a b s t r a c tRural communities face a range of challenges associated with accessibility and connectivity which apply in both the physical and virtual sphere. Constraints in rural transport infrastructure and services are often compounded by limitations in the development and resilience of technological infrastructures. In this context there is significant disparity between urban and rural communities. This paper will examine the context for accessibility and connectivity in rural communities highlighting key transport and technology challenges. It also explores barriers and opportunities to bringing together transport and technology solutions to enhance rural accessibility and connectivity. This is an area where current understanding is weak as most research has been focussed on urban environments. The paper focuses specifically on two issues of current research; firstly, the role of information and associated technologies in supporting rural passengers on public transport, secondly, the use of technologies to support flexible and demand responsive transport services in rural areas.

Mobility is fundamentally important in enabling people to access services, which can deliver substantial benefits to people's quality of life. This is particularly important in rural areas where the range and extent of public transport services are, in general, significantly lower than in urban areas, and, indeed, below the level required to provide a level of service that is sufficiently high to enable people in rural areas without private cars to access these services. This paper looks at the role of governments in institutional, organisational, regulatory and financial frameworks in supporting rural transport services at a level that enables this access. A cluster analysis is performed to identify distinct classes of framework types across Europe In addition, the paper gives examples of good practice and innovation in rural transport from across Europe incorporating a variety of themes: the use of Information and Communications Technology, intermodal service coordination, demand-responsive transport, shared mobility and good governance. Key success factors for introducing, sustaining and transferring these forms of good practice are then discussed.

The continued urbanisation of the world's population generates pressures for the greater use of urban space. Where underground metro infrastructure is present within the urban environment, interfaces with private property at the surface and subsurface levels can raise issues from both engineering and legal perspectives. This paper introduces a conceptual framework for describing three principal interfaces identified as presence, property and protection. These three interfaces are interconnected and interdependent, each having three subinterfaces. The conceptual framework provides a way to determine these interfaces. The paper presents a proof-of-concept case study based on the Glasgow subway. It concludes that while the three overriding principal interfaces within the conceptual framework are applicable to any one metro system, not all subinterfaces may be.

No abstract

No abstract