9: Equality and Inclusion
The inclusion of an equality assessment in this draft strategy is very welcome and demonstrates progress towards greater understanding of the existing inequities in transport systems. Women, older people, children, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities tend to experience greater disadvantage in access and safety in the current transport system. These groups will, on balance, benefit the most from expanded sustainable transport options, but it is important that careful attention is given to their particular patterns of travel, priorities and needs as planning for a “default male commuter” has previously resulted in a further marginalisation of these groups. As already noted there has been a reduction in the number of women, children and older people cycling since the 1980s, despite an overall increase - so specific targets should be assigned to increasing the modal share of these groups and all interventions gender and age proofed. It is also important that the emphasis is moved away from the minority of journeys which are for the purpose of commuting towards providing sustainable options for shopping, caring, community based and leisure journeys too. This would reflect the change from a transport strategy focused on reducing congestion to one focused on reducing emissions and improving equality.