As Sussex goes to the polls this week, the Sussex Intelligence Unit’s (SIU) second data briefing asks what impact does public transport have on people’s sense of belonging?
Our second briefing follows the launch of SIU at an event last week with speakers including Mark Rogers, Interim Chief Executive of the new Sussex and Brighton Strategic Authority, into conversation with the Institute for Government’s Akash Paun. Their conversation included on the challenge of ensuring communities across Sussex feel part of the changing landscape of decision-making.
A region that doesn’t yet function as one place
Part of the challenge of what belonging means in Sussex is because of transport. As our briefing explains, it is often easier to reach from London than to cross from east to west. In fact, Transport for the South East identifies Sussex’s orbital and east–west corridors as poorly served, including the A27 and A259.
Car dependence is structurally high, but unevenly so. Sussex sits at 1.28 vehicles per household against a South East average of 1.43. 35.6 per cent of households in Brighton & Hove have no access to a car or van — more than double the regional benchmark.
Where coordination has been targeted, service has improved
East Sussex’s £13 million Bus Service Improvement Plan has delivered measurable gains on frequency, fares, coverage and friction. We have a model that works at county scale with the question for the Sussex and Brighton Strategic Authority whether these learnings could be scaled.
Feeling that you belong and are part of a place relies on repeated, practical connection. If cross-Sussex journeys are too slow, fragmented or expensive, the region will not function as one place, however it is governed. We need transport timetables to be prioritised alongside political timetables.
To add your voice to our study on what belonging means in Sussex, take part here.