A January Update from the TPS Chair

Happy New Year.

Some might say it hasn’t been the most auspicious start to a new year.  

Following his inauguration as the 47th US President, Donald Trump issued a blizzard of Executive Orders, which included exiting the USA from the Paris Climate Accord (for the second time), rowing back on President Biden’s investment in green technology and confirming his intent to “drill, baby, drill” to expand US oil and gas production. 

Meanwhile, catastrophic wildfires have decimated large parts of Los Angeles, destroying thousands of homes and other buildings and laying waste to entire communities.  The weather forecasting company AccuWeather has estimated that the total damage and economic loss of the catastrophe could be between $250 billion and $275 billion, with the company’s chief meteorologist calling it “one of the costliest wildfire disasters in modern U.S. history.”

And this is just the start.  The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries – not known as a radical or alarmist institution – issued a report on “Planetary Solvency”.  This projects that by the end of this century, Climate Change could lead to between 2 and 4 billion deaths, a 25-50% reduction in global GDP, major extinction events and “severe socio-political fragmentation” (i.e. state failure). 

The juxtaposition of these three events could leave one feeling a bit gloomy about humanity’s prospects.  But action is the best antidote for despair, so it is critical that the TPS re-doubles its efforts to work with like-minded organisations to help bring about a sustainable and decarbonised transport system.   Getting involved in the current engagement on the Government’s proposed Integrated National Transport Strategy is one way we will be doing this.  I would urge TPS members to submit comments to the INTS consultation.  

As part of our input to the INTS process, the TPS will be hosting a session on transport integration at the forthcoming Interchange conference in Manchester.  Our session is from 1545-1700 on Tuesday 4 March, which is the first day of Interchange.  It is titled “Joined up government anyone? – what should the forthcoming Integrated National Transport Strategy be integrating with what?”.  The session will explore how integrated the new Strategy could turn out to be.   Interchange is free to attend and brings together people from the public and private sectors across transport, energy and technology. I hope to see you there!

The TPS Board has continued its work developing the organisation. The Board’s January meeting agreed to commission a project to develop a new operating model for the TPS.  Over the next 6 months, we will analyse how the Society currently delivers its programmes and what the options might be for delivering them in new and more impactful ways.  

As some of you may have heard, I have recently been appointed as CEO of the Campaign for Better Transport (CfBT).  This is a very exciting opportunity for me to take forward the sustainable transport agenda that so many of us share.  At the same time, I am very keen to continue serving TPS in any way that I can.  Having discussed the issue, the Board reached the view that this new role could create a conflict of interest for the Society, for example in terms of public comment on transport policy.  We have therefore agreed that while my name will go forward to continue as Chair to the AGM in March, I should resign as Chair within 6 months of the AGM, subject to finding a successor.  

Nominations for TPS Chair will be sought from the membership, with a view to appointing a new Chair in time for me to hand over the role by September 2025.  TPS Company Secretary Kieran Seale will lead this process and will provide more information in this Newsletter.

Meanwhile, I look forward to continue working with you and the TPS Board on helping to bring about better transport for all. 

Message from Company Secretary about TPS Chair

Following on from Ben’s message, I want to give an update on the process for choosing the next Chair of TPS.  The Board has given some consideration to what process we should follow.  We want to be as open as possible about the process, while understanding that the commitment involved will be something that a relatively small number of people will be in a position to take on.  We also want to allow for a good transition, particularly if the new Chair comes from outside the current Board membership.

Our proposed process is as follows (although we may seek to speed it up a little, depending on interest):

1)   Late January –give TPS members formal notice that there will be a vacancy for Chair and invite people to express interest.  A job description will be made available.

2)   March – the Board is proposing to the AGM that Ben Plowden's term as Chair is extended for a third year, with the intention of him serving up to September 2025.

3)  March/April – an opportunity for potential Chair candidates to discuss the role .

4)  May - nominations submitted for Chair-elect.

5)  June - election held for Chair-elect.

6)  June - the Chair-elect is co-opted to the Board and attends the July Board meeting.

7)  September - the new Chair takes over at the end of the September Board meeting.

If you have any questions about this process, or are interested in standing, do let me know.