Rowney, shares the importance of improving local transport links in doubly disadvantaged neighbourhoods and what we hope to see in the forthcoming 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy.

In 2017, the small Cambridgeshire town of Ramsey faced losing a cherished local bus route.

The Number 30, which connected the town to neighbouring Huntingdon, gave locals access to their nearest cinema, hospital and rail station – not to mention crucial employment opportunities. In a town with already-poor transport infrastructure, the loss of the route would have cut off a vital lifeline.

So the people of Ramsey – including Ramsey Million Big Local – fought back. Residents gathered evidence and put together a petition. Their efforts paid off: the route was saved, and the Number 30 still serves the community today.

Sadly, the story of the 30 bus from Ramsey is an exception.

The consequence of disappearing transport links

Too many doubly disadvantaged communities and neighbourhoods have seen local transport links disappear – with residents powerless to halt the changes. The consequences for these places are often serious: economic isolation, a weakening of community ties and worsening health and education outcomes.

That’s why the theme of this year’s Better Transport Week – ‘how better transport can help connect communities and bring people together’ – is so vital.

Over nearly a decade and half of Big Local, we’ve repeatedly seen how poor transport holds communities back. It’s why ‘connectedness’ is one of the three core domains of our Community Needs Index, which we first developed in 2019 to help understand the challenges faced by England’s 225 doubly disadvantaged areas: Our research told a clear story:

• 74 per cent of doubly disadvantaged neighbourhoods have no rail station.
• 40 per cent of households have no car, compared to a national average of 26 per cent.
• People rely more on buses, even as these services are disappearing.

This collapse of local transport has far-reaching consequences. Geographical isolation becomes economic isolation. People struggle to access professional and educational opportunities. But they’re also walled off from the social, cultural and civic experiences that are essential for a fulfilling and successful life.

Is the tide turning on transport in doubly disadvantaged areas?

Thankfully, last week’s Spending Review offered grounds for hope that the policy tide may finally be turning on transport in ‘left behind’ areas. The government announced £15.6bn in transport investment for city regions, including South Yorkshire, the North East, Tees Valley and the East Midlands. More is expected in the forthcoming 10 year Infrastructure Strategy.

But the true test of this new approach won’t be high profile projects such as rail lines between city centres. It’s whether investment reaches places like Ramsey: the coastal communities, former mining villages and peripheral estates on the outskirts of post-industrial towns. The real value of the government’s transport plans will be delivered here, at neighbourhood level in those doubly disadvantaged areas. This is especially important for those areas not currently covered, or with existing plans to be covered, by a combined authority that has strategic responsibility for public transport.

Smaller-scale interventions, like the renewal of South Yorkshire’s tram network, matter just as much as infrastructure that costs billions and grabs national headlines. Extending bus and tram routes and refurbishing small stations can be just as transformational as these grand projects, and just as crucial for realising our national potential. These investments boost economic and social capital. The Spending Review saw the chancellor announce new funding for 350 doubly disadvantaged areas which by definition will have poor transport links. Addressing this strategic issue would support successful outcomes for the neighbourhoods set to benefit from the new programme.

We hope this marks the beginning of a real shift in government thinking. It may be too early to celebrate; the detail of the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy needs proper scrutiny. However, early signs suggest the government is leading with this year’s Better Transport Week theme, and that is cause for optimism.