The UK’s urban transport problem costs the economy more than £23 billion a year in lost economic activity. How best can we address this and is the solution simply to follow in London’s footsteps?
In large European cities, almost seven in ten people can reach their city centre in less than 30 minutes, compared to just four in ten in UK cities outside London. This poor urban transport makes our cities effectively smaller than their European counterparts, which hinders access to employment and education, and costs the UK more than £23 billion per year in lost economic activity.
So, how can we best address the UK’s urban transport problem, and is the solution simply to follow in London’s footsteps? Last month, Centre for Cities hosted speakers from the Great British Rail Transition Team (GBRTT), Transport for Greater Manchester and the University of Manchester, to discuss the interventions that could help improve transport connectivity in the UK.
Below are three key takeaways from the panellists that could help the UK cities bring their transport networks in line with their international counterparts.
Greater control of the network at the local level via the devolution of transport powers allows cities to integrate and reduce competition between modes, and to plan timetables and routes unrelated to demand.
The creation of the London Mayoralty was the “game-changing” factor that accelerated transport policy integration in London. Vernon Everitt, Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester and former Managing Director for Customers, Communication & Technology at Transport for London, highlighted London as an example of how devolved powers can be leveraged to improve existing networks. He cited integrated ticketing, hopper fares, service frequency and the daily fare cap as some of the interventions enabled by the establishment of a single institutional framework – the Mayoralty – that have transformed London’s network in recent decades. Greater Manchester is aiming to replicate these improvements using the powers now available to the combined authority, starting with bringing bus services back under local control from September 2023.
Devolution also supports strategic thinking. Elaine Seagriff, Director of Strategic Planning at the GBRTT, noted that other area should be able to benefit from the ability to create long-term transport strategies similar to those in London, Scotland and Wales.
Panellists also stressed the importance of local control for ensuring services are relevant to a range of users – by separating service provision from existing demand, cities are able to provide connections to amenities such as hospitals and colleges which may not otherwise be profitable routes. Professor Karen Lucas, University of Manchester, noted that these services are vital for communities with little access to private transport.
Although the panel highlighted London’s example, they recognised it as a starting point for leveraging local transport powers, they stressed that there is still room for improvement in the capital, particularly when it comes to revenue generation (point 2), and that cities must innovate according to their own circumstances. Demand-responsive transport, for example, plays a minor role in London’s bus network but is a central and in some cases profitable part of the network in some Welsh cities.
With ridership still below pre-covid levels, panellists challenged the prevailing assumption that passengers must cover the cost of public transport. Devolution is key here, too, as it allows cities to cross-subsidise and use diverse funding sources to support the network – London’s buses are subsidised by the city’s tube network and congestion charge.
The panel advocated for revenue generation mechanisms that go beyond ticketing and drew on examples far beyond London to make their case.
Countries such as Hong Kong and Japan rely on real estate investment around stations to generate additional revenue. For every pound collected from tickets, Hong Kong collects 60p from either property rental and management or commercial businesses based in stations. Greater Manchester aims to emulate and adapt this strategy by using station modernisation projects as a vehicle for private investment. The powers to do this were included in the region’s recent trailblazer devolution deal – a significant win in the eyes of Vernon Everitt.
Panellists also recognised that businesses and residents will have to play a role in revenue generation given the role of transport in enabling wider economic and environmental benefits, particularly access to a larger labour pool. Professor Karen Lucas referenced the French ‘Versement Transport’, a local payroll tax which accounts for 52% of all revenues for Paris’ public transport (2018). In the UK, Nottingham has already raised nearly £90 million over 10 years through its Workplace Parking Levy.
The low-rise built environment common in UK cities including London limits the number of people (potential passengers) that can live near public transport3, so it comes as no surprise that panellists argued for the need to join up planning and transport.
This means reforming the planning system to facilitate the shift to a mid-rise built form, particularly in well-connected suburbs, and making use of existing levers such as Local Development Orders to allow for the redevelopment of land around existing stations.
Panellists also returned to the importance of devolution. More control at the local level enables cities and combined authorities to align transport planning with wider spatial and economic plans, for example by ensuring that new housing or office developments are connected to the network and preventing peripheral developments where people will rely on cars for access to jobs and education.
Ultimately, making transport and planning work together requires brave policy decisions. As London’s ULEZ expansion shows, these involve walking a political tightrope. For policies such as these to have maximum impact on ridership, panellists were agreed that transport improvements must come first, making the need to improve through devolution and alternative funding mechanisms all the more pressing.
Andrew Carter and Vernon Everitt talk all things transport, focusing on funding challenges and how to boost ridership.
Guilherme Rodrigues outlines how the government can take action to achieve ‘London-style’ urban public transport networks across the UK.
Reflections from our 'In Conversation’ events last week with Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, and Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, on new trailblazer devolution deals announced in the Spring budget.
Researcher Tom Sells on how to reform the transport system to level up the UK's largest cities and towns.
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Robin Spragg
Raising funds for public transport by renting shops at stations is rather small beer!
Defining commercial precincts on land surrounding stations, a la Canary Wharf, would be more appropriate, especially with HS2 terminals in the planning stages.