| 1.1 The
challenge of offering improved transport choice and quality at affordable
cost is growing rapidly rural areas. Non-drivers have underpinned the viability
of many rural transport services but their number is declining. Although
there are many commercial bus services in rural areas their viability usually
depends on revenue from urban passengers drawn from the urban sections
of the routes.Commercial bus miles serving rural areas are falling - current
trends in the bus market therefore emphasise that radically new approaches
are needed. Without new approaches there will be growing problems with
spiralling public subsidy costs, declining public transport services, and
growing isolation and social exclusion amongst rural dwellers. The future
of public transport in rural areas is therefore likely to be increasingly
dependent on public and community sectors than on private transport
operators.
1.2 Recent research has suggested that a major change in approach is needed in the way rural transport is viewed. New approaches are needed towards transport in rural areas to develop sustainable community-led solutions. However there are significant gaps in our knowledge about the factors that motivate community action, changes in behaviour and how to co-ordinate these behavioural changes with practical public investment. 1.3 Rural transport research has focused on improving co-ordination and efficiency in the provision of services within the existing community capacity.However to build the capacity of individuals and communities to deliver change beyond that which can be achieved top down there is a parallel stream of activity.This addresses more fundamental issues about the balances between private and public responsibility for improving accessibility and how to solve problems bottom up. Research programmes have focused on individual action and have found that approaches to public participation in transport are both underdeveloped and sometimes frustrated by current organisational cultures which see community empowerment as a threat. 1.4 Future integrated transport in rural areas needs to be built on a much closer dialogue between users and operators of public transport, but there are significant gaps in our knowledge of how to achieve the major changes in social attitudes and behaviour to achieve this. Recent research showed that this new approach was particularly important for overcoming transport derived social exclusion in rural areas. |
| CO-OPERATE aims to identify the mechanisms to enable wider public ownership of the development of solutions. Its primary aim is to bridge the gap between top down and bottom up approaches to solving rural transport and accessibility. |