14. How can transport interventions better meet the needs of young people and students for access to education, training and work?
Background
DfT’s ARI identifies 40 broad research questions that reflect areas of strategic importance to the department, where further insight and collaboration could enhance our evidence base, challenge assumptions and strengthen future decision-making. The ARI is organised around four complementary themes, and this question sits within the Improving Journeys for People theme.
Transport plays a central role in people’s everyday lives, shaping how easily, affordably and reliably they can access work, education, public services and social opportunities. Improving journeys for people means putting users at the heart of the transport system, ensuring that journeys are safe, dependable, accessible, affordable and integrated across modes. This reflects the vision set out in Better Connected, which emphasises transport that supports everyday journeys across the country.
For the purposes of these ARIs, improving journeys for people focuses on end to end travel experiences rather than individual services in isolation. Evidence suggests what matters most to users of the transport system is how journeys function as a whole, including the availability and quality of information, perceptions of reliability and safety, affordability and simplicity, and confidence to travel.
People’s journeys are shaped by factors beyond transport infrastructure alone, including housing, land use, employment, digital connectivity and public services. Understanding how these factors interact with transport provision is essential to improving real world journeys, particularly for groups who face greater barriers to travel or are more sensitive to cost, reliability and complexity.
This theme recognises that improving journeys for people requires both day to day operational improvements and longer term system change. The ARIs therefore seek research that deepens understanding of how transport systems shape people’s experiences and behaviour, and that supports more integrated, people centred decision making across different contexts.
Next steps
If you have research relevant to this topic, are planning work in this area, or would like to discuss potential collaboration, please get in touch. For our monitoring and evaluation purposes, we are also keen to hear if the ARI has informed or influenced your research.
To get in touch and report the use, please fill in the form https://submit.forms.service.gov.uk/form/264718/dft-areas-of-research-interest-ari/
Link to DfT ARI: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dft-areas-of-research-interest/areas-of-research-interest-2026
Topics
Related UKRI funded projects
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The Role of Demand Responsive Transport in Connecting People to Opportunities in Less Densely Populated Areas
The Government's National Bus Strategy 'Bus Back Better' seeks to arrest the decline in bus provision and use. It sees an important role for Demand Responsive Transport (or DRT) in lower-density areas not served well by ...
Funded by: ESRC
Lead research organisation: University of the West of England
Why might this be relevant?
The project specifically focuses on assessing the impact of transport interventions on unlocking educational, employment, and social opportunities for residents in rural areas, aligning with the question's emphasis on meeting the needs of young people and students for access to education, training, and work.
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Life Transitions and Travel Behaviour
The aim of the project is to assess how life transitions influence travel behaviour and to identify opportunities from this for policy interventions to achieve desirable transport outcomes. Life transitions (major change...
Funded by: ESRC
Lead research organisation: University of the West of England
Why might this be relevant?
While the project assesses how life transitions influence travel behavior, it does not directly address the needs of young people and students for access to education, training, and work. However, the expertise of the project team in travel behavior analysis is relevant to the question.
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Community Travel Platform
Shared transit, such as public transport, is key to getting people around and maintaining our economy. It is vital in reducing our impact on the environment. UK cities have well-developed public transport infrastructure,...
Funded by: Innovate UK
Lead research organisation: PLEXAL (CITY) LIMITED
Why might this be relevant?
The project focuses on evaluating a platform solution to incentivize sustainable and community-focused mobility, which indirectly relates to improving transport interventions for young people and students. The expertise in evaluating shared transit landscape is relevant to the question.