Trusts and Foundations

The generosity of trusts and foundations makes the work of Campaign for Better Transport possible.

In 2023 we received a transformative grant from the Foundation for Integrated Transport. This enabled us to grow our charity, make a step change in our influencing, and increase our work with local authorities.

Generous support from a number of other trusts and foundations enables us to advocate impactfully for better transport and a greener, fairer future. We are extremely grateful for support from the following organisations.

Why transport?

Transport touches all of our lives. It affects our life chances, our connections to others, the air that we breathe and the future of our planet.

Standing at the intersection of environmental protection and social justice, health and wellbeing, transport is key to solving some of the most pressing issues of our time.

By supporting Campaign for Better Transport, here are some of the things that trusts and foundations are contributing to:

• Boosting social equity

When transport is infrequent, inaccessible, too expensive or non-existent, people struggle to access jobs, education, and vital sources of support.

This can impact particularly on young people and older people, people with disabilities, those in rural areas and those on low incomes. Forty per cent of households in the lowest income quintile rely fully on public transport and active travel to get around.

By improving transport, reconnecting communities and making fares affordable – as in our successful campaigns for a £2 cap on bus fares and to save London’s Day Travelcard – we can make society fairer and more inclusive.

• Protecting the environment

In the UK, transport emits more greenhouse gases than any other sector, of which 60 per cent comes from cars. Cars also create brake dust and type particulates, which damage our soil and waterways. But as the climate emergency and biodiversity crises escalate, the need to address transport is often overlooked. The Environmental Funders Network has identified transport as a ‘Cinderella issue’, in need of more attention from funders, given its impact on the environment.

Reducing emissions from transport need not involve reinventing the wheel. With the right policies in place, public and shared transport, walking and cycling, can take us to a greener future. For instance, when regular passenger trains were restored to the Dartmoor Line for the first time in nearly 50 years, more than 250,000 journeys were made on the line in a year – more than double the forecast.

• Healthier, happier communities

Traffic impacts on the places we live and the air that we breathe. Air pollution causes up to 36,000 early deaths in the UK every year. And traffic-filled streets make it hard for people to walk and cycle, and for children to play outside.

What’s more, when there’s no decent public transport, it’s hard for many people to access medical appointments. And a lack of transport is bad for mental health and wellbeing too, leaving people lonely and isolated.

Better transport means healthier, happier lives, and that’s what we are striving for, through our work with the Healthy Air Coalition, and our work to protect public transport and improve the alternatives to driving. It’s not just about where you’re going, but who you meet on board: the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Loneliness has highlighted the importance of public transport as “a space in which people could connect”.

“For our community, public transport is essential. None of our participants drive and so they all rely on buses or trains to get to work, their daily activities, meet friends and socialise.”- Vic Hobson, from Hertford-based charity Mudlarks, which supports people with learning disabilities and mental health concerns.

About Campaign for Better Transport

Campaign for Better Transport is the charity working for a brighter transport future – one that is greener and fairer, that connects people rather than leaving them behind, that gives us clean air to breathe and a planet fit for the next generation.

Our work over more than 50 years has ensured that sustainability is a key consideration in transport policy. Recently, we have campaigned successfully for a £2 cap on bus fares, and for Government support to help bus services survive the pandemic. We are helping to get disused rail lines reopened, and we’ve saved the London Day Travelcard.

But of course, there is much still to do. Too many communities lack decent, affordable transport connections, and carbon emissions and air pollution from transport remain much too high.

Talk to us about supporting our work

If you represent a trust or foundation and would like to find out more about supporting Campaign for Better Transport, contact sarah.hopewell@bettertransport.org.uk.