Transport in rural Britain is not working and letting people down, according to a report published jointly by Transport 2000, the Countryside Agency and Citizens Advice.

It finds that public transport and opportunities for walking and cycling are largely poor and disjointed with a lack of overall control over how different transport threads come together in a particular area.

Forum Response: Countryside Agency

Richard Wakeford, chief executive of the Countryside Agency, said: "In recent years more attention has been paid to how to improve transport services in rural areas.

"Through programmes such as the Rural Transport Partnership Scheme, we have been working hard to demonstrate new ways of providing more flexible and responsive transport to meet people's needs, not just for those who live in the countryside but for visitors too.

"However, there is still much to be done and we can learn from the good practice in other European countries."

Forum Response: Countryside Alliance

Richard Burge, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, told ePolitix.com: "It has been clear for many years that the rural transport infrastructure is in a dire state and this report is extremely helpful, both in raising the profile of the problem and in suggesting ways forward.

"I accept that many of the transport infrastructures in continental Europe are vastly superior to our networks at both local and national level, but we must be careful not to emulate such systems as they fail to take into account the unique cultural fabric of Britain, added to the fact that countries in Europe actually value the people who live in rural areas and treat them equally with the rest of the population - not as second class citizens who are deprived of even the most basic services as is the case in the UK.

"What we want to see now is a survey of the needs and wants of the rural community so that funding is not misdirected into what the government believes is best, but channelled into what is really needed. Consulting the rural community on issues which directly affect them is crucial - consult the countryside, and then act accordingly."