Rural mobility strategy for the South West

The South West Rural Mobility Strategy, jointly developed with the Western Gateway Sub-national Transport Body, sets out an ambitious vision to improve rural mobility for the communities that need it most.

At its heart is the goal of delivering decarbonised, affordable, and publicly available transport, giving people greater choice and reducing reliance on private car journeys. Alongside this, digital connectivity and mobile services will play a crucial role, enabling more to be done without the need to travel.

The strategy is designed to tackle the specific challenges facing rural and coastal communities, helping them become better connected and more prosperous. It identifies where rural mobility issues are most acute and provides a framework for delivering solutions.

Piloting New Approaches

The first major step will be piloting new approaches, testing practical solutions in real communities. A wide range of potential interventions have been grouped into bundles tailored to different rural contexts — towns, villages, hamlets, and isolated dwellings. From these, six pilot types have been identified to trial these bundles, with the next stage being the development of live trials. Running such a varied set of pilots will create more opportunities to learn and to build sustainable, long-term models for rural mobility.

Evidence and Engagement

To shape the strategy, we:

• Analysed 1,400 rural locations across the South West

• Engaged with rural businesses and residents to understand their needs

• Reviewed best practice locally, nationally, and globally

• Identified and assessed over 100 potential proposals

This strategy will provide invaluable evidence to inform our wider Transport Strategy, ensuring rural mobility is embedded as a key priority for the South West.