ABSTRACT
The reformed arrangements for regional planning which were introduced in 1998 included an expectation that each document would contain within it a summary regional transport plan, as part of the move to better integrate planning and transport policies (DETR 2000a). The critical contextual issue for regional transport planning has undoubtedly been the shift away from a strong focus on new road building during the 1980s towards a growing recognition since the mid-1990s of the need to manage the growth in road transport. During this same period there was an increased awareness of the need for better integration of land use planning and transport policy, including a brief five-year period during which the two relevant ministries were integrated within one government department. The transport White Paper (DETR 1998d) made much of the need for better integrating transport modes while also giving higher priority to more sustainable forms of transport: public transport, cycling and walking. This integration was to be brought about in part through a series of transport studies called multi-modal studies (MMSs), the first tranche of which were commissioned following the publication of A New Deal for Trunk Roads for England (DETR 1998e). The purpose of the multi-modal studies is to provide a new way of identifying planning and transport options (DETR 2000b), involving examining the contribution that each of the transport modes can make to meeting the objectives for the sustainable development of the region, area or corridor under consideration.
