Workshop report – Social inclusion

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Abstract

The topic of social inclusion is now maturing in the Thredbo conference series, being viewed as an important consideration in many aspects of land transport, the benefits extending beyond the socially excluded targeted population. The social inclusion workshop included presentations on new empirical evidence on the value of providing those at risk of social exclusion with mobility options, and how this links to improvements in personal wellbeing, often through mediating influences such as social capital. Work was presented on the role of transport services specifically targeted to those at risk of exclusion, particularly taxi services and school bus services, as well as how to modify fare structures to maximise inclusion in an efficient, mature transport system. The value of Universal Design principles to groups both at risk of being excluded as well as the current travelling public, was shown. The workshop affirmed the importance of including these wider benefits of inclusion in cost–benefit evaluations of transport. The issue of how best to move knowledge into strategic and operational policy, and the transferability of both knowledge and policy between different countries and settings, was discussed. This paper concludes with suggestions arising from the workshop in relation to policy and research, as well as recommendations for Thredbo 12.

Introduction

The Thredbo conference series held its second workshop on land transport and social inclusion at Thredbo 11. There was a wide range of issues articulated in the workshop which demonstrated that social inclusion, like sustainability, is a framework or context through which many of the strategic, tactical and operational responses can be approached. This suggests that the issue of social inclusion and its relationship with land transport has matured since Thredbo 10 with the concept of social exclusion itself and its importance in transport provision being well understood.

This paper overviews some of the underlying themes discussed in the workshop. The dominant theme to emerge was the way in which social inclusion was viewed by workshop participants as being far from marginal, both from the perspective of many public transport patrons or potential patrons and operators. The workshop reported on theory building within the transport/social inclusion space, as well as linking this new knowledge with the broader field of social inclusion and an increasing recognition of the importance of mobility to wellbeing.

Understanding the issues of social inclusion across different economies and cultural environments and the viability of generalising learnings was an important context for many of the discussions. Can or should a particular transport system and policy context which is effective in one environment be generalised to another? Transport policy development to facilitate inclusion and address disadvantage was another underlying theme, as was operational and practical ways to overcome barriers in policy development. Finally, the issue of where financial resources should be best spent to achieve inclusion was discussed. This included issues around the assessment of the benefits and costs of options and how these should be integrated into the wider evaluation framework in the development of policy, how the costs of social inclusion measures should be met given the benefits of inclusion extend well beyond the targeted population to society as a whole.

These issues are now presented in greater detail. Many other subjects were raised including some concern about the lack of integration of transport and social inclusion issues within other conference topics. Other subjects included the place of sustainable transport and social inclusion in the context of climate change and the role of transport to achieving intermediate inclusionary steps such as building social capital or networks of contacts as an aid to inclusion. This paper then reflects on developments in the field since the previous Thredbo conference, and gives recommendations in relation to policy and research and content for Thredbo 12.

Section snippets

Social inclusion is not a marginal issue in transport

With the exceptions of transport safety and travel time, and these largely in developed economies, the integration of social policy within the transport policy context is a relatively underdeveloped area. While the value of the provision of transport options for those who are experiencing disadvantage is increasingly being recognised (Currie & Stanley, 2008), how best to meet this need through policy generally and through the framework of social exclusion, has had little examination. Yet a

New research knowledge

Workshop members reported new research on the links between mobility, social inclusion and wellbeing, on mobility options for rural locations in developed and developing countries, including school buses, as well as the benefits of Universal Design.

Large scale Australian research based in a major urban city environment (Melbourne) reported an inverse relationship between propensity to be socially excluded and the amount of travel undertaken. More specifically, the greater the number of factors

Synergies across varying social structures and economies

Planning for social needs in transport raises many questions in relation to our present knowledge base. What are the broad principles which can be generalised across countries, such as the value of transport to those at risk of social exclusion? For example, can knowledge gained in one country be transferred to another or can the same transport planning principles be applied to the UK, Australia, Singapore, Norway and Brazil? If not, at what point does their universality cease and local

Socially inclusive transport policy

While research is beginning to demonstrate the important role of travel options for wellbeing and inclusion, this knowledge is yet to permeate through to comprehensive policy development which is integrated with strategic transport planning. Indeed, as noted above, the failure of transport planning to provide widespread integrated services has often led to a patchwork response with programs being rolled out that are geographically restricted, often expensive and short lived as with many of the

The benefits and costs of inclusive policy

An important underlying theme which incorporates many of the issues raised above is the way in which changes to the transport system are evaluated. In particular, as policy makers begin to introduce more inclusive transport policy so must the evaluation process reflect the benefits of social inclusion. Odeck et al. (2009) show that the use of Universal Design can provide high benefit cost ratios. For example, improvements to lighting at bus stops provided a benefit cost ratio which exceeded 25,

Conclusions

Thredbo 11 made a clear step forward in moving the discussion on social inclusion from definitional issues to more substantial issues. Discussion centred on how to best meet demand needs, these issues being developed on a small but growing empirical knowledge base. The question is now around how this new knowledge is being translated into policy, whether and where evidence in one country is transferable to others and where policy should be tailored to specific political and economic conditions,

Policy recommendations

The following policy recommendations have arisen from the workshop:

  • While there are common broad principles that hold across different countries, specific policy needs to be tailored for specific situations and particular vulnerabilities. Solutions need to be ground in flexible responses, with an infrastructure response (such as new buses) being appropriate in some cases and targeted subsidy in others.

  • The development of good policy can learn from the experience gained elsewhere. For example,

Research recommendations

The following recommendations for research were made in the workshop:

  • There is a need for continuous building of empirical knowledge on the role of mobility for those who are at risk of social exclusion and how best to meet this need.

  • The wider benefits of inclusion need to be quantified to facilitate more accurate project evaluation. This should include factors such as:

    • Health impacts (the value of regular contact, the costs of missed appointments)

    • Employment impacts (costs to communities of

Recommendations for Thredbo 12

The following recommendations arose from the workshop in relation to Thredbo 12:

  • There is a need to include a plenary session on day one on social inclusion which should be a world overview of the topic rather than country based.

  • The Social Inclusion workshop should be retained with new title that reflects the relevance of the topic for competition and ownership of land passenger transport.

  • Social inclusion needs to be better integrated into discussions on transport policy. Papers for Thredbo 12

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