ABSTRACT
Transport policy is faced with a dilemma that needs to be urgently addressed. The nature of transport disadvantage and the process of exclusion has prompted a debate of about the shape of transport systems. As we know social exclusion reflects the existence of barriers which make it difficult or impossible for people to participate fully in society (Social Exclusion Unit, 1998). However, the process of social exclusion and the relationship with transport is little understood by local authorities. It is these authorities who regularly intervene in the local transport market to subsidise public transport services that are socially necessary (Hine and Mitchell, 2001; Sinclair et al., 2001). In previous chapters the nature of transport disadvantage and how it impacts of the accessibility of goods and services has been identified. We have also seen the way in which operators are responding to the challenges of operating in a commercial environment. In Chapter 1 a number of key questions that relate to the direction of UK transport policy were identified. These questions are:
• how is the link between transport and social exclusion characterised; • what policy mechanisms and practices are appropriate in different
circumstances; • what are the implications of the social exclusion debate for the delivery
and organisation of transport policy?
