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Overview
Transport is significantly linked to public health in terms of ‘active’ transport (walking and cycling); environmental issues such as air pollution, noise and the physical environment; and accidents and injuries. Road traffic accidents are a major cause of injury and premature death. Transport has implications for health inequalities: for example, air pollution is worse in more deprived areas and child pedestrian deaths are five times higher in social class V than I.
Over the last 30 years there has been a substantial shift away from walking and cycling, and towards increased car travel and ownership. In the South-East, people travel 1000 more miles per person by car than for England as a whole. Three-quarters of those who work in the South East use a car to get to and from work; slightly higher than the England figure of 71%. Children in the South East travel the longest distance to school of all the regions, and are less likely to walk to school than those in England as a whole and more likely to travel by car.
Recommendations for evidence-based public health action on transport in the South-East include traffic calming; enhancing footpaths and cycle paths; providing cycle racks; opposing out-of-town developments focused on car travel; encouraging local authorities to produce local transport plans (LTPs) which encourage walking, cycling, speed reduction and deliver better outcomes for congestion, pollution and road safety and improve quality of life and health; and developing strong workplace active travel plans for all PCT and local authority premises. The monitoring report of the central London congestion charge has shown that levels of cycling have increased following the introduction of the charge. The UK National Cycle Network has increased users’ levels of physical activity year on year. Among young people there is evidence to confirm that better cycle paths, improved parks and play areas with better access, and a whole-school approach to physical activity and active transport including transport to school encourages cycling and walking.
Air pollution and noise can seriously affect people’s health, and transport is responsible for a significant amount in urban areas and beside busy roads. There is a government commitment to resurfacing 60% of the road network with quieter surfacing before 2011. Since 2002 the Department for Transport has shared a joint PSA (Public Service Agreement) target with Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) to improve air quality by meeting national objectives for benzene, 1,3-butadiene, carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, particles and sulphur dioxide . Air quality has improved significantly over the last 10 years, particularly as a result of action to reduce emissions from industrial sites and road vehicles. A number of local authorities have declared Air Quality Management Areas for sulphur dioxide, particulates and nitrogen dioxide and are developing Air Quality Action Plans to tackle identified problems. These plans will form part of LTPs and air quality will be assessed as one of the key priority areas in local transport planning.
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Key Resources
The following is a collection of data, information and reports on transport.
Sets out 42 actions across Government aimed at increasing levels of walking and cycling.
Plan describes the mechanisms through which the Government’s commitments on physical activity described in “Choosing health” will be delivered.
The data in this report are taken from the results of the National Travel Survey (NTS) and relate to journeys made and distances travelled every year.
The Future of Transport White Paper looks at the factors that will shape travel and transport over the next thirty years and sets out how the Government will respond to the increasing demand for travel, maximising the benefits of transport while minimising the negative impact on people and the environment.
The annual report details
how the Department for Transport has spent its money and what it plans to do in the future.
Published by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) in conjunction with other agencies in the UK. An evaluation report was also published in 2005.
The Strategy takes account of developments since the 1999 Strategy. This report was released in conjunction with the Strategic Framework.
As part of the Choosing Health series, this report provides an overview of physical activity patterns in the region. It brings together relevant regional and national data with evidence on the effectiveness of interventions, and relevant national policies.
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