Well done us - we submitted our response to the Integrated National Transport Strategy a full two days before the deadline!

As part of our submission, we included the things that most transport professionals already know needs to be delivered, such as integrated ticketing systems, flexible longer-term funding for local transport authorities, separate rural transport policies… and taking the school run seriously (ok maybe not everyone gets that last one just yet). This presented us with a question: 

Why haven't these things been delivered over the last 20 years?

I think the roots of the issues lie deeper than technical solutions and budgetary pressures alone, and I want to highlight three recommendations which if addressed will go some way to providing the better sustainable transport outcomes we are all so invested in seeing:

1. Address the lack of innovation in sustainable travel: Walk into any meeting or conference centred around transport and there is often a noticeable lack of diversity in new ways of thinking. This feels even more of an issue in the sustainable travel sector where the bulk of public funding has continuously found it’s way to the same small handful of companies and charities, creating an uncompetitive environment that has blocked disruptive innovation to the detriment of the UK transport sector.
   

2. Discourage transport tribalism: It is important not to support or portray stereotypes that convey negative values to people based on the travel modes they have access to or are comfortable using, especially when evidence shows that this varies significantly across demographic and cultural lines. There should instead be empathy and understanding that not all travel options will be desirable, suitable and convenient for everyone across our diverse communities. We need to focus on how to make sustainable transport solutions more inclusive.
   

3. Ensure that sustainable transport solutions are designed with the ‘middle’ in mind: The loudest voices in transport consultations are often those at the extremes of travel behaviours. Like most things in life, the majority of people lie somewhere in the middle, and we must provide active and sustainable travel solutions that they will realistically adopt. The challenge is those people often do not feel passionately enough about transport to fill in consultations or surveys. This makes the use of accurate agent-based models and AI vital in understanding transport requirements and the realistic potential for modal shift.

There you have it, three impactful things we can do that won’t break the bank. What we know for certain, is that simply doing more of the same things will continue to fail at making a real impact – So radical thought, let’s try something different!

P.S. Here’s some transport innovation that’s on its way to you soon: https://www.ukri.org/news/transport-decarbonisation-demonstrator-winners-announced/