Better Connected – The DfT’s new Transport Strategy

The Department for Transport’s long-awaited national transport strategy, Better Connected: A Strategy for Integrated Transport, sets out a clear long-term vision for transport in England: a system that is more affordable, accessible, reliable and better integrated for the people and places it serves. For combined authorities, local councils and Mayoral Strategic Authorities, many of the priorities outlined in the strategy will feel familiar. Reducing congestion, improving connectivity, widening access to employment and cutting emissions have shaped local transport planning for years. 

However, Better Connected also reflects a growing recognition that transport challenges cannot be solved through infrastructure investment alone. Investment in public transport, walking and cycling infrastructure remain essential. But infrastructure rarely changes commuting behaviour at scale. 

For many people, driving alone remains the most familiar, flexible and reliable option, particularly where alternatives feel less practical within the realities of everyday life. That means transport policy is also a behaviour-change challenge. 

Moving beyond infrastructure alone

Commuting patterns regularly cross local authority boundaries, connecting towns, cities and rural communities through increasingly complex travel behaviours. Decisions made in one area can therefore have significant impacts elsewhere, particularly around congestion, air quality and access to employment. 

As devolution continues and new Mayoral Strategic Authorities emerge, regional transport decision-making is becoming increasingly integrated across housing, employment, infrastructure and economic growth. 

Better Connected places renewed emphasis on reducing private vehicle use, particularly single-occupancy journeys. That reflects growing pressure on transport infrastructure at a time when councils are balancing constrained budgets alongside ambitious net zero commitments. 

The impact of congestion extends well beyond journey times. Reducing the number of vehicles on the road can improve air quality, lower transport emissions, reduce pressure on parking infrastructure and create healthier communities. At the same time, commuting remains a major weekly expense for many households, meaning lower-cost travel options can also deliver immediate practical benefits. 

For local authorities and combined authorities, this creates an important challenge: how do you encourage meaningful changes in commuter behaviour while ensuring transport alternatives are realistic, affordable and accessible? 

Why shared travel deserves greater attention

One area receiving growing attention is shared travel. Across the UK, millions of commuting journeys are still made by single-occupancy vehicles, despite many routes having realistic potential for shared travel. 

Mobilityways analysis of commuting patterns across client sites consistently shows that while fewer than 10% of employees currently carpool, more than 80% could potentially share journeys based on where they live and when they travel. 

That presents a significant opportunity for local authorities and major employers looking to reduce congestion, lower commuter costs and cut transport emissions without relying solely on major new infrastructure investment. 

However, experience across both the public and private sectors shows that successful carpooling schemes depend on more than technology alone. Uptake is typically strongest where schemes are clearly communicated, supported by leadership and integrated into wider transport and parking strategies over time.  

The growing importance of transport data

Better Connected arrives alongside the Department for Transport’s wider focus on improving how transport data is collected, shared and used across the sector. 

For local authorities, combined authorities and Mayoral Strategic Authorities, greater access to transport and commuting data can provide a more accurate picture of how people travel and where investment is likely to have the greatest impact. This creates an opportunity to move away from assumptions and make decisions based on real commuting patterns, travel behaviours and practical opportunities for change. 

Understanding where journeys originate, which sustainable travel options are realistic for different communities, and where efforts are successfully reducing reliance on single-occupancy vehicles can help authorities make more informed choices about future transport priorities. It also provides a stronger evidence base for assessing the impact of investment on key objectives such as reducing congestion, lowering emissions and improving access to jobs and services. 

Turning national ambition into local delivery

The focus now is on delivery: using data and evidence to target investment where it will have the greatest impact, improving access to sustainable transport options, and demonstrating measurable progress against environmental, social and economic objectives. 

The publication of Better Connected marks an important step in the evolution of transport policy. The focus now shifts to delivery: understanding how people travel, identifying where the greatest opportunities for change exist, and creating transport systems that are better connected, more sustainable and fit for the needs of local communities. 

For local authorities, combined authorities and emerging Mayoral Strategic Authorities, this reinforces the importance of understanding how people travel, identifying underused transport capacity and creating the conditions that support long-term behaviour change. 

At Mobilityways, we work with local authorities and combined authorities to help build that understanding. Through climate tech and consultancy support, we help organisations measure, reduce and report commuter emissions, identify opportunities for sustainable travel, and turn transport ambitions into practical, measurable outcomes. 

As Better Connected moves from strategy to delivery, access to robust commuter data and evidence-led behaviour change programmes will become increasingly important in helping authorities reduce emissions, improve connectivity and support zero carbon commuting.