Transport

Lead person:	Lead PHO: SEPHO

Transport is significantly linked to public health in terms of ‘active’ transport (walking and cycling); environmental issues such as air pollution, noise and the physical environment; and accidents and injuries. Road traffic accidents are a major cause of injury and premature death. Transport has implications for health inequalities: for example, air pollution is worse in more deprived areas and child pedestrian deaths are five times higher in social class V than I.

Over the last 30 years there has been a substantial shift away from walking and cycling, and towards increased car travel and ownership. In the South-East, people travel 1000 more miles per person by car than for England as a whole. Three-quarters of those who work in the South East use a car to get to and from work; slightly higher than the England figure of 71%. Children in the South East travel the longest distance to school of all the regions, and are less likely to walk to school than those in England as a whole and more likely to travel by car.

For more information about this topic, please look at the topic on the SEPHO web site.

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