Setting up the journal of transport and health, a new cross-disciplinary journal

Abstract

The Journal of Transport and Health is a new journal, bringing together the impacts of transport on health and inequalities and the ways changes to transport policy and/or infrastructure affect these. It aims to: promote dialogue between the two research communities it serves; improve the quality of data and its appropriate use; and encourage transfer of research into practice. The first volume of four issues was published in 2014; it is already abstracted and indexed in SafetyLit, ERIH PLUS, TRID, the TRIS and ITRD Databases. A substantial achievement is that the Social Sciences Citation Index added the journal within the first year, from the first issue onwards, which is rare. Before the end of 2014, the journal had exceeded its target by 2015 for: numbers of manuscripts submitted; editorial decisions made; articles accepted for publication; and articles downloaded. Challenges have included recruiting sufficient reviewers; setting standards for acceptance of manuscripts; and editors’ time commitments. In 2014, articles were downloaded in 77 countries, and we received submissions from 27 countries. Despite the plethora of scientific journals, Journal of Transport and Health has obviously filled a gap in interdisciplinary research “whose time has come”, in a timely and attractive manner.