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Funding

There needs to be longer term and enhanced capital and revenue funding for transport in urban areas if our city regions are to have modern and effective transport networks capable of supporting their economies in a sustainable way.

Find out more about the funding challenges urban transport faces and the case for how best they can be resolved.

Resources for this topic

View documents, reports and other material.

Report

Urban Public Transport Funding - Options for Reform

This report, produced by consultants Steer for the Urban Transport Group, explores the options for reforming local public transport funding.

The report also considers the implications of ending covid-related bus funding in April 2023, warning that bus services could be reduced and fares increased as a result.

Read more about Urban Public Transport Funding - Options for Reform Download file

Report

Continuing COVID Funding Support for Urban Public Transport

This report finds that if Government’s Covid-related financial support to urban public transport outside London ends (in March 2022), buses would soon be less frequent and more expensive, and patronage would be substantially lower than pre-Covid levels, potentially up to 30% lower.
Read more about Continuing COVID Funding Support for Urban Public Transport Download file

Report

Leading Light: What Light Rail can do for City Regions

This report, produced by Steer for the Urban Transport Group, shows how Britain’s light rail systems have supported economic growth in the areas that they serve, promoted social inclusion and led to environmental gain, including a reduction in carbon emissions.
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Report

Back the Bus to Level Up

This report makes the case for bus revenue funding and reform of how it is provided. It aims to arrive at a realistic assessment of the revenue funding that will be needed to support the ambitious transformation in bus services envisaged by the National Bus Strategy.
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Report

The Local Transport Lottery - The costs and inefficiencies of funding local transport through ad hoc competitions

This report takes an in-depth look at the implications of an excessive reliance on competition funding for urban transport projects.

The research shows how such a reliance impacts local authorities’ ability to deliver value for money and places pressure on authorities and their staff. 

Read more about The Local Transport Lottery - The costs and inefficiencies of funding local transport through ad hoc competitions Download file

Report

What next for urban transport?

This report - published to coincide with the 2019 Autumn Party Conferences - identifies four urban transport challenges and four solutions needed to overcome them.

It also details what transport authorities need from Government to bring about these changes. 

Read more about What next for urban transport? Download file

Report

The cross-sector benefits of backing the bus

This report highlights how investing in bus services is key to achieving a wide range of policy objectives across Government. 

The report also finds that the way in which bus services are funded is mired in complexity, with no oversight within Whitehall of how the various funding streams from different Government departments impact on bus services overall.

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Report

Policy futures for urban transport

The latest edition of Policy futures for urban transport emphasises how a new deal on funding and powers is essential to keep the UK's cities moving forward.

The report sets out the 10 key policy changes that are needed to make cities healthier, fairer and more prosperous.

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Report

Policy Futures

Policy futures for urban transport sets out how, with more focused governance in place, the city regions are delivering major investment programmes including on public transport, highways and active travel, and smart ticketing. The report says that - with the right national policy framework - further and faster progress can be made, including:

Read more about Policy Futures Download file

Report

Horizon scan of implications of technological and social change

This report aims to provide decision makers with a guide to the implications for urban transport of transformative social and technological change and how they can best respond. 

The report (which was produced in collaboration with Arup Foresight) identifies four key overarching trends: 

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Report

Destination Growth: the case for Britain's regional railways

This report sets out the success of regional rail over the past decade and a half despite limited investment when compared to other rail sectors. The report then goes on to develop two hypothetical scenarios to demonstrate how investment in regional rail could deliver even greater benefits, significantly reducing subsidy and growing the benefits delivered to our city region economies. 

Read more about Destination Growth: the case for Britain's regional railways Download file

Report

Revenue vs Capital Mismatch

The next few years will see an upward trend in local transport capital grant funding from central government, supported by a wide-ranging consensus about the contribution of local transport networks to economic growth. In contrast, Local Authorities have seen a sustained decline in resource funding, driven by deep cuts to the Department for Communities and Local Government‟s (DCLG) budget.

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Report

Transport Works for growth and jobs

This report summarises some of the latest academic research which shows the importance of agglomeration economies (the way in which high value sectors of the economy cluster together in cities) in driving wider national economies. It also shows that these urban clusters cannot develop to their full potential without high quality and efficient transport networks.

Read more about Transport Works for growth and jobs Download file

Report

LSTF Monitoring and Evaluation Guidance - Final Report

Building on the work of the Department for Transport, pteg commissioned AECOM to prepare additional guidance for PTEs and other Local Transport Authorities to assist in the monitoring and evaluation of Local Sustainable Transport Fund projects. The guidance provides a practical approach to developing cost effective and affordable monitoring and evaluation programmes.

Read more about LSTF Monitoring and Evaluation Guidance - Final Report Download file

Report

Transport works: the case for investing in the city regions

This document outlines the case for continued investment in urban local transport through the recession and beyond. Investing in better transport has been an important part of the stimulus package implemented by government in order to support key sectors of the economy through the recession.

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Press release

Nearly one in three urban bus trips – some 300 million journeys - could be lost without further financial support from Government, report warns

The number of bus passengers in city regions outside London could be up to 30% lower than before the pandemic – a “similar magnitude” to the direct impact which COVID-19 itself has had on demand - if the Government does not extend its financial support for the bus. 
Read more about Nearly one in three urban bus trips – some 300 million journeys - could be lost without further financial support from Government, report warns

Press release

New report makes case for spending review to back the bus

A new report by the Urban Transport Group has shown that the Spending Review will need to make significantly more funding available for bus if the aspirations of the national bus strategy, and the Government’s wider levelling up agenda, are to be to met.
Read more about New report makes case for spending review to back the bus

Press release

Report paints stark picture for future of bus and tram services without continued Government COVID-19 support

The future of local public transport services is at serious risk - including the potential for deep cuts to bus services and the temporary closure of light rail systems - without continued COVID-19 financial support from Government, according to a new report. 
Read more about Report paints stark picture for future of bus and tram services without continued Government COVID-19 support

Press release

Excessive use of competition funding for urban transport projects is inefficient and costly, report reveals

Excessive reliance by Government on short-term competition funding for the long-term task of transforming urban transport networks is inefficient and costly, according to a new report by the Urban Transport Group, the UK’s network of city region transport authorities.
Read more about Excessive use of competition funding for urban transport projects is inefficient and costly, report reveals

Press release

Urban Transport Group welcomes appointment of Rt. Hon. Sajid Javid MP as Chancellor and sets out city region transport priorities for Spending Review

The Urban Transport Group has today welcomed the appointment of Rt. Hon. Sajid Javid MP as Chancellor of the Exchequer, and set out its priorities for urban transport in the Government’s forthcoming Spending Review.
Read more about Urban Transport Group welcomes appointment of Rt. Hon. Sajid Javid MP as Chancellor and sets out city region transport priorities for Spending Review

Press release

Changing travel habits in UK’s cities revealed in new data report

Fewer commutes per person, reduced car use in major urban centres and rapidly falling bus patronage – these are just some of the transport trends taking place in the UK’s biggest cities and city regions, as identified in the Urban Transport Group’s latest data report.
Read more about Changing travel habits in UK’s cities revealed in new data report

Press release

National Infrastructure Commission is right to make devolved transport funding for cities a key test for Government’s future infrastructure plan

The National Infrastructure Commission’s call for Government to make devolved funding for urban transport to cities a key test of the Government’s forthcoming National Infrastructure Strategy is hugely welcome, says the Urban Transport Group.
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Press release

Climate advisors’ ‘clear route map’ for tackling transport emissions welcomed by city region transport authorities

The Urban Transport Group - the UK's network of city region transport authorities - has today welcomed the Committee on Climate Change’s new advice for Government to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050, and specifically its recommendations for the transport sector.
Read more about Climate advisors’ ‘clear route map’ for tackling transport emissions welcomed by city region transport authorities

Press release

Urban Transport Group welcomes National Infrastructure Commission call for long term stability for urban transport funding

The Urban Transport Group has welcomed the first ever National Infrastructure Assessment, published by the National Infrastructure Commission, for offering what it called a “powerful endorsement” of the case for investing more in transport within cities.
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Press release

UTG welcomes funding focus on cities

Jonathan Bray, Director of the Urban Transport Group, said: 'We welcome the focus of this funding announcement on the importance of investing in transport in cities and city regions'
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Press release

UK's largest urban transport authorities set out vision for future of transport in the city regions

Following on from the EU referendum, the formation of a new Government and with the start of the party conference season, the Urban Transport Group has set out a vision for how UK transport policy could unfold in a way that will enable the nation’s largest urban areas to deliver inclusive growth in a smart and sustainable way.

Read more about UK's largest urban transport authorities set out vision for future of transport in the city regions

Briefing

The threat to public transport in the city regions

Urban public transport is in danger of entering a new period of retrenchment and decline, following on from years of decline in bus services outside London and the body blow of Covid-19 pandemic. To avoid this, we set out what needs to happen.

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Briefing

COVID19 funding challenges on urban transport

Government has put in place emergency funding packages to allow public transport to be maintained during the pandemic. This funding has been welcome as it closes the gap between the costs of providing local public transport and the revenue gap created by much lower levels of patronage than normal. However these various funding packages are nearing ‘cliff edge’ end dates
Read more about COVID19 funding challenges on urban transport Download file

Briefing

Doing more for less - How working together on transport cuts costs and saves time

The Urban Transport Group brings together and promotes the interests of Britain’s largest urban areas on transport. Through working together as a network, we help to save time and money for our members by doing things once and collaboratively – rather than separately and expensively. Saving significant costs for our members is just one benefit of being part of our organisation.

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Briefing

Policy Futures - Seamless public transport

This policy futures paper highlights the growing appetite for giving larger cities outside London more of the benefits that London enjoys on public transport, and brings together the ideas from the other policy futures papers.

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Briefing

HMT 2013 Spending Review: transport number crunch

Briefing analysing what the 2013 Spending Review means for transport. It takes a closer look at the overall funding envelope for the UK government and the Department for Transport and how this has evolved, before looking at the balance between resource/revenue and capital budgets and the specific challenges facing local transport over the next couple of years.

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Briefing

Transport number crunch

In this briefing we seek to place the 2011 and 2012 Autumn Statements in the context of other major changes in transport funding that have taken place since May 2010, analysing the implications for local transport.

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Briefing

Concessionary Travel: The funding timebomb for PTEs

The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme has been highly successful in giving older and disabled people the freedom of free off‐peak bus travel. But the costs of the scheme are rising fast whilst funding is falling. This financial ‘timebomb’ will lead to severe cuts in other frontline transport services unless a sustainable funding solution can be found.

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