The Urban Transport Group has identified the challenges and solutions to be overcome to improve transport in the UK’s city regions.

Four key challenges and four solutions have been found, as well as what transport authorities need from the Government to implement these changes.

Stephen Edwards, chair of the Urban Transport Group and executive director of South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, said: “As transport authorities we are already investing heavily in maintaining and improving urban transport.

“However, there is much more that needs to be done if transport is to contribute effectively to meeting the many challenges that city regions face, from the climate crisis to public health challenges associated with a lack of physical activity.

“The right policies can help overcome these challenges – such as encouraging more active travel to improve air quality and health outcomes, and boosting the bus to support a host of opportunities for their users, such as access to employment, education and leisure.

“What we need from Government is to create the conditions for these to happen by handing more power to the places which run their transport networks, and through a new funding deal that is adequate and appropriate for such networks to flourish.”

Challenges:

• Climate change and air quality
• Inclusive growth
• Technological change
• Health and wellbeing

Solutions:

• Help people to make more short journeys on foot or by bike
• Get city regions back on the bus
• Boost rail capacity
• Harness the power of technological change

For this to happen, city regions will need to be able to take control of their own transport networks, including giving all transport authorities the right to franchise bus networks, oversee urban rail services, and operate more public transport services directly, where they wish to do so.

Its findings regarding the challenges and solutions will be debated at the Urban Transport Group’s upcoming party conference fringe meetings.

Speakers at the meeting include: Joanne Roney, chief executive for Manchester City Council and Polly Billington, director at UK100, while the Labour Party Conference event includes the Shadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald MP.

Also, Smart Transport takes place next week , and will bring senior public policy makers and influential private sector leaders to one place, to showcase real-time solutions to government policy