Rural transport
Modern mini-buses and real-time information at stops can help transform rural transport. Photo: © CPRE
Transport has major impacts on the countryside. Its effects are not just the increasing flows of motor traffic that sever communities, the signage clutter that disfigures country lanes or even the noise that can be heard miles from busy roads. As we travel further and further, we spend less time in our local areas. This leads to local shops and facilities closing down, taking the heart out of communities not to mention meaning that we need to travel yet further still in future. We believe it's time to break this vicious circle.
Our vision is not just for a beautiful, tranquil countryside but one which is alive and vibrant too. So besides protecting the countryside from new threats and reducing the damage of existing ones, we campaign to reduce dependence on private cars and to increase rural accessibility to reduce the need to travel in the first place.
Creating new travel options – such as ‘demand responsive’ travel that is half way between buses and taxis or low carbon car clubs that give people access to new efficient cars without locking them into a high mileage lifestyle – is important. But so too is stopping the surge in motor traffic on rural roads that is making walking and cycling more of a hazard and less enjoyable.
Unless local shops and services are supported and new developments well planned, driving will become the only option for ever more people. For example, new health centres should not be on the edge of towns and villages where they are hard to reach unless you are in a car, while new rural businesses need to be sited where they can be reached by public transport, walking and cycling.
See also:
> Our campaign on sustainable communities
