Chair's message - June 2024

General Election 

The main political parties have now published their election manifestos. There are some interesting common themes  - the need for further devolution of both funding and powers to the local decision-makers, priority given to investment in improved rail and bus services, the need to renew and maintain existing transport assets). But there are also some important differences - an explicit commitment to the next RIS in the Conservative manifesto, a Labour commitment to a “long-term transport strategy” and mode shift targets (in their Rail policy document). Writer and researcher Pete Dyson has helpfully posted the key transport commitments from the main party manifestos here and the TPS will shortly be publishing an analysis of the main party manifestos and how they match up to the TPS’s member-led transport manifesto.

Events 

The TPS held our first-ever Summer Reception on 19 June, courtesy of the generosity of Jacobs at their riverside offices in London Bridge. We had a great turnout and some excellent presentations from Sonya Byers and Shireen Ali-Khan from Women in Transport and Jenny Jones on the evening’s theme of “Celebrating Diversity and Inclusion in Transport Planning in Challenging Times”. We organised the reception as an experimental alternative to the traditional Annual Dinner. My favourite bit of the Dinner has always been the networking with friends and colleagues from world of transport planning, which generally happens before the dinner itself.  The reception was a chance to network throughout the evening as well as hear some thought-provoking presentations on an important issue facing the industry. So I think we’ll repeat it next year... Meanwhile, thanks to Susan Cross, Tim Cuthbert and their colleagues at Jacobs for hosting and organising a great event.  

I got to chair the final session at the Campaign for Better Transport’s Better Transport Week conference at King’s College in London. It was a great session, capping off at great conference, capping off a great week. We had a very interesting discussion with the panellists Gareth Dennis from Systra, Chris Hillcoa from KPMG, Elizabeth Gilliard from CILT, Janice Jaison from Motts, Claire Sheffield from Arup and Chris Martin from Urban Movement. 

Meanwhile, we’re lining up some great supporting events in the run-up to Transport Planning Day in November.   Have a look at the events calendar to make sure you don’t miss the chance to attend. 

TPS Development Strategy 

The TPS Board are continuing great work on the development strategy, to increase the TPS’s ability to support transport planners and influence transport policy and practice. We had an inspiring session with Sonya Byers, CEO of Women in Transport, who took us through WIT’s very impressive development journey over the past 1-2 years. Lots for the TPS to learn about how to increase influence and impact. Please get in touch if you’d like to know more about how you can get involved in any of the Board’s activities at info@tps.org.uk