Call for evidence – Rural Transport in the East of England
Abigail Pritchard
Experts reviewing rural transport open call for evidence to tackle transport deserts in the East
Share your insight on rural mobility through the new Transport East Strategy Hub
An independent group of experts, including the Community Transport Association, across the East have opened an inquiry into rural transport seeking views and evidence from people, businesses and organisations with experience of rural transport.
This ‘call for evidence’ will inform a report with a set of recommendations for national, regional, and local government to influence decision making.
This work forms part of the Transport East’s new Strategy Hub, with the sub-national transport body for the East supporting the group of expert Commissioners undertaking the inquiry.
The Commissioners are chaired by Dr Scott Copsey, Director at the University of Hertfordshire’s Smart Mobility Unit. Dr Scott Copsey is an expert transport planner with years of experience both academically and professionally.
To gather evidence on rural transport the Commissioners have created a survey which will be available to complete through the Transport East website until 12th July 2023.
To reply to the call for evidence please use the link below.
https://smartsurvey.co.uk/s/RuralStratCfE
The Regional Strategy Hub website is available to view at https://www.transporteast.org.uk/regional-strategy-hub/ along with some supporting work on rural mobility in the region.
CTA has been working closely with Transport East on this and we are pleased to be part of this, in particular we want to ensure that CT providers are able to share their evidence and experiences in the call.
The Commissioners welcome written evidence or experience that can help them understand the challenges around rural transport access and provision, and ways to improve services. They are particularly keen to hear about places where different parts of the community have come together to solve rural transport problems or new ways of connecting people and places.
Around a million people in the East live in rural communities, with two-thirds of these living in ‘transport deserts’ where it is difficult to access public transport. Tackling rural transport challenges can bring multiple long-term benefits to the region including economic growth, access to education, employment and key services, environmental sustainability, and improved quality of life.
In addition to Dr Scott Copsey, the Commissioners includes a range of experts:
- Candy Richards – Federation of Small Businesses
- Pete Waters – Visit East of England
- Caroline Whitney – Community Transport Association
- Rik Martin – Community Action Norfolk
- Jack Eagle – Transport Planning Society Eastern region
- Nick Khan – East Suffolk District Council
All evidence gathered will be analysed and used to draft a report with policy due for publication in the autumn.