Rural Transport

The issues of access to services and transport availability in the rural parts of the West Midlands region are often very different from those facing the urban areas. The remoteness of some locations is linked with lower availability of services: for example, the last few years have seen an increase in the number of households having to travel more than 2 km to a post office. There is higher car usage in the rural areas and more infrequent public transport services. These issues have an impact on the ability of some people to travel to work or to places of learning.

In recognition of the range of these issues the West Midlands Rural Affairs Forum has widened the scope of its Rural Transport Task Group, which is now renamed as the Access Task Group. Its role is to consider access to services etc in the round, whether by taking services to people, by improving transport to services or through ITC.