Five reasons why the new transport strategy must support National Park visitors

Published: 11 March 2025

The Department for Transport (DfT) has recently been asking for people’s views on what they could do to make transport better. The suggestions put forward will inform the development of a new Integrated National Transport Strategy which will shape how transport is designed and run in England over the next 10 years. It is essential that this new strategy takes full account of all the different types of travel that need to be provided for in both urban and rural areas. 

One aspect that has often been overlooked in the development of similar strategies in the past is the needs of visitors to rural areas where there are often very limited options for those without their own vehicles. This is a particular issue for areas such as Protected Landscapes which receive high numbers of visitors, and where high levels of car use can sometimes damage the very qualities which attract people to visiting these special areas in the first place. We need a transport system which ensures increased numbers of people can visit safely and sustainably in ways that also provide benefits to the local communities in these areas. 

Our response to DfT’s call for ideas focuses on the reasons why this new strategy needs to pay far more attention to the needs of visitors to National Parks and provides suggestions for the kind of initiatives the strategy should be supporting to provide for those visitors. 

The five main reasons we highlight are: 

1. This affects millions of people: National Parks are national assets which should be available for everyone to visit and enjoy, but the limited transport options currently mean it can often be hard to visit if you don’t have a car and that affects a significant proportion of the population. Nearly a quarter of households in England do not have access to a car and rely on public transport for most of their journeys and the numbers are even higher in many of the urban areas close to National Parks, for example, 39% of households in Manchester are carless. 
2. The environmental benefits of ensuring more people can visit car-free: Visitor travel currently accounts for nearly one third of the total carbon budgets for the UK’s National Parks and there are significant opportunities to reduce this. It is estimated that the GoLakes Travel Project in the Lake District saved over 41,000 tonnes of carbon as a result of reducing carbon emissions from visitor travel by around 8%. Reducing the number of people who travel to National Parks by car would also help reduce the associated impacts of noise pollution, light pollution, road danger and the blight and severance caused by high volumes of traffic.
3. The benefits to the local economy: National Parks England data shows that there are approximately 90 million visits to National Parks in England each year contributing more than £6 billion to the economy. Visitors who use public transport are more likely to spend money on food and drink locally and are more likely to pay for tourist attractions. Bus services are also important in terms of bringing employees of tourism businesses into National Parks from adjacent towns. Research published by DfT found that supported bus services generate between £2 and £2.50 in benefits to local communities for every £1 of local authority spend as a result of improved access to work and leisure activities and reduced road congestion and carbon emissions.
4. The benefits to individuals and society: Currently, many of those who might benefit the most from the health and well-being opportunities provided by National Parks are excluded from them due to the lack of affordable and available transport options. Demographic information collected as part of a survey of visitors to Dartmoor National Park in 2023 showed that those with longstanding health issues or disabilities were significantly under-represented among visitors to the National Park. There are more difficulties at weekends as public transport in National Parks is often at its most limited on Sundays and public holidays despite the likelihood of these being the most popular day for visiting.
5. There is a new legal requirement to do more to address this issue:  As a result of changes introduced in Section 245 of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act (LURA) 2023,  all public bodies making decisions which have implications for transport in Protected Landscapes must now consider how those decisions are helping to support the conservation of these areas and the recreation opportunities in them. This means that government departments, local highway authorities and other relevant bodies should be putting far more effort into providing a “joined-up” transport network in these areas. 

The initiatives that we’re calling on DfT to support through this strategy range from safe, attractive cycling and walking routes and better integration between bus and rail services to the piloting of innovative solutions using new technologies such as demand responsive services. We also want National Park Authorities to have a stronger influence over the transport provision in their area. There are further details of everything we’re calling for in our full response which is here.