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Green passenger transport in rural areas

People Involved

Professor Richard Laing

Project Description

Transport in remote, rural and island areas is car dependent and CO2 intensive, while public transport (PT) is relatively ineffective, having low usage and high emissions per passenger.

Rural public transport subsidies are unsustainable and services are being withdrawn in many areas, leading to ever increasing high CO2 car use. Challenges include low population densities and longer journey distances. Many rural and island territories also suffer from the twin demographic problems of population decline and ageing.

On the other hand, many small towns close to major cities have undergone substantial population increases and public transport has struggled to keep up with the expansion. In these regions, households often own 2+ cars, and car dependence and per capita CO2 emissions can be higher than in more remote regions.

Transport authorities require innovation: low CO2, cost effective, transport interventions that better meet the needs of rural people and improved integration of and planning of transport networks. G-PaTRA will seek to enhance the capacity of rural and island authorities to meet these challenges and will demonstrate that vehicle, service, operation and institutional innovation can be combined to significantly reduce emissions from passenger transport in rural territories.

Leading the project with partners in Sweden, Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Germany and Norway

Project Acronym G-PATRA
Status Project Complete
Funder(s) Interreg IVB North Sea Region
Value £270,169.00
Project Dates Jun 1, 2017 - Jun 30, 2023

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