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Foreword

Corinne Mulley
Professor, Chair in Public Transport
Institute of Transport and Logistic Studies
University of Sydney Business School

I feel very privileged in being asked to write this Foreword. The stories in this book reveal the impact of life without transport and how it changes when transport enables more opportunity and access. Reading these stories is an education in how transport can make a difference.

As a teacher and researcher in the public transport area, I know that transport systems, all over the world, are not as inclusive as they should be. Individuals are affected differently by lack of transport and by the risk of exclusion and these stories make this abundantly clear. Too often, transport professionals see exclusion as a statistic and do not see the human cost.

What a difference a ride makes is relevant to all of us working in the public transport space whether as planners, local government, community transport providers, social support providers, volunteers, transport staff or funders of transport programs. It is a real reminder that our decisions have very real human consequences.

Mobility benefits more than the just the individuals themselves. It builds ever stronger communities in a positive cycle of inclusion. This is particularly resonant in the stories of David, Rhonda, Ojulu and Michelle. We are also reminded to ask ourselves why we are not doing the easy and small things that could make the lives of Michael and people like him, so much better.

The experiences re-told in this book – and so willingly shared by the participants – are a wake-up call to us all in the transport world. We must work harder to make transport make the difference.

Corinne Mulley
Professor, Chair in Public Transport
Institute of Transport and Logistic Studies
University of Sydney Business School

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