If You Can’t Get There, You’re Locked Out, and That Isn’t Fair

A transport system should connect people.

Too often, it cuts them off.

For over a decade, public transport was allowed to wither. Investment slowed. Services shrank. And across the country, including here in Hertfordshire, buses disappeared, trains became unreliable, and communities were left waiting.

This was not inevitable. It was a political choice.

The result? Lives constrained. A neighbour unable to visit family. A patient who cannot reach their GP. A carer who misses their shift. A teenager who turns down a weekend job because there’s no way to get there. Entire communities placed out of reach.

And it is rural areas that feel it most.

Getting across the county without a car should not feel like a marathon. But for too many in our towns and villages, that’s exactly what it is. Inaccessible. Infrequent. Increasingly unaffordable.

This is not just about infrastructure. It is about access, opportunity and independence. It is about whether people can take part in the community they live in.

The new government has set out its priorities. A long-term transport strategy. Rail reform. Better buses across the country. More powers for local authorities. A commitment to think about infrastructure and services together and to move fast and fix things.

That is welcome. What matters now is how those promises land, and whether they are shaped around local need, not just national ambition.

National plans can set the pace. But it is local leadership that brings them home.

That starts with rethinking what public transport is for.

Timetables should serve people, not profits.They should be built around real lives — when people work, when clinics are open, when children go to school. Not what is cheapest to run or most convenient for operators. That means reforming bus governance so decisions are made in the public interest, not the private interest. And it means bringing in fair, affordable, integrated fares that do not penalise rural or low-income residents just for needing to get around.

It means investing in mobility hubs and active travel corridors that let people move easily and safely. Across towns. Between villages. Within their own neighbourhoods. It means a joined-up transport system that connects you not just to a destination, but to your community.

This is how we build a Hertfordshire where everyone can live, work and care without having to own a car.

And that is the kind of leadership I believe in.

Because public transport is not a luxury.

It is a public good.

And no one should be locked out of opportunity simply because they cannot get there.