Ten case studies comparing the public transport networks and urban form of UK and Western European cities
Many of the UK’s big cities lag far behind their European counterparts when it comes to providing access to quality public transport that connects residents to employment and education opportunities.
This is largely due to the low-rise built form of big UK cities, where reliance on terraced and semi-detached housing means there are fewer people living close to city centres.
In order to deliver European-style outcomes, expanding public transport systems in the UK must be paired with efforts to change the built form of cities, making it easier for people to live near and use public transport.
Building on existing research, Centre for Cities has produced ten unique, illustrative case studies that help to visualise the public transport connectivity challenges faced by large UK cities when compared with their Western European peers.
Major cities across the North are lagging behind their European counterparts in providing access to quality public transport networks, costing the Northern economy more than £16bn in lost productivity.
This report examines whether intra-urban public transport plays a role in the underperformance of big British cities and sets out the implications that transport has for the levelling up agenda.
Poor urban transport costs the UK more than £21 billion per year, with less than half of people in big cities outside London able to reach their city centre quickly using public transport networks
Senior Analyst Anthony Breach and Researcher Guilherme Rodrigues join Andrew Carter to discuss the main findings of their recent report comparing intra-urban public transport in the UK and Europe’s biggest cities.