Vibrant rural communities need flexible, quality transport choices that are sustainable and fit for the future, according to a new review by the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise (NICRE)

Meeting these needs calls for radical transformation in rural public transport as without action, the risk is that inequalities are entrenched between the ‘transport rich’ and ‘transport poor’.

New national policy directions offer opportunities for change, and both local authorities and rural enterprises have important roles to play in driving innovation.

The State of the Art Review Future innovation for rural public transport’ by NICRE’s Bryonny Goodwin-Hawkins, of the Countryside and Community Research Institute, and Andrew Callard of Rural Technologies Ltd, draws on research evidence to identify routes forward:

• Rural transport innovation needs to be place-based, but not place-bound
• Flexible local choices need to connect with integrated rural, regional and national travel networks
• Fostering change requires realigning transport supply and demand within rural areas
• Forward-looking transport innovation should respond to wider societal trends
• Transport innovation should embed societal benefits.

Read Bryonny’s associated blog Getting on board - why public transport matters for rural people and places.