Project Details

Project goal

To what extent do transport policies cause problems of social exclusion in Europe? How might transport policy be used as an instrument for greater inclusion and social cohesion in Europe? How might we better integrate social and transport policy making at the local, national and European levels?

There is an increasing demand for transport plans to meet social inclusion targets, and for social policy makers to recognise the important role of transport to maximise peoples' participation in social and economic life. However, there is currently an important gap in dialogue, in policy co-ordination and in the planning and assessment process between the two sectors transport and social affairs.

MATISSE aimed to increase the understanding of the relationship between transport and social exclusion, and produced a package of advice and decision-support tools for transport and social policy makers. In this way, MATISSE hopes to ensure in the future that transport and social policy develop an integrated perspective, building on the spirit of the open method of co-ordination encouraged by the European Commission.

Results

The MATISSE 'package' included:

• State-of-the-art review on the relationship of transport and social exclusion
• An evaluation framework to assess the current transport needs of socially excluded groups
• Advice on the development of integrated transport policy options to redress social exclusion, analyse expected policy impacts and set targets
• An evaluation framework for monitoring the effectiveness of measures introduced

The MATISSE package was validated against the practical requirements in Merseytravel (UK) and the National Action Plans to combat social exclusion.

Project partners

• Transport & Travel Research (TTR), Lichfield, United Kingdom
• Merseytravel, Liverpool, United Kingdom
• Rupprecht Consult GmbH, Cologne, Germany