We want our growing towns and cities to be easier to travel between and within their centres

The East of England has some of the fastest growing towns and cities in the UK. Places such as Norwich, Ipswich, Colchester, Chelmsford and Southend have increasing populations which require a choice of sustainable transport options to allow people and goods to easily move within and between these urban areas.

Our connecting growing towns and cities priority has three goals:

  • Create better connections within towns and cities
  • Create better connections between towns and cities
  • Integrate transport networks with customers at the heart
Better connections within towns and cities

Improved connections and access within our urban centres through walking, cycling and public transport can create sustainable access to essential services such as education, training, jobs health and leisure.

Securing these connections can be achieved by making the case for increased, stable and long-term funding for local authorities to deliver integrated public transport options and active travel infrastructure.

Better connections between towns and cities

Delivering faster and reliable connections between our growing places - and to the rest of the UK - is vital to support business growth, skills development and employment.

We will lead a regional network analysis of our transport corridors across road and rail. We will also undertake connectivity studies, which will allow us to present a new and compelling case for investment in existing and future priorities on our strategic travel corridors.

This will support us to identify the best public and active transport options to link our towns and cities together.

Integrate transport networks with customers at the heart

Integrating our urban and inter-urban transport networks, such as bus, rail routes and active travel, can provide a high-quality customer experience.

We want to encourage this by supporting intergrated transport plans being developed with users at the centre. A focus for people with protected characteristics under the Equality Act will be a priority in our work.

We will coordinate with partners, including the police, to promote and make the case for greater investment in a Vision Zero, a strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries.

Regional recommendations for our bus and active travel strategies will also be considered, and work with transport operators at a regional level to increase integration will be carried out.

BERTIE will help us understand where and how journeys are made in the East

BERTIE is an Agent Based Modelling platform to provide transport insight on how people make their journeys in the East. 

The software will help us to answer questions, test assumptions, and generate insights that reflect the real-life transport choices people make when they travel within and between communities.

This insight will be shared with our partners to guide their decisions for the East's future transport needs and ensuring it's accessible, sustainable and integrated in order to connect our growing places.