DfT unveils Integrated National Transport Strategy to put ‘people first’ over next 10 years

The DfT has also put out a “call for ideas” from all types of transport users to inform the strategy.

Speaking at Leeds Civic Hall today, Thursday 28 November, Haigh outlined her vision for how government can support local areas “to make all forms of transport work together better”.

The strategy will aim to show how transport across England can evolve over the next 10 years so that more places more seamless journeys door-to-door.

To oversee this new vision, the department will be recruiting a new Integrated Transport Commissioner.

Using the successful Bee Network in Greater Manchester, which brings together bus, metro and active travel under one name, as an example, Haigh stated “the DfT is developing a strategy which will set the high-level direction for how transport should be designed, built and operated in England over the next 10 years”.

The DfT is also reforming its appraisal system so that projects deliver good value for money as well as the right outcomes, such as more jobs, improved access to education and healthier communities. These reforms include giving sufficient weight to transport projects that enhance access to jobs, boost productivity and help businesses grow, particularly in less affluent areas.

To support this, an internal panel of experts is also reviewing the Department’s capital spend portfolio, which was announced in July, to find ways of closing a £2.9bn funding gap for this year.

Today, Haigh further emphasised the important of using data in rural areas, where driving is a more practical choice, to manage traffic flows to help drivers easily find, and pay for, parking spaces. She outlined her intention to promote cycling and walking as the best choice for shorter journeys, and prioritising pavement repairs, safe crossing and cycle infrastructure where they are needed most.

Haigh and her team have looked to the French city of Dijon for inspiration, having visited it earlier this year to see how a city roughly the size of York or Chester is running buses every five minutes in rush hour, the tram every three minutes and has a dial-a-ride service to the outlying villages. Dijon has also created a single app that brings together every mode of transport, from bus to tram, car hire to bike hire, planning journeys to paying for parking.

To help the DfT create its strategy, it is now consulting people on their experiences of transport in England and what the department could do to make it better.

It wants to hear from people who use any form of transport, frontline transport workers (people who work in the transport industry) and companies and organisations that operate in the transport sector.

Regional roadshows will be hosted around the country to hear from local leaders, transport operators and passenger bodies as part of the consultation.

Haigh said: “Integrated transport in this country is lagging behind our European counterparts, and for too long our fragmented transport networks have stunted economic growth and made it harder for people to get around.

“Today, I’m launching a new national vision of transport that seamlessly joins all modes of transport together, and puts people at the heart of our transport system.

“I want everyone to be able to contribute to this vision and have launched a call for ideas on how the strategy can best deliver greater opportunity, healthier communities and better lives.”

Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin said: “A better integrated public transport system is vital to growing our economy.

“In West Yorkshire, I have big plans for a world-leading mass transit system that will be fully integrated with railways and a publicly controlled bus network, helping people to access new jobs and opportunities across the region.

“The secretary of state’s new Integrated National Transport Strategy will support me and other mayors to deliver on our ambition for better-connected and faster growing regions.”

Feedback on the development of the Integrated National Transport Strategy can be submitted here.

Transport and infrastructure bodies throw support behind vision

Many industry stakeholders have come out in support of Haigh’s vision for the future of constructing transport infrastructure in the UK.

Railway Industry Association (RIA) chief executive Darren Caplan, said: “RIA supports the government’s ambition to create a unified national vision for both the users and providers of transport services in the UK.

“Rail suppliers will play an important role in helping organisations like Network Rail and Transport for London, and Great British Railways when it is set up, deliver a better performing and more reliable service for customers, whether passengers or freight.

“A more integrated approach involving all mass transport modes is also an opportunity to set out a clear roadmap for rail investment, including of course for enhancement projects and long-term new and refurbished rolling stock pipelines.

“We now look forward to further detail of both the consultations and responses in due course.”

Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) interim associate director of policy David Hawkes said: “The ICE welcomes transport secretary Haigh’s vision-led approach to transport planning.

“The ICE has been calling for a people-centred strategy for some time, and the proposals described by Haigh align well with the institution’s recommendation to base a national transport strategy on clearly defined desired outcomes for the public.

“The opportunity for regional decision makers, such as Metro Mayors, and passengers of public transport to engage with the development of the strategy is welcome too – local knowledge is what makes the difference between transport that makes people’s lives better, and transport that doesn’t.

“An integrated strategy, well planned and executed, could help end the stop/start cycle of blinkered transport investment that is disconnected from wider social, economic, and environmental ambitions.”

Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT) chief executive Sue Percy said: “CIHT has consistently called for the need for there to be an Integrated National Transport Strategy and we welcome the government’s commitment to deliver on one.”

“CIHT has called for such a strategy to provide a clear framework of requirements for all elements of our transport system.

“This strategy should include the strategic and local highway networks, rail, aviation and maritime and set out how those networks integrate with one another by setting long-term direction that covers urgent and immediate priorities for all these key modes of transport.

“As part of an integrated transport strategy we believe there is a real need to improve the links between planning and transport – too often we build first and then think about transport infrastructure afterwards. Many of the early indications are that the thinking behind this is in line with what we outlined in our Transport Network Fit For All Our Futures’ and ‘Improving Local Highways’ reports.”

Consultancy agrees

Mott MacDonald further agrees with the need for the strategy, stating it is vital to address transport inequality across the UK.

Mott MacDonald transport development director for UK and Europe Thomas Knight said: “Today’s announcement is not only timely but essential – it’s been more than 25 years since the last integrated transport strategy was created.

“Communities need a reliable and joined up transport network across all of our towns and cities, that puts people first. By focusing on local leadership and integration, I believe this strategy can help ensure that transport services meet the diverse needs of all passengers.

“This new vision is crucial for addressing the disparities in transport quality across the country, ensuring that everyone, regardless of location, has access to reliable and efficient transport options.

“The great news is that there is precedent; integrated networks aren’t a new concept. In our recent report ‘Making Transport Fit for the Future’, jointly published with the London Transport Museum, we explored examples like Manchester’s Bee Network which showed how an integrated transport network can rapidly improve the customer experience.

“The government’s focus on delivering projects that provide good value for money and positive outcomes, such as job creation and improved access to education, is crucial. By prioritising investments that boost productivity and support business growth, particularly in less affluent areas, we can drive economic development and create healthier, more vibrant communities.

“You don’t have to look far from where the announcement was made in Leeds to see that quality integrated transport schemes, like the recently announced West Yorkshire Mass Transit programme, can be a catalyst for growth and opportunity.

“Integrating networks creates opportunities to upgrade existing technologies and introduce new ones. Enhanced real-time updates and seamless payment systems, for example, can make journeys more convenient and reliable, attracting more people to use public transport.

“We welcome the transport secretary’s call for ideas and look forward to contributing to this national vision. It is essential that we work together – local leaders, transport operators, the wider transport community and the public – to ensure that the strategy delivers greater opportunities, healthier communities and better lives for everyone.”

Climate campaigners also show support

Environmental organisations operating in the UK also agree with the need for an integrated transport strategy.

Greenpeace UK senior transport campaigner Paul Morozzo said: “With train travel so unreliable and eye-wateringly expensive, cuts to bus routes like they're going out of fashion, and trams non-existent in most of the towns and cities where they’re most needed, it’s clear that the wheels came off England’s public transport network years ago. It’s about time we put them back on.

“The transport secretary’s ‘vision’ sounds promising and the ambition to grow an integrated network of public transport across the country is clearly there. But ambition alone won’t make this a success, and it will require significant government investment.

“However, money invested in public transport will deliver bags of cash in return. And if the government wants growth, a better, more integrated public transport network is the best way to deliver it.”

Green Alliance policy adviser Rosie Allen said: “Better public transport means cleaner air, less congestion, and a liveable planet in the future, but we need to make it accessible and convenient for people.

“The government has a golden opportunity to join up public transport services and make people’s lives easier, as it brings passenger rail services together under the oversight of Great British Railways, and legislates to hand back control of bus services to communities.

“A joined up transport system will be cleaner, too: our analysis shows that aligning bus and train timetables could prevent as much pollution each year as taking 177,000 cars off the road.”

Five tests for Infrastructure Plan

Campaign group Transport Action Network further supports the need for the strategy, stating that the last government failed at trying to link different modes of transport but the campaign group stated there will be five tests to see “judge whether this strategy could make a real difference”.

The five tests are as follows:

1) Seek significant shift in how people and freight travel

2) Make integrated transport the better value option

3) Take funding out of the roads silo

4) Integrate different levels of government and transport

5) Integrate wider objectives not simply transport

In conclusion TAN said: “A credible integrated transport strategy is not just crucial for delivery of the DfT’s bus and rail reform agendas but all the government’s five missions.

“Yet Christmas will only come early for communities left stranded and desperate for integrated transport if ministers act decisively to shift funding out of roads silos into multi-modal regional budgets. The proof of the pudding for the new strategy will be how much investment shifts. If funding remains tied to past trends rather than a future vision, we won’t be able to move forward."

Earlier in the year, NCE interviewed Costain chief executive Alex Vaughn who stated a 10-year infrastructure investment plan was crucial for sector growth and the best thing the current government could do.

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