Better Transport Week 2025: Driving Innovation to Connect Communities

Every June, Better Transport Week shines a spotlight on how sustainable, accessible transport connects communities and brings people together. 

Alongside our partners, the Catapult fosters cutting-edge, innovative projects that improve mobility, reduce emissions, and enhance sustainable and accessible transport solutions that uplift the quality of life across the UK. 

We believe that strong local innovation economies – including the transport systems that connect them – can drive regional growth and create more equitable opportunities for those communities. 

Below we highlight some examples of our work, and how they support the aims of Better Transport Week. 

TRIG: Innovation helping communities 

The Department for Transport’s Transport Research and Innovation Grants (TRIG) programme, delivered by the Catapult, supports innovators and academics with bold ideas to improve the UK’s transport systems. 

Over the past decade, TRIG has backed more than 434 projects with £15.6 million in funding, bridging the early stage, proof-of-concept funding gap in transport innovation, where small investments can de-risk emerging solutions.  

Here are some projects that received grants through the TRIG programme which illustrate how ground-up innovation strengthens communities: 

• Edge Innovation’s 'Car Club in a Box' – Founded by Susan Ross, this volunteer-led rural car-sharing model lets villagers share electric cars for errands and hospital visits. TRIG funding is now helping package this community-centric model for other villages – complete with booking software, charging-point advice and insurance guidance.  

• RideTandem – A tech-enabled rural commuting service, RideTandem has created a system that enables passengers to book bus trips via their smartphone and meet them at central pick-up points, making out-of-town jobs accessible. Over five years it has delivered more than two million journeys while cutting over 16,000 tonnes of CO₂. The support from TRIG has accelerated plans to scale up and helped to connect even more communities across the UK. 

• Rock Engineering’s 'Rock Climber' electric wheelchair – An off-road wheelchair prototype, designed to enable those with limited or no mobility to climb curbs and tackle rugged terrain, without leaving their wheelchair. Rock Engineering leveraged TRIG support to design and build a prototype with superior range and performance, pushing the boundaries of accessible mobility and giving users freedom to visit friends, get to work or explore nature trails that would otherwise be unreachable. 

Each of these TRIG projects shows how focused funding and creativity can turn transport ideas into practical community solutions that also cut carbon and boost inclusion. 

The Rural Transport Accelerator Fund

Rural areas face acute transport challenges. Infrequent buses, long distances and car-dependency can isolate residents. To address these challenges, the Rural Transport Accelerator Fund (RTAF) has awarded £1.2m across eight innovative projects. The goal is to trial new ideas that better link rural people to work, shops and healthcare, using the latest data and technology. Some examples include: 

• UrbanTide – uMove Rural – UrbanTide, in partnership with transport authority SEStrans and NHS Scotland Assure, is using its grant to build uMove Rural, which combines public transport schedules, road network data and NHS patient data to create a map of hospital journey times and highlight barriers for rural patients. In a pilot in Fife, it will show where long waits, poor connections or sparse services prevent people reaching healthcare. By shining a spotlight on these hidden gaps, uMove Rural will help health planners and councils design better transport solutions; potentially saving lives and NHS funds. This project exemplifies how innovation and data sharing can bridge the rural divide by targeting real needs. 

• You.Smart.Thing – AI Travel Marketplace – This Welsh start-up is using its funding to deploy an AI-driven ‘travel assistant’ in rural Warwickshire. The platform will predict demand and match travellers with shared buses or taxis. By dynamically pooling rides, it aims to reduce empty seats on buses and give car-less residents more options. Like other RTAF projects, it will trial a real solution, in a real community, testing how AI can make on-demand rural mobility practical and affordable. 

Together, these initiatives and others funded through the programme show how strategic investment can boost jobs and support local economies in the countryside, while helping to better connect communities in an accessible and more sustainable manner. 

Accessibility and the Future of Mobility 

As identified in Motability’s ‘The Transport Accessibility Gap’ report – published in March 2022 – the transport accessibility gap in the UK stands at 38%. This means disabled people (as defined under the Equality Act 2010) take 38% fewer trips than non-disabled people. 

Making transport more accessible to everyone is critical to connecting individuals and communities, as improved accessibility improves access for everyone, whether passengers or services users have additional needs or not. 

To further improve accessible transport, we are proud to deliver two unique programmes: the Future of Air Mobility Accelerator and the National Centre for Accessible Transport Scaling Innovation Programme. Both are centred on discovering solutions that make travel easier for all. Here are three examples of projects supported by the programmes: 

• WeWALK’s ‘smart cane’ – WeWALK has developed a high-tech ‘smart cane’ for visually impaired travellers. Featuring sensors and audio cues, it not only detects ground obstacles but also guides users along routes. Through the Future of Air Mobility Accelerator, WeWALK tested its cane at Gatwick Airport, where volunteers used it to navigate from the station to the check-in gate. 

• Bristol Braille’s ‘Canute Console’ braille maps: UK startup Bristol Braille Technology is creating interactive tactile maps of public transport networks using the Canute Console electronic braille display. These maps let blind passengers touch a bus or train network and read it in braille, vastly improving their ability to plan journeys. 

• Virtual Tour Experts: Immersive Exmouth Virtual Tours – In Exmouth, Devon, a new browser-based Virtual Accessibility System for Transport is under development by The Virtual Tour Experts. It provides 360° web tours of transport hubs and town centres with built-in accessibility features. Crucially, it requires no app – just a web browser – so locals and tourists can scan QR codes at bus stops or stations for instant, location-specific guidance. 

By plugging into funding opportunities like NCAT and the Future of Air Mobility, companies like WeWALK, Virtual Tour Experts and Bristol Braille are turning the dream of a fully inclusive transport system into tangible reality. 

From rural car-share clubs to smart canes and braille station maps, these projects prove that bold ideas in transport can truly connect and uplift communities. This Better Transport Week, let’s celebrate the power of these innovations to bring us closer together. 

You can support the cause by spreading the word about sustainable, accessible transport and by joining local Better Transport Week events. Together, we can help to build a better-connected future where everyone can travel freely and live well, no matter where they live.