Regional Transport Success Stories
Regional transport doesn’t necessarily receive the attention of major infrastructure upgrades, such as HS2 or Terminal 5, which, while important for the UK’s development, do not impact most people’s ability to travel for work or to socialise. This report aims to change that. The last decade and a half has been challenging, starting with the Financial Crash, through Covid and the Cost-of-Living Crisis, all against a background of low economic growth and stagnating productivity.
Despite these challenges, and often unnoticed in wider political discourse, major improvements have taken place across the sector, in many cases driven by newly empowered combined authorities (CAs), mayors and transport commissioners. These improvements have included linking ‘left behind’ communities with job opportunities, electrifying bus fleets, delivering the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in record time, launching night buses and improving customer experience through better use of data or building traditional infrastructure. This is an exciting time for the sector as the government seeks to revitalise the economy on a constrained budget and is increasingly looking to devolution and the local improvements it can bring to communities. The government’s December 24 white paper on devolution promises to “ignite growth in every region… (by ending) the ‘cap in hand approach’… where towns and cities are pitted against each other.”
This report is based on 14 interviews with regional transport leaders. They were asked, “What are you most proud of?” Responses covered a range of topics reflecting the passion people feel for their local areas and the ways in which they have innovated to deliver. We have taken these stories and developed them into six themes, to help shape discussion about success in the sector.
Charlotte M Warburton
