The Future of Transport

Campaign for Better Transport’s vision for the transport network

2023 is a significant year for Campaign for Better Transport, being our fiftieth anniversary. When we were founded in 1973, the future for transport was not bright, with the looming threat of the largest road-building programme since Roman times and planned rail cuts threatening to surpass the impact of the Beeching cuts. It is a source of pride to us an organisation that we were able to help prevent those potentially calamitous plans and to have established ourselves since then as a widely respected and authoritative voice in guiding innovative transport policy

Michael Solomon Williams Campaigns Manager Campaign for Better Transport

development at all levels. Always incorporating the complete transport picture, our most recent report on the British public’s view of vehicle taxation reform has moved the issue of road user charging up the agenda, and this will now be integral to the future of transport, incorporated into a holistic vision with public transport at its heart.

Public transport provision by region acts as a useful indicator of wider inequality. While 25% of journeys in London are by car, the average elsewhere is around 75%, so we urgently need a truly bold vision for the future which ensures that public transport is not a minority pursuit. The future of transport must incorporate a significantly more equitable provision of public transport. One of our visions for the future of transport fifty years ago was a unified multimodal transport authority for London, and TfL now acts as a model not just nationwide, but worldwide, yet this is only just beginning to be replicated across the UK. The future therefore must have transport funding ringfenced for local authorities so that all regions benefit from integrated networks between train, tram, bus, shared transport and active travel.

Innovative technology must play a central role. Smart ticketing can enable multimodal contactless travel in all city regions, ensuring that public trust and confidence in the value of the service which is so integral to increasing ridership. Tech developers are ready to enable wholesale reform of rail fares and ticketing nationally which can ensure best value, flexibility, instant delay repay and loyalty schemes, so long-awaited modelling to show how capacity can be filled and more created – the right sort of induced demand! incorporated and local congestion charges and levies seamlessly linked into a national model. Car clubs and car rental will replace car ownership for many, offering new options for those currently without a car through their increasing availability. Scrappage schemes, with funds raised going directly back into public transport, will further ease congestion and enable all modes of transport to flow smoothly. fares and ticketing reform must herald a new era of trust, efficiency and expansion of public transport provision. Given access to data, capacity on rail, tram and bus can be managed to ensure that services are filled, passenger experiences positive, and intelligent transport tech innovators can lead the way to service expansion, using data mapping and

Real Time Information will reach such a level of sophistication that public transport will be easy to use and often more attractive than the alternatives. Bus services will be expanded, reducing social isolation and eliminating Transport Deserts . Buses, trams, taxis, cars and bicycles will flow smoothly at safe speeds, with traffic flow increasingly well managed. Trams and light rail will be revived and expanded beyond previous levels. Public transport will carry positive status associations for all ages and demographics, symbolising health, wealth and happiness, with more polluting and congesting forms of transport no longer carrying the associations of glamour and liberty which they enjoyed for decades.

Mobility as a Service will mean that complete multimodal journeys can be seamless and affordable, enabling easy interchange between all modes. Shared transport will play an important role in filling gaps and reducing car ownership, not supplanting public transport and active travel but ensuring a reduction in air pollution and congestion, with consequent improvements in personal and public health. Street space will be allocated such that cycling is safe and normalised. Rail freight will ease congestion and pollution, while local deliveries will be made by sustainable e-cargo bikes and e-vans, replacing congestion caused by deregulated deliveries, with wide expansion of carrier-agnostic local collection points encouraging active travel and reviving high streets and communities . We will see one of the biggest changes to transport in our lifetimes through comprehensive vehicle taxation reform enabling a smooth transition to electric vehicles, with smart per-mile road user charging

There will be a political paradigm shift, with the recognition that every taxpayer benefits from public transport. The language used will be of investment, not of subsidy, and government will be bold enough to embrace progressive examples of local transport funding which work worldwide such as the French ‘versement transport’ (also celebrating 50 years this year) a levy on employers which ensures that local public transport is consistently supported and resilient. A close equivalent in Nottingham has recently been transformational and this must be facilitated in all regions with government support.

Finally, one of the good news stories of this year is that rail travel has surpassed air on the Edinburgh-London route thanks to simple low-cost tickets, open access operators competing healthily with effective national operators, and frequent, easy to use services. In the future we must see this replicated across the country such that rail travel always beats domestic aviation. This will need to be replicated internationally, with high-speed routes and sleeper services ensuring that rail is always the first choice for travel across Europe. In summary, public transport will be more widespread, affordable, and frequent, active travel and shared transport will be integrated into a holistic model for the future of transport with smart technology at its heart, and people with vision, passion and expertise will, as they were fifty years ago, be the voices to whom industry and government turn for inspiration and guidance. This is our vision for the future of transport, and for a better, greener, fairer society. See you there!