Funding

As the network of transport authorities serving the largest city regions in England, we worked together to keep the wheels of public transport turning during the lockdown so that key workers could get to where they needed to be.

With the release from national lockdown we have ramped up public transport, and prioritised cycling and walking, to support a green and just recovery.

In this paper we set out how, with the right policy framework from Government, we can meet that challenge.

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. 

On launching the report, Stephen Edwards, Chair of the Urban Transport Group and Executive Director of South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, said: "There is much more that needs to be done if transport is to contribute effectively to meeting the many challenges that city regions face, from the climate crisis to public health challenges associated with a lack of physical activity. The right policies can help overcome these challenges."

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.

These include further devolution of rail services; greater funding for buses; reform of taxi and Private Hire Vehicle legislation; an ambitious strategy to encourage more cycling and walking; a long term investment plan for urban rail services; and a visionary national policy framework on air quality.

Our report, Banks, bytes and bikes: The transport priorities of the new economy, highlights how transport needs in urban areas are changing amid the growth of the so-called “flat white economy”.

It sets out how this new economy is already a major driver of the wider UK economy, and how business sectors such as communications, media and information increasingly favour urban locations with good quality of place, as well as good access on foot, by bike and by public transport.

The report challenges monolithic views of what business wants on transport in favour of a more nuanced perspective which recognises that there is a new economy with new perspectives on transport priorities.