It is vital that rural communities can access employment, training, education and services such as medical appointments.  A lack of public transport options can make this more difficult.  We’ve seen Government attempt to tackle transport policy in recent years with Bus Back Better and the competitive bidding for Bus Improvement Funds which has ultimately left many rural areas without public transport options

On Thursday 21st September we will be focusing on rural transport in our National Rural Conference with three expert speakers joining us.

The session will be opened by Selaine Saxby MP, one of the Vice Chairs of our All Party Parliamentary Group on Rural Services.

First up will be John Birtwistle, Head of Policy at First Bus who will be talking about the renaissance of the rural bus.

Next, we will hear from Caroline Whitney, Director for England at the Community Transport Association sharing her views on ‘Community Transport: Challenges and Opportunities’.

Finally discussion will focus on Rutland County Council and Emma Odabas, the Acting Senior Transport Manager who will share her expertise on Rural Transport in England’s smallest county.

The session will finish with a wider debate amongst delegates of some of the key challenges facing rural communities in accessing transport, along with potential solutions.

The conference this year is supported by NICRE, and sponsored by BT, Gemserv, Northern Powergrid and SWS Broadband.