Intro: A panel of experts discussed how we move UK transport from strategy, to delivery.
UK transport is going through a huge transformation.
Great British Railways (GBR) is uniting track and train under public control, bus franchising is giving local authorities more control of services, and devolution is putting more power in the hands of regions and cities.
On top of this, the Government’s newly published Better Connected strategy sets out the overall strategy for England: to create a more accessible, joined-up transport network.
To discuss what this means for operators, authorities and, most importantly, the passengers themselves, we invited a panel of experts to share their views on what it takes to move from strategy to delivery in a live webinar.
We heard real-world examples of where integrated transport has made huge differences to people’s lives. The discussion centred around three themes: building trust with passengers, designing a system around people, and how to make integration work in the real world.
1. Create a service people can rely on
Panellists were united in saying that integration only works if transport services themselves are strong. Passengers don’t care which authority looks after which bit of their bus or train journey. They just want to get where they need to go quickly, cheaply and easily.
People commuting, travelling to school or just popping to the shops and back need to know that their bus, train or tram will arrive when they need it and take them where they need to go.
Councillor Linda Woodings, who served as Executive Member for Regional Development, Growth and Transport, Nottingham City Council, shared her experience implementing real-time bus information. She told attendees that Nottingham’s bus usage is so high because people have confidence that the bus is coming. This is enabled in part by the high frequency of buses – every 7 to 10 minutes within the city centre, and every 10 to 20 minutes outside of it. Linda argued that having a good, frequent service where people know the service is going to run makes a difference to passenger numbers, with residents able to rely on the service to get around their city.
Andrew Summers, Chief Executive of Transport East, shared some eye-opening statistics that his organisation uncovered around rural mobility. Transport East surveyed 1,000 young people about the role public transport plays in their access to education, training or jobs. An astonishing 70% of respondents said the transport options available to them posed a barrier to them arriving on time and identified three top issues: the time journeys take, the cost, and timetables not matching their schedule.
2. Design transport around people, not vehicles
Another key point highlighted across the speakers was the need for a shift in mindset – away from simply moving vehicles, to focus on moving people.
Andrew explained Transport East’s development of an agent-based model for the East of England, which starts to map out people’s journeys throughout the day, allowing the planning of a transport system around people and the activities they want to do.
Better Connected recognises this challenge by focusing on whole journeys, not individual modes of transport. But delivering this in practice means truly understanding how people travel day to day.
3. Collaboration is hard, but the end result is worth it
Making integration work between operators is not straightforward.
Jeremy Mandell, Principal Solutions Architect at Cubic Transportation Systems, said it was important for suppliers to come to the table in “listening mode” and support regions to create a long-term, sustainable system. This enables suppliers to provide devolved authorities with the solution that is most appropriate for them and their riders.
Throughout the webinar, panellists agreed that strategy is important, but delivery is going to depend on local action, collaboration and a focus on how real people use public transport every day.
Integrated transport is not just about systems or technology. It is about building trust with the people who use it daily. If the transport sector can create a system that feels intuitive, accessible and easy to use, journeys will work better for everyone.