Transport: introduction

Transport is an important health determinant for several reasons. It can have both positive and negative impacts on health and health inequalities, through multiple pathways as outlined below.

Well designed transport infrastructure and services enable people to access other key health determinants, including employment, education, social interaction, goods, and healthcare and other services. Transport poverty occurs when people lack transport options that are available, reliable, affordable, accessible and safe.

A car dominated transport system has adverse effects on health inequalities. It disadvantages people without car access, who are disproportionately people on low incomes, disabled people, older people, children, young people and women. It also causes financial hardship from ‘forced car ownership’, which occurs when people are forced to run a car because there are no suitable alternatives. Low income communities have lower car ownership but suffer disproportionately from child pedestrian injuries, severance and air pollution caused by through traffic.

Different modes of transport have different impacts on health for both the individual traveller and the wider community.

Active travel modes - walking, wheeling and cycling - have multiple benefits for health, including:

• Physical activity.
• Social connections.
• Greenspace exposure.
• Safety - streets with people walking, wheeling and cycling feel safer than empty streets.
• Local businesses benefit from higher footfall.

Private motor vehicles have adverse effects on health through several pathways, including:

• Injuries from collisions.
• Air pollution.
• Noise pollution.
• Greenhouse gas emissions.
• Social isolation from ‘community severance’, the barrier effect caused by traffic and transport infrastructure.
• Loss of public space.
• Physical inactivity, as motor traffic discourages walking and cycling.

Public transport is associated with fewer collisions and less pollution than private car travel. People travelling by public transport can gain social connections and physical activity walking to and from stops and stations. A comprehensive public transport network is essential to reducing transport poverty.