Title

Working with communities: transport and social exclusion in the north east of England

Document Type

Working Paper

Publication Date

2002

Subject Area

Location - UK, Modes of Transport - Bus, Modes of Transport - Community Transport - Community bus, Transport planning - Transport mapping

Abstract

This short paper provides an evaluation of current policy developments in the field of transport and social exclusion from the perspective of expressed community needs in low income communities in the North East of England. It notes that transport issues have been separated off from urban regeneration issues in current Government policy forums and documents and argues that this gap in policy thinking should be corrected. There is a policy tension between cost reduction and efficiency drives at the national level and sustained local accessibility to services in low income communities. If low income areas are no longer to be protected in their access to vital services through the pooling of costs and taxes at a national level, then there is a need for new forms of transport and service organisation to be developed which involve communities directly in their operation. New forms of communication technology make possible new forms of community involvement and service delivery which as of yet have received little explicit or widespread consideration by Government in its exploration of the relationship between transport and social exclusion/inclusion.