Job hopes dashed as failing transport hits poor

Rethink plea as families ‘held back’ across North

JOBSEEKERS ARE being “locked out” of employment opportunities by “unaffordable and unreliable” local public transport in the North, a charity has claimed.

The York-based Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has called for a redesign of the Government’s transport, housing and economic policy, after its research revealed public transport was “holding back” low-income families from achieving a better standard of living.

Transport was consistently highlighted as a “significant barrier” to work once the trade-off between the cost, reliability and speed of local public transport and the prospect of low-wage, insecure work was considered, the study by researchers from the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University found.

It examined six areas in the North of England and Scotland, including Seacroft in Leeds and Dewsbury Moor in Kirklees, and found the poor reliability of local buses risked creating ‘cut-off commuter zones’ where people were unable to consistently guarantee punctuality when travelling to work – and that even when residents were willing to commute long distances, reliable services were not always available.

A “disconnect” between the location of jobs and low-income neighbourhoods was also constraining people’s ability to seize job opportunities when they arise, with jobs for low-paid, unskilled and manual work tending to be based at out-of-town, peripheral locations poorly served by public transport.

The director of the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research at Sheffield Hallam University, Ed Ferrari, said: “Buses are the backbone of local public transport in Britain and the key to employment and training opportunities for many.

“But problems with high fares, poor coordination between different providers and services, and lack of reliability seriously hamper the ability of low-income groups to commute to more distant jobs.”

Action by the Government, combined and local authorities and transport bodies is needed to overcome transport barriers to employment, the JRF said. Acting head of policy and research, Brian Robson, said: “The experiences of low-income residents make it abundantly clear that we must properly invest in transport networks within cities not just between them.”

West Yorkshire Combined Authority said it spends £17m a year to ensure non-profitable bus services are provided and is set to invest £195m this year on transport and economic schemes designed “to support inclusive economic growth, new jobs, better access to training and skills”.

Coun Kim Groves, the chairwoman of the authority’s transport committee, said it would continue to push bus companies to provide affordable fares.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said it was spending more than £13bn over the next two years to “transform” transport across the North.