As part of Community Transport Week, Better Transport has been busting some common myths about transport.  Our favourite is Myth 4: Public transport doesn’t work in rural areas.

People who live in rural areas still need access to a reliable and affordable public transport network. What that network looks like will be different to what an urban network looks like, but, as areas like Cornwall are proving, it is still achievable. Unfortunately, rural areas have disproportionally missed out on public transport funding in recent years. Our analysis found that in the last decade: 

• The top 12 local authorities awarded the most government funding are all urban authorities 
• Of those, eight are mayoral combined authorities 
• Only four out of the top 25 councils are considered predominantly rural 
• 15 of the bottom 25 local authorities that have historically received the least funding are considered predominantly rural or urban with significant rural areas. 

Silviya Barrett, from Campaign for Better Transport, said: 

"The Government’s policy of asking local authorities to compete for local transport funding is producing the same winners and losers time and again. This shouldn’t be the case. All communities deserve a reliable, regular and affordable bus service. To ensure this happens, the Government must move away from this fragmented and competitive way of funding and replace it with a long-term funding settlement for all transport authorities."

Read the full set of myths and sort fact from fiction here.