Transport planning and accessibility

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Department for Transport

The Department for Transport's aim is transport that works for everyone. To this end the Department works in partnership with other to:

  • tackle congestion
  • improve accessibility
  • reduce casualties
  • respect the environment
  • support the economy

Transport policies can make an important contribution to meeting other national and local priorities, such as tackling crime, fostering social inclusion, encouraging thriving communities, stimulating economic growth and protecting the environment.

The 10 Year Plan for Transport set out a long-term increase in transport spending which will help to improve public transport and address social exclusion. The introduction of five year Local Transport Plans (see below) has contributed to long-term funding stability at a local level. Other key measures that promote accessibility include:

  • minimum half-fare discounts on local bus services for older and disabled people
  • enabling the provision of innovative bus services through the Urban and Rural Bus Challenge schemes, supporting rural buses, and extending the Bus Services Operators' Grant to community transport
  • making vehicles and transport more accessible to disabled people following the Disability Discrimination Act
  • providing better travel information, for example by initiating 'traveline', a telephone service run with partner organisations that provides information on transport routes and times
  • DfT policy guidance for local authorities places increased emphasis on measures to improve accessibility and promote social inclusion.

Local Transport Plans

Local transport authorities in England outside London produce 5 year Local Transport Plans (LTPs), and report on progress against these plans in Annual Progress Reports (APRs). Local authorities submitted their first plans in 2000. Alongside the introduction of the LTP system, the Government announced, in the 10 Year Plan, a step change in the capital funding provision for local transport - from £0.4 billion in 1998/99 to £1.2 billion in 2001/02 (the first full year of LTPs). Provision is expected to continue to rise incrementally to £2.2bn annually from 2007/08. Both the LTP system and improved funding have been widely welcomed by all key stakeholders.

LTPs are public documents that set out the authority's policies, strategies, objectives and targets for improving transport in their communities. DfT uses LTPs and APRs to: inform decisions on capital funding for local authorities; inform the development of our policies on local transport; and monitor the delivery of key national objectives and targets that are delivered through the actions of local government.

LTPs do not just focus on individual transport schemes, but take a broader view of how transport measures can help achieve wider and longer-term objectives. In implementing their LTPs, authorities can help to improve the quality of life of people who live and work in our towns, cities and countryside by encouraging social inclusion and helping people to get to jobs and the services they need.

In their Annual Progress Reports (APRs) authorities have identified progress that they are already making in delivering a range of schemes that improve accessibility to jobs and key services for all sectors of the community. Some examples include:

  • In Cheshire the County Council has utilised Rural Bus Subsidy funding to increase the frequency of services to Arrow Park Hospital and purchase low floor vehicles that are dedicated to this service. This has resulted in an 82% increase in patronage on the service with 29% or new passengers transferring from cars
  • In Doncaster South Yorkshire are piloting a taxi voucher scheme aimed at reducing social exclusion and designed to enable people to access work, education, health care and social / recreational opportunities. The pilot scheme is initially aimed at the disabled, those on low incomes and those living in isolated areas.
  • In Grimsby the relocation of a major employer to an out of town industrial park was accompanied by a new dedicated bus service for commuting workers.

Accessibility Planning and LTPs

As announced in the Social Exclusion Unit report 'Making the Connections', accessibility planning will be incorporated into local authorities' second LTPs, which are due in 2005. This framework aims to help transport authorities and their local partners to promote social inclusion and accessibility in a more co-ordinated and systematic manner. Guidance for local transport authorities on conducting accessibility planning will be issued by DfT in 2004, alongside guidance for authorities on developing their second LTPs.

The effectiveness of accessibility planning will rely on the partnerships that are developed between local authority transport planners, land use planners, representatives of the key local service providers (Primary Care Trusts, Jobcentre Plus, Local Education Authorities etc) and other local bodies. Although, local transport planners will take the lead role in accessibility planning the most effective solutions to these needs may not be, or may not solely be, transport-based. For example solutions such as co-ordination of opening times, or relocation of services might prove to be a more effective solution than the alteration of bus-routes and time tables. Therefore the active engagement of the appropriate sectors and partners will be an important part of the success of accessibility planning.

Accessibility planning will help to contribute towards the Department for Transport's Public Service Agreement (PSA) target:

  • To secure improvements to the accessibility, punctuality and reliability of local public transport with an increase in use of more than 12 per cent by 2010 compared with 2000.

SEU Report Policies

In addition to the guidance on accessibility planning the Department for Transport is also responsible for a number of other initiatives included in 'Making the Connections'.

  • Amending regulations to facilitate flexibly-routed services. This work is well underway and regulations should be amended by the autumn of 2003.
  • Assess the barriers to flexible transport and what might be done to address them. A task group of the Bus Partnership Forum is taking forward this proposal with the Department for Transport
  • A Government review of bus subsidies is assessing options for changing subsidy mechanisms to contribute to social inclusion aims as well as increasing passenger numbers and encouraging modal shift.
  • The Department has a PSA target linked to reducing the concentration of road traffic accidents in the most deprived areas. £17.6 million over 3 years from 2003 has been allocated for local highway authorities with high rates of child pedestrian casualties.