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Improving quality of life and enabling economic growth

The South East is a powerful driver of the UK economy and the nation’s major international gateway for people and businesses. Transport for the South East’s ambition is not just to improve but to transform the quality of transport for the South East’s residents, businesses and visitors.

Why the South East needs strategic investment

The South East is already a powerful motor for national prosperity, adding more than £200 billion a year to the UK economy – more than Scotland and Wales combined. Our transport network is nationally and internationally significant: it takes in the country’s two biggest airports, many of its busiest motorways, a string of major ports and crucial railway links to London, the rest of Britain and to mainland Europe. Pressure on this network means it needs innovation, insight and investment for the South East to continue to flourish.

Our work

7.6 million people in the South East
368,000 businesses
£228 billion gross value added to the UK economy

Where we want to be

By 2050 the South East will be the world’s leading region for sustainable economic growth. Our mission is to provide a clean, safe, seamless transport system to better connect our lives and our businesses while protecting the environment. That will mean more jobs, more opportunities to trade in the global marketplace and a better quality of life for everyone.

£300 billion boost to the economy
500,000 new jobs
Net zero carbon emissions


A key objective of our partnership is to better integrate the work that’s taking place across the South East needed to create thriving, productive and sustainable communities.

Places where people want to live, work and spend time.


That means thinking in a joined-up way about how we plan and deliver not just housing and transport but also schools, shops, leisure facilities and healthcare. If these key elements aren’t considered together – for example, by building new housing without adequate public transport links or active travel infrastructure – we make it much harder to reach our goal.

In much of our region, responsibility for planning and delivering these different elements is split between different tiers of government. By working more closely together through Transport for the South East, we can help create better, more sustainable places built around the needs of local people and businesses.

Latest news

Bus Back Better

Over the last 5 months Transport for the South East, England’s Economic Heartland and Transport E

Read more about Bus Back Better